Following last month's draft, I put up a thread declaring who was the real winner of the Giants draft (IMHO). And it was clear to me that 1 Giants coach-Jerome Henderson-really hit the lottery with 3 of the 7 players drafted being his new students.
And it got even better in the hours following the draft, as we learned that two of the UDFAs signed would also be joining Henderson's position room.
An important point regarding Henderson that I didn't mention in that earlier thread was that Henderson was retained by Daboll with the coaching transition and that Jerome Henderson has actually been coaching the Giants DBs since 2020.
Below is the current Giants roster as it stands today for all the 19 DBs:
Name POS When Acquired
Adoree Jackson CB 2021/UFA
Deonte Banks CB 2023/1
Nick McCloud CB 2022/Waivers
Darnay Holmes CB 2020/4
Cor’Dale Flott CB 2022/3
Aaron Robinson CB 2021/3
Rodarius Williams CB 2021/6
Amani Oruwariye CB 2023/UFA
Zyon Gilbert CB 2022/UDFA
Leonard Johnson CB 2023/UFA
Tre Hawkins III CB 2023/6
Gemon Green CB 2023/UDFA
Xavier McKinney S 2020/2
Jason Pinnock S 2022/Waivers
Bobby McCain S 2023/UFA
Dane Belton S 2022/4
Trenton Thompson S 2022/UDFA
Gervarrius Owens S 2023/7
Alex Cook S 2023/UDFA
Notice anything interesting? Every single current Giants DB came on board AFTER Henderson. Now we don't know the amount of input a position coach gives with player signings prior to Schoen, but it seems logical that no waiver pickup or free agent signing occurred without Henderson weighing in.
Some might say that players like Aaron Robinson, Darnay Holmes and Rodarius Williams were drafted by former administrations and have a lesser chance of sticking. That might be true with other positions, but Jerome Henderson was here back in 2020. Clearly he had some level of input on every single one of the 12 CBs and 7 Safeties that will be beginning OTAs on Monday.
Continuity is a large part of a teams success. Henderson is well regarded as a top DB coach across the NFL. The fact that every single player fighting for a roster spot in 2023 came onboard with Henderson already here, is another reason I am very optimistic about the Giants 2023 defense.
Paraphrasing as Bill Parcells might say "Henderson was allowed to do the food shopping. I look forward to seeing the meal he prepares"
Paraphrasing as Bill Parcells might say "Henderson was allowed to do the food shopping. I look forward to seeing the meal he prepares"
ABSOLUTELY! A full room to work with! Breeds optimism.
Lots of quality competition is a good thing as is depth.
Let's hope they find a really good group.
You ALWAYS go with 9 OLs. It is just impossible to find quality OLs. Every team is searching. Joe Judge made the HUGE mistake of only keeping 8 OLs in each of his 2 years and we all saw the result.
So my answer is you only have a fixed number when it comes to OL-9.
All other number decisions by position should come based on player skills and versatility.
Again, just my opinion.
Once they are done bouncing the rubble by Week 2, the groupings will probably look something like this:
QB 2
RB/FB/TE/HB 7
WR 6
OL 9
IDL 5
EDGE 5
ILB 5
DB 10
ST 3
Spare 1 (the one they aren’t using on a third QB)
There’s room to keep a lot of DB talent, especially if McCaughey likes them too for specials.
Once they are done bouncing the rubble by Week 2, the groupings will probably look something like this:
QB 2
RB/FB/TE/HB 7
WR 6
OL 9
IDL 5
EDGE 5
ILB 5
DB 10
ST 3
Spare 1 (the one they aren’t using on a third QB)
There’s room to keep a lot of DB talent, especially if McCaughey likes them too for specials.
FWIW, if your 9th OL is good enough that you want to keep him, you can bet that one of the other 31 teams will want him too. The 10th guy you put on the PS and hope he stays(IMHO).
Are 5 ILBs necessary? Probably only need 4 unless the 5th is a special teams demon.
But yeah, you keep the 53 best players, no matter the position.
As for other teams wanting our bottom-of-roster players, I guess that possibility is reviving as the team rises from the cellar. After ten years, I’m used to a cycle where we fret that the Corbins and Cunninghams won’t clear waivers, and they invariably do. Other teams might like some of our practice squad guys, but they like their top 53 (and other waiver wire options) more than a marginal Giant who hasn’t been through camp and preseason with them.
You have to figure about 5 will go down with an ACL injury so that will make Henderson’s job a bit “easier.”
I wonder how that compares to his contact with the other top corners. Can't imagine he spent that much time with all of them.
Revisiting the roster allocation: with two of the top three TEs being converted WRs, that boundary blurs too. The offensive "skill" positions other than QB will probably occupy thirteen or fourteen roster spots. How those spots are allocated among positions gets fuzzy at the margins. Waller and Cager (or Miller) might allow the team to go light at WR, at least until Robinson is cleared to play. Conversely, Sweeney or Myarick might bump the fourth running back to the waiver wire.
Jeff Smith is something of a wild card. He might make the roster largely for special teams (not to mention his frugal kitchen skills). That makes him a threat not only to the other WRs, but also to the ST candidates at other positions.
Jeff Smith is something of a wild card. He might make the roster largely for special teams (not to mention his frugal kitchen skills). That makes him a threat not only to the other WRs, but also to the ST candidates at other positions.
He also has utility as an emergency game day QB if we're only carrying 2 on the active roster. He's got a better chance of making the team than people think because of how can contribute in multiple ways. Injuries are unavoidable, some guys may start on PUP and guys like BFW, Colin Johnson and even vets Crowder/Shep could be candidates you try to get through to the PS.
Quote:
Jeff Smith is something of a wild card. He might make the roster largely for special teams (not to mention his frugal kitchen skills). That makes him a threat not only to the other WRs, but also to the ST candidates at other positions.
He also has utility as an emergency game day QB if we're only carrying 2 on the active roster. He's got a better chance of making the team than people think because of how can contribute in multiple ways. Injuries are unavoidable, some guys may start on PUP and guys like BFW, Colin Johnson and even vets Crowder/Shep could be candidates you try to get through to the PS.
... and he went to BC, so there's that.