It’s officially New York Giants’ 53-man roster projection season — the time of year when our tapped-in beat reporters predict who will be cut, and who will survive the cutdown, following training camp.
Veteran media member Ed Valentine (Big Blue View) published one of these 53-man roster projections on June 19, and he predicted that a trio of disappointing NYG draft picks would finally get cut on the offensive and defensive lines.
Those players were 2022 third-rounder Joshua Ezeudu, 2022 fifth-rounder D.J. Davidson, and 2023 seventh-rounder Jordon Riley. And to be honest, none of these predictions is all that shocking.
Giants’ Flurry of D-Line Additions Turn D.J. Davidson & Jordon Riley Into Likely Roster Cuts After Training Camp
The Giants overhauled their depth in the trenches this offseason, leaving less to chance than in years past.
On the defensive line, they signed multiple veteran free agents while also spending premium draft capital on Abdul Carter and Darius Alexander. Those moves signal that they are done waiting on former prospects like Davidson and Riley to develop.
“I’m adding [Jeremiah] Ledbetter over Davidson because, in talking with defensive line coach Andre Patterson recently, he seems to like the 31-year-old veteran,” Valentine explained within his roster projection. “I think, though, that Ledbetter is going to have to earn a spot this summer.”
The Giants beat reporter also stated that he’s “keeping [2024 UDFA Elijah] Chatman over Davidson and Riley and not thinking twice about it.”
Along with Ledbetter, veterans Roy Robertson-Harris and Chauncey Golston are joining the pass-rushing unit in 2025, although the latter may technically be listed as an edge rusher.
The deployment of all these players is expected to intertwine, however, and Golston will likely be used all over the defensive trenches, similar to Carter.
There is simply no room for Davidson and Riley on this roster anymore, unless they very clearly outperform veterans like Ledbetter and Rakeem Nunez-Roches during Giants training camp.
Joshua Ezeudu Could Be One of the Odd Men Out After the Giants Spent 2 Free Agency Periods Rebuilding Their Offensive Line
As for the offensive line, Big Blue brought in swing tackle options James Hudson III and Stone Forsythe. They also re-signed veteran guard Greg Van Roten and drafted versatile tackle/guard Marcus Mbow.
These additions came one spring after Giants general manager Joe Schoen spent a decent chunk of cap space to secure new starters in Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr., not to mention veteran backups Aaron Stinnie and Austin Schlottmann. All four are back for another training camp in 2025.
With 2024 UDFA Jake Kubas emerging and Ezeudu failing to show signs of development, it’s hard to see how the Giants can justify wasting a roster spot on him heading into the final year of his rookie contract.
Ezeudu’s only saving grace this year might be a camp injury opening up a spot, or beating out fellow 2022 draft bust Evan Neal — who Valentine has making the 53 at guard.
“The biggest thing to watch in training camp is whether or not Neal can really push for a starting job,” the Big Blue View reporter noted. “If he does, he would almost certainly push Van Roten into a backup role. At that point, the question would become how the Giants would align Neal and Runyan.”
Assuming Ezeudu doesn’t shock the Giants community and turn his career around in August, the predicted roster cuts could actually be pretty straightforward on the offensive line.
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