Giants Roster Assessment: Cornerstones, Keepers and Curiosities

What can we say about the 2022 New York Giants’ roster? Well, it certainly wasn’t great, or even good, really. In the eyes of general manager Joe Schoen, the best we can say is that it was what it was. Schoen inherited precious little roster flexibility when he took over the job from the “retired” Dave Gettleman last offseason. With just one draft and minimal cap space to work with, Schoen essentially had to play the hand he was dealt.

This offseason, though, Schoen will be able discard some players from that hand and replace them from the decks of the draft and free agency. So, the question becomes, which current Giants players should Schoen want to build around? Which ones should he want to keep for now, at least, with an eye towards potentially replacing down the road? And which ones deserve a wait-and-see approach? To help Joe out a bit, let’s divvy up New York’s young, potential building blocks into three categories: cornerstones, keepers, and curiosities.

Cornerstones

OT Andrew Thomas

There are only a couple positions in football for which the descriptor “franchise” can be used. “Franchise”, as in, if you happen to obtain a really good player at that position, you hold on to him for dear life, to the point where he starts to define your franchise. Quarterback is one, obviously, and left tackle is probably the only other. The Giants can count themselves among those lucky enough to have a franchise left tackle in Thomas. The 2022 2nd-Team All-Pro is one of the most valuable players in football, full stop. Schoen should be summarily dismissed if he doesn’t keep Thomas in blue for a long time.

DT Dexter Lawrence

Let’s stay in the trenches (no surprise), but this time flip to the defensive side of the ball and name Lawrence as Big Blue’s second cornerstone player. The 2019 first-round pick broke out with a dominant 2022 campaign. He racked up 7.5 sacks and 36 quarterback pressures en route to 2nd-Team All-Pro honors. Lawrence is the type of disruptive interior force that always seems to last deep in the playoffs.

Keepers

QB Daniel Jones

Ah yes, the most polarizing Giants player since Odell Beckham Jr., but for far different reasons. Some fans are already furious that Jones wasn’t named a cornerstone. Some are furious we’re even considering him a keeper. But an objective look at Jones’ 2022 shows a player that positively contributed to New York’s winning season. He took care of the ball with a league-low interception rate, completed over 67% of his passes, and ran for over 700 yards. Yes, his less-than-flashy passing stats will probably keep him from receiving that rarified “franchise” designation, but he’s earned his spot as the Giants’ starting quarterback next year.

RB Saquon Barkley

Similar to Jones, Barkley’s contributions to New York’s successful 2022 will probably occasion his return in 2023, even if he won’t stick around for much longer than that. Barkley was the Giants’ best offensive weapon last season, and it’s not especially close. He managed 1650 yards from scrimmage, 10 touchdowns, and a Pro Bowl nod. Committing long-term to a running back, especially one with Barkley’s injury history, is always perilous. The player and team may not agree on an extension this offseason, but the 2018 second-overall pick should be back on the franchise tag at the very least.

CB Adoree’ Jackson

If they wanted, New York could cut ties with Jackson this offseason and eat a $10.47 million dead cap hit. But why would they want to? The former Tennessee Titan is coming off his second straight stellar year for Big Blue, and this past season he assumed number-one cornerback duties excellently. Top cover corners in their prime are hard to come by, so Jackson sticks around as Gettleman’s one homerun free-agent signing.

DL Leonard Williams

Thankfully, enough time has passed since the controversial trade that made Williams a Giants, allowing us to simply evaluate the former New York Jet as a player. And unequivocally, he’s pretty darn good. Williams is one of the steadiest players in the NFL, both in terms of performance and avaiability. Last season was Williams’ first in which he missed multiple games with injury, but he still managed 17 quarterback pressures and earned a 77.9 grade from Pro Football Focus. He certainly exemplifies Schoen’s “tough, smart, dependable” dictum.

S Julian Love

Not surprisingly, all the players listed above are former first-round picks, either by the Giants or someone else. But every team needs a few mid-to-late-round picks to hit and become long-term staples. For Big Blue, it appears that Love has developed into one of those guys. The 2019 fourth-round pick finally transitioned from utility defensive back to starting safety this past year, and he fared quite well. Love racked up 124 combined tackles while allowing a respectable 89.8 passer rating when targeted. Considering he likely won’t cost too much, Love should be a player the Giants will want to keep around.

Curiosities

OT Evan Neal

You’d be hard-pressed to find a Giants fan that wasn’t ecstatic when Big Blue took Neal seventh-overall in last year’s draft. The Alabama product was widely seen as an elite tackle prospect, and the idea of starting him across from Thomas spurred dreams of dominant bookends for years to come. But Neal struggled mightily as rookie, especially in pass protection. Thomas struggled as a rookie too, in fairness, but he at least showed growth as that season went on. Neal still has enormous potential, but he wouldn’t be the first highly touted tackle prospect to underwhelm in the NFL.

S Xavier McKinney

Some might startle at McKinney not at least making the keeper category, but his reputation has outpaced his performance so far in his young career. The 2020 second-round pick missed significant time last season thanks to an ATV accident he suffered during the bye week, which can’t sit well with Giants brass. He broke out with a five-interception season in 2021, but his ball production completely disappeared last year, while allowing a lenient 93.6 passer rating when targeted. McKinney is a solid player, but he’s yet to prove himself a major difference maker.

OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux

Make no mistake, Thibodeaux had a fine rookie season. In 14 games he registered 49 total tackles, 18 quarterback pressures, and four sacks. The 2022 fifth-overall pick showed tantalizing flashes, like when he strip-sacked Taylor Heinicke on Sunday Night Football and recovered the fumble for a touchdown. But he wasn’t exactly consistent. Thibodeaux didn’t make a tackle for loss in 11 of his 14 games. The Oregon product needs to add to his repertoire of pass-rush moves and disengage from blocks more quickly. Highly-drafted pass rushers have yielded mixed results recently. We’ll see if Thibodeaux goes the way of Miles Garrett or Jadeveon Clowney.

OLB Azeez Ojulari

After two seasons, Ojulari still feels like a reservoir of untapped potential. His eight-sack rookie season set expectations for a second-year jump. In a way, Ojulari did have a second-year jump, putting up 5.5 sacks in just five starts and seven games played. The issue, of course, is that he didn’t play in 10 games due to various lower-body injuries. Durability concerns dropped the Georgia product to the second round in his draft year. He’ll need to find a way to stay on the field to become a long-term fixture of this defense.

TE Daniel Bellinger

The Giants started Bellinger as a rookie more out of necessity than anything else. Big Blue’s cap contraints left a vacant tight end room, meaning the fourth-round pick out of San Diego State landed at the top of the depth chart almost by default. But as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and the Giants may have just cooked up a future starting tight end. Bellinger’s receiving stats were modest, with just 30 catches and 268 yards over 11 starts. But he also performed quite well as a blocker. If Bellinger can develop as a pass catcher, the Giants could have a day-three gem on their hands.

– Ryan Cuneo is the Managing Editor of Full Press Giants. He covers the New York Giants. Like and follow on Follow @ryan_cuneo Follow @FullPressGiants and Facebook.