The initial 53-man roster coming out of NFL Training Camp is merely a first draft of what a football team will look like on Week 1. Given the NFL’s current Injured Reserve structure – a player may only be eligible to return if he was on the active roster out of camp – many victims of the cut can find themselves back in the team facilities the next day. But “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” – and when the New York Giants roster is as thin as most believe – there’s talent to be via waiver claims among the hundreds of players who, at least temporarily, had their dreams dashed on Monday.
So how does the Giants roster and depth look after these waiver claims?
READ MORE: Giants Tight End Depth Chart Lacks Experience
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New York Giants Make Roster Moves After Cut-Down Day
General Manager Joe Schein made the most of the team’s high priority on the waiver wire in his first season running a team. The Giants claimed four players – all at positions where depth is desperately needed. Will any of them see action this season? That probably goes without saying, given the roster attrition for a typical NFL Team, let alone one that tied for most Man-Games Lost in 2021. Let’s take a look.
Secondary Help
- Jason Pinnock, FS (New York Jets) – The second-year player out of Pitt appeared in 12 games last year, earning a Pro Football Focus grade in 8 of them. After a rough start to the season that saw him post horrendous grades in the thirties (against Miami, Philadelphia), he finished the season on an uptick, averaging a 73.9 grade in Gang Green’s final three games against Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and at Buffalo.
- Nick McCloud, CB (Bills) – Schoen and first-year head coach Brian Daboll are familiar with McCloud, an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2001. And they’re likely to have better insight than most on the Safety/Corner/Specialist because he went straight to the Bills’ practice squad after being released by Cincinnati last November. There’s little to examine from McCloud’s time in Cincy, as he only made the box score twice – once solely on special teams. PFF gave him a 68.6 grade for that one appearance.
- Justin Layne, CB (Pittsburgh Steelers) – Layne is the grizzled veteran of the waiver bunch, with 43 career games on his resume. But the numbers on the 4th year pro out of Michigan State aren’t pretty. Forty-three games played, 28 solo tackles, 0 interceptions, sacks, or forced fumbles. He did have one stuff in 2019 though! His PFF season grade has dropped from 60.6 (2019) to 43.8 (2020) to 40.2 (2021). Not quite trending in the right direction.
The Eternal Search for Depth up Front
- Jack Anderson, G (Eagles) – Schoen and Daboll bring another one of their former Bills charges into the building with the bulky 6’5”, 315 lb. guard out of Texas Tech (Philly signed him off the Bills’ Practice Squad last September). Anderson saw limited action late in his rookie year. After earning a handful of snaps against the Giants last December, he played the entirety of Week 18 against Dallas. He earned a respectable 70.5 grade, bolstered by a 73.1 mark in pass blocking.
With projected starting/rotational linemen Shane Lemieux, Matt Peart, Marcus McKethan, and Nick Gates all on the IR or PUP, Anderson stands out as the waiver claim most likely to see significant playing time in the first quarter of the season. The Giants roster all but guarantees this, barring additional injury.
Unfortunately for the Giants, the NFL isn’t like your fantasy football league, where a couple of fortuitous waiver claims can catapult you from the outhouse to the penthouse. It’s improbable that any of these post-53 pickups become a difference-maker. But the worst-kept secret in NFL circles is that Schoen inherited a frighteningly thin roster and salary cap table from his predecessor Dave Gettleman.
It will take Joe Schoen a minimum of 3 seasons to clean up the mess Gettleman created. Impossible cap situation, thin roster, overpaid veterans. Patience needed.
— Scout Kelley (@ScoutKelley) August 31, 2022
Digging out from the shortsightedness that the franchise displayed since the final seasons of Eli Manning’s career won’t be pretty. Adding NFL-experienced depth to a depleted Offensive Line and a top-heavy secondary lacking support is tedious. Still, they’re the necessary moves Schoen and his staff must continually make until the ship is righted.
