With NFL teams finalizing their 53-man rosters on Sunday evening, everyone now looks to the waiver claim deadline on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, and the New York Giants are no different.
Big Blue finalized their 53-man roster on Sunday night, cutting ties with at least 37 players to get down to the maximum allotted players.
That doesn’t mean they’re done with roster tweaks, though, as all the young players who were released this past weekend are now subject to the waivers system.
The Giants own the fifth spot in the waiver wire order, which is tied to previous draft positioning, giving them the ideal spot to pick up some cast-off talent from other franchises.
Which players should New York be looking to target?
McKinnley Jackson Named Giants Waiver Target
Despite their trade for C.J. Okoye, the New York Giants are still in need of some depth along the interior of their defensive line, and former Cincinnati Bengals third-round pick McKinnley Jackson was named by Big Blue View’s Nick Falato as a preferred target currently on waivers.
“The Cincinnati Bengals selected the 6-foot-2, 325-pounder in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and he’s played 184 total defensive snaps across two seasons. Jackson had four pressures and nine STOPs. Jackson is more of a 1-technique and nose tackle. He recorded 48 STOPs at Texas A&M, with 55 pressures and eight sacks,” wrote Falato.
“The Giants are in desperate need of defensive line depth. New York did trade for C.J. Okoye, who is a similar archetype to Jackson. Still, depth at the position is needed, especially with Darius Alexander struggling to consistently anchor throughout the preseason. The Giants currently have D.J. Reader, Shelby Harris, Chauncey Golston, Darius Alexander, Okoye, and Bobby Jameson-Travis as their six defensive lineman.”
Jackson isn’t an elite player or anything; otherwise, he’d likely still be with Cincinnati. But when a former third-round pick shakes loose with 22 career games under his belt, he’s worth a flyer.
The former Texas A&M standout recorded a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.1 last season, but didn’t play enough snaps to get a complete ranking amongst his peers. His run-defense grade of 63.8 should interest fans most.
What Could McKinnley Jackson Bring to the Giants?
The New York Giants need depth at defensive tackle. They have some solid veterans up front in D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris, but if either of those two miss time with injury, Big Blue will have a serious problem on their hands.
Darius Alexander, Chauncey Golston, and Okoye are all decent rotational pieces, but what’s one more in that mix? Especially with Alexander’s preseason struggles.
Jackson is traditionally a nose tackle, as Falato wrote in his analysis, and that could be valuable for a team looking to stop the run.
New York desperately needs to turn around their bottom-of-the-league run defense. They gave up the second-most rushing yards per game last season, with opponents averaging 145.3 per game.
Jackson won’t be able to fix that overnight, but he’ll be able to contribute to a better overall unit.
Giants Urged to Claim Ex-Bengals Third-Round Pick Off Waivers