Four New York Giants in 'Make-or-Break' Mode

The NFL Draft has always been one of the most consequential events in the league’s calendar. As much as it can turn hundreds of players' lifetime dreams into reality, it can also serve as a daunting reminder of the fragility of one’s career for many incumbents currently on team rosters. 

Especially when certain teams are drafting high and early in the seven rounds, it becomes critical for those organizations to find players that can step in immediately and provide an impact if that isn’t coming from veterans who subsequently have the pressure put on them. 

That is no different for the New York Giants, who, after having a pretty solid 2025 draft by most peoples’ opinions, feel like they’re on an upward trajectory furthered by the arrival of some talented fresh faces in this year’s class.

At the same time, they have a few players from the previous season’s roster who are now being put on notice in the aftermath of the draft. Those players must find a way to rebound from a miserable season at the individual level or figure out a new role on the team, lest they want their tenures in East Rutherford to hit a sour conclusion. 

It’s a special time of year for some and a fearful time for others, but the real competition begins this summer when a slew of roles will be on the line after a Giants class that has guys who can come in and steal some starting reps early. 

That said, these are some current Giants players who should feel their seats getting a little warmer now that roster-building season is over.

OG Evan Neal

One of the older Giants players who will be followed closely throughout the remainder of the offseason and regular season is the former first-round pick Evan Neal, who is at a crossroads in his fourth year with the franchise. 

Neal, who was selected No. 7 in 2022, hasn’t been the same premier blocker that the Giants thought they unearthed from Alabama three years ago. By injuries or inexperience, Neal has struggled to spar with elite edge rushers in the pros and posted less than a 61.2 overall grade. 

This past season, Neal began his slide down the depth chart with the arrival of veteran Jermaine Eluemunor in free agency. Along with offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, who was hired from the Raiders, the familiar Eluemunor was thrust into the starting right tackle spot to perform much more admirably and leave Neal to figure out his game behind him. 

Even when Neal had to reenter the equation late in the year as injuries piled up, very little signs of growth happened. In 456 snaps at right tackle, the 24-year-old did pretty well in run blocking (80.6) but finished under 50.0 as a pass blocker for the third straight season. 

Now, Neal is being put through a position transition to the guard spot, a hole where he had some service time with the Crimson Tide back in Tuscaloosa. If he gels into the group, he can remain in the mix for a depth spot, but that will be tough regardless of the other competitors the Giants have secured. 

The headliners are currently Jon Runyan and Greg Van Roten, both of whom assume the starter roles once camp opens in the summer. The Giants also resigned Aaron Stinnie as a reserve option and have Jake Kubas and fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow joining as developmental players with early upside. 

Mbow really has a leg up in the competition because he has already shown on his college tape that he can be versatile and play a number of positions, including guard and tackle. He was excellent in both pass and run blocking with Purdue and could impress the team enough to earn a high placement on the depth chart, if not an immediate starting role.  

The Giants announced last week that they wouldn’t be opting into Neal’s fifth-year option, a sign that things could be changing for him if he doesn’t establish a reason to remain in East Rutherford long-term.

Joe Schoen has been criticized for how some of his prior draft selections have gone, and Neal has been one of the prime examples. It looks like he has finally found some solid answers to numerous roster weaknesses, and that could be bad news for a former top-10 pick. 

WR Jaylin Hyatt

For Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, it’s hard to say that many members of the organization have as questionable a role as he does. 

In fact, Hyatt, who was once the leading pass catcher in the entire SEC his final year at Tennessee, has progressively lost any impact on the Giants offense. After posting nearly 1,300 receiving yards in 2022, the 23-year-old hasn’t amassed more than 400 yards and a single touchdown in two seasons with New York. 

Last fall, Hyatt was barely a blip on the radar every Sunday, running routes but rarely touching the pigskin. In 16 games, he recorded just eight catches for 62 yards and an average of 7.8 yards per reception for his worst stat line as a football player. 

Hyatt is a speedy player on the edge who can create chunk plays with the ball in his hands. The main issues have been figuring him into the plays and the poor quarterback play that always seemed to miss him when they had him open in stride. 

Still, Hyatt hasn’t been a big enough factor in the Giants' system, and his displeasure has been subtly expressed. It was thought he might get traded during the draft if the team found a sensible move, but he remains in New York amid a more crowded wide receiver room than before. 

Sophomore stud Malik Nabers will once again lead the pack after a historic rookie campaign and be flanked by Darius Slayton, who resigned in free agency, Wan’Dale Robinson as the slot receiver, and tight end Theo Johnson, who had a decent debut.

