Biggest holes Giants still need to fill after 2019 NFL Draft

What Big Blue still must do after adding 10 players in draft

4/29/2019, 10:00 PM
May 11, 2018; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants owner John Mara (left) and general manager Dave Gettleman on the field during rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Friday. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY SPORTS / Danielle Parhizkaran
May 11, 2018; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants owner John Mara (left) and general manager Dave Gettleman on the field during rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Friday. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY SPORTS / Danielle Parhizkaran

After using 10 of their 12 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Giants now have a much more complete roster as the schedule begins to shift over to OTAs and mini-camp.

Yet no roster is fully complete until they leave training camp with the 53 best players and despite adding 10 more players, plus the signings of several undrafted free agents, there are still some areas of weakness on the Giants' roster. 

Here some holes the Giants must fill after NFL Draft:

Edge Rusher

The Giants had Kentucky's Josh Allen fall into their laps with the sixth pick on Thursday night, but decided against addressing one of their most pressing needs in a pass rusher and selected Duke QB Daniel Jones instead. 

Despite attempts by Gettleman to trade up and still nab Allen, he settled on drafting a pass rusher in the third round, Oshane Ximines out of Old Dominion. 

While Ximines could be a fine player, he is still a far cry from filling the void left by Olivier Vernon. Other outside linebackers on the team are Lorenzo Carter, Kareem Martin and Markus Golden. For a team that had 30 sacks last season -- tied for second-worst in the league -- the Giants are still lacking someone who can rush the quarterback at edge. 

Right tackle

GM Dave Gettleman has spent the better part of his first two seasons with the Giants addressing the offensive line but it was still a bit surprising to see him use just one of his 10 picks on the "hog mollies," as he likes to call them. 

Right now, the Giants' starting right tackle is Chad Wheeler and while they have expressed interest in veteran free-agent Mike Remmers, he is still unsigned as he rehabs from back surgery. 

So it was a bit surprising that Gettleman waited until the seventh round to address the offensive line when he selected Kentucky's George Asafo-Adjei. The 6-5, 315-pound tackle may be just a depth piece while they await signing Remmers once he passes a physical. 

Wide Receiver

The Giants traded away arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL and replaced him with Golden Tate. While Tate is a very good receiver, he is most effective in the slot. Although he is paired with Sterling Shepard as the Giants' two primary receivers, they are still lacking a big-bodied receiver as an outside threat. 

Fifth-round draft pick Darius Slayton could be that guy, even at 6-1, because his speed can allow him to stretch the field. Or perhaps they use tight end Evan Engram in that kind of role, but they could certainly use some more size in the receiving corps. 

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