Jason Pierre-Paul? Will Hernandez? Who do you want?
The New York Giants report for training camp in just two weeks. Is there a free agent move you would like to see the team make before camp begins? Here are five names to discuss. Vote in the poll to show which player you would like to add, or drop a different name in the comments.
DE Jason Pierre-Paul
The Giants’ first-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft is 36 and did not play last season, but still wants to play and believes it would be “dope” to finish his career with the Giants.
Pierre-Paul is, of course, a unique individual. The fact that he compiled 52.5 of his 94.5 career sacks after losing two-and-a-half fingers in a July 4 2015 fireworks accident is evidence of that.
JPP has only 5.5 sacks since 2021, though, and did not have any in six games for the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins in 2023.
The Giants, with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux seem flush with pass-rushing edge players. They also have Chauncey Golston.
As championship Giants teams of the past have proven, though, a team can never have enough pass rushers. Would there be room on the roster for Pierre-Paul? Would it be worth bringing him in for training camp on a non-guaranteed contract to see if he has anything left?
WR Gabe Davis
The former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver visited the Giants in mid-May. Since that time, Davis has visited with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints but remains unsigned.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Davis is, of course, already well-known to Giants GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. Schoen was the assistant GM in Buffalo when Davis drafted, and Daboll was the offensive coordinator when Davis caught 70 passes, 13 for touchdowns, in his first two seasons.
Davis is coming off a disappointing season in Jacksonville, where he caught just 20 passes in nine games before landing on IR with a torn meniscus. The Jaguars, with a new GM and head coach, released Davis after just one season of a three-year, $39 million contract.
The torn meniscus is perhaps the reason Davis has yet to sign. Teams could be waiting to sign him until Davis passes a physical and is cleared to practice.
Could the Giants still bring Davis to New York? They want to be a more vertical offense, and with Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Jaxson Dart they have quarterbacks suited to that downfield style.
Davis, 26, has a career average of 16.2 yards per catch — more than any other Giant receiver. With five undrafted free agent rookie receivers on their 90-man roster, the Giants seem interested in creating competition for wide receiver roster spots.
If healthy, Davis’ resume indicates he would not only be a favorite for a roster spot should the Giants sign him, but could push third-year wide receiver Jalin Hyatt for a role as the Giants’ fourth receiver.
RG Brandon Scherff
A five-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro right guard, the 33-year-old Scherff is not the player he once was. His last Pro Bowl was in 2021. He is still, though, one of the best pass-blocking guards in the NFL. Per Pro Football Focus, Scherff’s 98.6 pass-blocking efficiency rating was second among 56 qualifying guards in 2024. In 625 pass-blocking snaps, he did not allow a sack. As a run blocker, Scherff ranked just 40th among 49 qualifiers.
Scherff has always been, and still is, a better player than 35-year-old Greg Van Roten of the Giants. Unless the Giants are trying to clear a lane for Evan Neal to earn a starting job now that he has converted from tackle to guard, which would make Van Roten a backup guard/center, Scherff would be a clear upgrade.
G Will Hernandez
The Giants’ 2018 second-round pick was better after leaving the Giants in free agency for the Arizona Cardinals in 2022 than he was in his four seasons with the Giants. Hernandez, who turns 30 in September, played just five games last season after suffering a torn ACL. That is perhaps why he remains unsigned.
Drafted as a left guard, Hernandez has played right guard since 2021.
Like Scherff, if he is healthy Hernandez would appear to provide an upgrade for the Giants. Because he is three years younger than Scherff and would theoretically have a longer runway as a productive player, signing Hernandez might make more sense than signing Scherff.
Again, the team’s belief in Evan Neal as a guard — and perhaps in rookie fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow — would be factors in why the Giants might not sign Hernandez or Scherff.
S K’von Wallace
Third safety Dane Belton had a productive spring, but has not been able to lock down a full-time role in the secondary over his first three NFL seasons.
The Giants could use depth at safety. Behind starters Jevon Holland and Tyler Nubin, there aren’t any proven players
Anthony Johnson, a 2023 seventh-round pick by the Green Bay Packers, missed the entire spring with an apparent shoulder injury. He played just 21 defensive snaps for the Giants last season, anyway.
Raheem Layne is a former undrafted free agent who has played 13 games in three seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers and Giants. During that time, Layne has suffered a pair of significant knee injuries, a torn ACL and torn meniscus. He finished last season on IR.
Makari Paige is an undrafted free agent rookie out of Michigan.
The Giants had Wallace in for a two-day tryout during mandatory minicamp. Wallace was a fourth-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft. The 27-year-old has played in 71 regular-season games with 19 starts for the Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, and Seattle Seahawks.