Following the draft, the Giants signed a handful of undrafted free-agent pass catchers to see if they could discover a talent the rest of the league passed upon. If Hyatt continues to be a shadow in the position group heading into the 2025 season, it’s hard to believe it won’t be his last in blue as the Giants look to trade him or part ways as a cap casualty. 

The former option seems more likely to involve a third-round gamble to try to regain some of the prior investment.

RB Eric Gray

Compared to the last player, the Giants have tried to get running back Eric Gray more involved in the team’s Sunday contests. The effort just hasn’t panned out, and now Cam Skattebo is joining the room and getting fans excited. 

A fifth-round prospect from the 2023 class, Gray has also slowly seen himself drop off from the Giants’ rotation. He was never really poised to be the No. 1 option with guys like Saquon Barkley and Tyrone Tracy in the mix, but his rare opportunities have not turned into much for the young ball carrier.

In 30 games played, Gray has not churned more than 100 yards on the ground and is still waiting to make his first curtain call in the endzone. While he had a chance to climb the ranks in camp, he remained the third-string back while Tracy and veteran Devin Singletary handled the rushing workload. 

What was even more concerning during the 2024 season was Gray’s mishaps on special teams. The Giants brought him in to serve as a speedy and shifty kick return man who can slip into the cracks of a return and potentially bust one. 

What has stopped that more than a poor special teams operation is Gray’s turnovers in the return spot. He had a couple of muffs on punts in the 2023 season, and those issues flashed on occasion with kickoffs, although Gray was able to hang on to the ball in the end. 

Gray is at serious risk of losing that job with the emergence of Ihmir Smith-Marsette as the team’s primary special teams ace. He can try to return to relevance in the backfield on offense, but the Giants now have a fan favorite in Cam Skattebo, who is coming in ready to partner with Tracy at the top of the order. 

The Giants are likely looking forward to creating a duo between Skattebo and Tracy that features a blend of power and zone running up the gut. The two players could recreate that Brandon Jacobs-Ahmad Bradshaw style that captured the franchise during their Super Bowl run in 2011, leaving very few reps to split with the rest of the position group. 

It’s more likely that Singlerary, who signed a three-year deal last offseason, will remain at the end of camp for a smaller share of the reps and in the event of injuries. Gray just didn’t seem to be in Brian Daboll's plans, barring any unexpected ailments before the start of the season.

IDL Rakeem Nunez-Roches

Perhaps his continued presence on the team signals a different case, but it’s not certain the Giants are sold on Rakeem Nuñez-Roches as their No. 2 interior defensive lineman.  

The Giants had a significant need for an interior defensive lineman prior to the draft, and they pursued it right after their two main roster needs were fulfilled: the best player available, Abdul Carter at No. 3, and the future quarterback, Jaxson Dart.

With their third-round selection, which remained from the Dart trade, the Giants chose Toledo defensive tackle Darius Alexander. The pick was regarded by many as one of the best value selections made by New York, as Alexander was ranked as the 30th-best prospect in the 2025 class and one of the highest in the position group. 

Alexander figures to challenge Nuñez-Roches in training camp for the right to fill the gaps alongside All-Pro behemoth Dexter Lawrence II. He has some upside in the pass-rushing realm, but he stood out with his physicality and strength against the opposing rushing game in college. 

Per PFF, Alexander finished as the third-highest-graded defensive tackle at the FBS level with a 91.1 run defense grade. In a span of 254 run snaps last season, he missed one tackle and flashed brute force in shutting down the rushing lanes for opposing ball carriers. 

Alexander wants to play with an eye for punishing his enemies, and the Giants are excited to see that be completed by Lawrence's nearly unstoppable presence in the middle. If Lawrence draws double attention at the line of scrimmage, it’ll open up chances for the rookie to rack up his impressive numbers and become the next sensation. 

For Nuñez-Roches, that could mean he gets pushed out of the picture after he didn’t post the most impressive year for a grizzled veteran. He finished fourth in the position group with a 50.2 run defense grade and only made the fifth-highest stop rate at 5.8 percent in 302 snaps. 

His one positive is availability (15+ games in the last six seasons), and that’s important for a position prone to dealing with injuries. So maybe he slips down a notch on the depth chart and lets a rookie take the stage to leave his mark. 

What’s certain is that Nuñez-Roches didn’t make enough of an impact when it mattered for the Giants. The team has some developmental players they’re going to watch this summer to see if they grow in their intangibles. They will go there if it means better production when Lawrence isn’t on the field.

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