As promised by first-year coach Joe Judge, the New York Giants' 14 padded practices in training camp were intense, physical and demanding. One thing that became clear, special teams is going to be a priority under the former special teams coordinator. That was taken into account when assessing the Giants' roster, which will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy, Cooper Rush
It's Jones as the starter, McCoy as the backup and then somebody else.
Rush has the advantage over Alex Tanney because of his previous knowledge of coordinator Jason Garrett's system.
RUNNING BACK (3): Saquon Barkley, Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman
Gallman's strong performance in the scrimmage on Friday solidified his spot on the roster and made explosive undrafted rookie Javon Leake expendable. Gallman is a gamer who can carry the load should something happen to Barkley. The Giants also like Lewis' ability to pass protect and catch the ball out of the backfield. The skills of the trio seem to work together.
FULLBACK (1): Elijhaa Penny
Penny is locked in as the only fullback on the roster. He will also contribute on special teams.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Darius Slayton, Corey Coleman, C.J. Board, David Sills.
The big three of Shepard, Tate and Slayton will be the Giants' primary pass-catchers. Coleman is insurance as he's showed throughout camp that he's back to full strength after a serious knee injury. Board is the most likely to fill the role as depth wide receiver/gunner created by Cody Core's season-ending injury. Austin Mack and Alex Bachman will likely find their way onto the practice squad.
TIGHT END (4): Evan Engram, Kaden Smith, Levine Toilolo, Eric Tomlinson
The Giants are going to be using a lot of two-tight-end sets this season. That creates the need for four tight ends on the roster. Toilolo and Tomlinson provide value as blockers and add special teams experience. Garrett Dickerson, more of a pass-catcher, just misses out despite a strong camp.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Andrew Thomas, Will Hernandez, Nick Gates, Kevin Zeitler, Cameron Fleming, Matt Peart, Shane Lemieux, Spencer Pulley, Chad Slade
No real surprises here. The Giants have a young group with most of the spots secured. Slade slips onto the roster because of his versatility at guard and tackle.
DEFENSIVE LINE (5): Dalvin Tomlinson, Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, B.J. Hill, Austin Johnson
Perhaps the strongest group on the roster. Previous late-round draft picks Chris Slayton and R.J. McIntosh never made a serious run at any of the top five.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, Markus Golden, Kyler Fackrell, Carter Coughlin
It will be interesting to see how the Giants handle outside linebacker. Carter, Ximines, Golden and Fackrell have cemented roles. They will serve as the primary pass-rushers, especially the first three. It's between Coughlin and Cam Brown for the final spot. Coughlin has flashed this summer.
INSIDE LINEBACKER (5): Blake Martinez, Devante Downs, Ryan Connelly, Tae Crowder, Josiah Tauaefa
There's a good chance David Mayo lands on injured reserve with a designation to return. That opens a spot for Crowder, who has impressed in sub-packages with his cover ability, and Tauaefa, who can contribute immediately on special teams.
CORNERBACK (5): James Bradberry, Corey Ballentine, Darnay Holmes, Logan Ryan, Jarren Williams
The defensive backfield was getting thin and the Giants needed to add a veteran body. Ryan could easily be classified as a safety. He'll be a nickel/slot/safety/cornerback, but gives them another option on the outside in case Ballentine flops.
SAFETY (4): Jabrill Peppers, Julian Love, Sean Chandler, Nate Ebner
The loss of Xavier McKinney to foot surgery left a hole that Ryan helped fill. Montre Hartage seemed in line for a bigger role in three-safety sets just a few days ago, but the Ryan signing plus a minor leg injury bumped him from the final roster at the last minute. Chandler and Ebner are special team players, which increased in importance with Judge as the coach. McKinney will land on IR after final cuts.
SPECIALIST (3): Riley Dixon, Graham Gano, Casey Kreiter
Gano was brought in mid-camp and has impressed. He missed only one kick in drills open to the media through the first two weeks.