The New York Giants report to training camp Thursday, which is one day after this post first published. That is soon. So we wrap up our position-by-position look at the roster with safety, the position at which the Giants currently have a truckload of questions and no obvious answers.
Projected starters: Landon Collins and ... I don't know. Today, let's say Nat Berhe.
Four other guys for probably two roster spots: Cooper Taylor, Bennett Jackson, Jeromy Miles, Mykkele Thompson.
The "sure thing": Collins is a rookie who's never played a down in the NFL, but if there's one player from this group who's sure to make the roster and likely to start, the fact that the Giants traded up to take Collins at the top of the second round makes him the guy. His best fit is at strong safety, where he could be a thumper who'd help the run defense right away. But I'm told the Giants coaches asked Collins to lose weight for training camp (he weighed 228 pounds during the spring) because they're concerned about his mobility in coverage. They haven't ruled him out of the free safety mix, but that's only because they broke minicamp without any idea about who their free safety would be.
Who plays the deep middle?: The free safety matters in Steve Spagnuolo's defense as a player who can organize things, keep the calls straight and act as the last line of defense on deep balls. At the close of the June minicamp, Giants defensive coaches made it clear they were still looking for someone to step up and claim the job. Based on the information I've been able to gather, I think Berhe is their top candidate. Problem is, he missed all of OTAs and minicamp with a calf injury, so they haven't had a chance to evaluate him. Taylor ran with the first team in the spring, but it looks as though injuries have cost him some of his speed, and he's not the ideal fit back there. (He may actually be better up in the box, like Collins.) Thompson, this year's fifth-round pick out of Texas, shows good instincts and an ability to read what's happening, but he's a bit small for an NFL safety and could be a long shot for that reason. Jackson is a converted cornerback who missed his 2014 rookie season due to injuries and is still learning the position. That doesn't rule him out, because all of these guys have their drawbacks and Jackson could show the coaches something in camp that the others don't and earn the job. Miles is a veteran who was still a free agent two weeks ago. Spagnuolo knows him from their time together in Baltimore, but his chances are hard to handicap at this point.
Bottom line: The Giants mishandled the safety position this offseason. They knew they needed help there, as they were letting everyone who started a game for them at safety last season leave in free agency. They tried very hard to sign Devin McCourty, but he decided to stay with New England as was always likely and the Giants didn't have a backup plan. So they spent three draft picks on the position (a second-rounder and a fourth-rounder to get Collins and a fifth-rounder to get Thompson) and are hoping it sorts itself out in camp. It reminds you a little bit of the way they approached tight end last year -- arriving at camp with a list of candidates and hoping someone emerges. The problem is, in this case it has to be two people who emerge.