With the draft and free agency right around the corner, everyone is talking about additions that teams could make. But what about the Giants' returning players? In this week's Cover 4, we take a look at potential 2023 breakout candidates:
John Schmeelk: Let's go deep and go with wide receiver Collin Johnson. He tore his Achilles tendon at a practice late in training camp where he was performing as one of the best players at the position. He has size and excellent hands to make catches in traffic. Talking to him at the end of the season, he is making great progress in his recovery and expects to be ready at some point this off-season to begin practicing again. Sure, he may be a serious longshot, especially with more experienced receivers such as Isaiah Hodgins in front of him. But if the Giants can't afford an elite receiver in free agency or acquire one in the draft or via trade, someone like Johnson might have a chance to step up and play a bigger role than anyone expects.
Dan Salomone: There's no question the Giants were a better on offense with rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger on the field, so his arrow is pointing up. The team was 8-3-1 with him in the regular season (1-1 in the postseason), and their three highest point and rushing totals occurred in games in which he started. Like most of his classmates, Bellinger showed promise while dealing with an injury. He missed four games because of an eye issue but showed up in big spots, averaging 8.8 yards per catch and recording three touchdown grabs, including one to start the second half of the Wild Card victory in Minnesota. He also became the first rookie tight end in Giants history to rush for a touchdown, doing so in the win over Green Bay in London. Elite teams tend to have difference-making tight ends and Bellinger will try to join those ranks.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah updated his ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft.


No. 50 Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA

No. 49 Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa

No. 48 John Michael Schmitz, IOL, Minnesota

No. 40 Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin

No. 47 Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia

No. 37 Steve Avila, IOL, TCU

No. 46 Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee

No. 45 Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson

No. 44 Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa

No. 43 Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan

No. 42 Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee

No. 38 Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State

No. 39 Cody Mauch, OT, North Dakota State

No. 36 Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson

No. 41 O'Cyrus Torrence, IOL, Florida

No. 35 BJ Ojulari, EDGE, LSU

No. 27 Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State

No. 34 Joe Tippmann, IOL, Wisconsin

No. 32 Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE, Kansas State

No. 31 Brian Branch, DB, Alabama

No. 30 Quentin Johnson, WR, TCU

No. 29 Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama

No. 28 Keion White, EDGE, Georgia Tech

No. 26 Calijah Kancey, DT, Pittsburgh

No. 25 Will McDonald IV, EDGE, Iowa State

No. 33 Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia

No. 24 Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland

No. 21 Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson

No. 22 Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College

No. 20 Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame

No. 23 Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State

No. 17 Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State

No. 13 Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia

No. 19 Broderick Jones, OT Georgia

No. 16 Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State

No. 18 Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee

No. 14 Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa

No. 15 Jordan Addison, WR, USC

No. 12 Will Levis, QB, Kentucky

No. 10 Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon

No. 11 Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida

No. 9 Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah

No. 8 Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern

No. 7 C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

No. 5 Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois

No. 6 Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia

No. 4 Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech

No. 3 Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas

No. 2 Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Alabama

No. 1 Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
Lance Medow: There are two strong options for this label. Kayvon Thibodeaux showed several flashes during his rookie campaign, but you can't overlook fellow rookie Wan'Dale Robinson, who had his season cut short in Week 11 (when he tore his ACL following his first career 100-yard game). Robinson also missed four games earlier in the season due to a knee injury. Consider the injuries and the fact that he barely scratched the surface of his potential, you can lean toward him having a breakout campaign, especially since the opportunities will be there in the receiving corps. It's too early to tell what that position group will look like; yet Robinson will carve out a key role regardless of what the team does in free agency and the draft. He proved in college that he can be an explosive playmaker by taking a short catch and turning into a game-changing reception and that's exactly what this offense needs in 2023.
Matt Citak: There are several reasonable choices to be the Giants' breakout player in 2023. The honor could easily go to one of the injured players returning from a season that was cut short – think of Wan'Dale Robinson, Darrian Beavers and Collin Johnson. Robinson was just starting to pick up things when he suffered a torn ACL, while Beavers and Johnson were rather impressive during training camp before going down with their respective season-ending injuries.
But as we have seen in the past, it sometimes takes a player a while to really get back into form following a serious injury such as a torn ACL or Achilles. Although these three could be firing on all cylinders by the middle of the season, let's go with second-year outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux as the team's 2023 breakout candidate. Thibodeaux's rookie numbers don't jump off the page, but the 6-foot-5, 258-pound from Oregon enjoyed a solid first season in the NFL. Thibodeaux registered four sacks, 13 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and five pass breakups in 14 games after a knee injury in the preseason derailed the start of his year.
Despite the slow start to his rookie campaign, the No. 5 overall pick still led all rookies with a pass rush win rate of 17.9 percent (according to ESPN) while picking up 40 total pressures on 409 pass rush snaps (according to PFF). This helped him finish fourth in the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Heading into the 2023 season, Thibodeaux will have the benefit of already knowing and being comfortable in Wink Martindale's defense. Hopefully a stronger overall defense and a healthy Azeez Ojulari will help open up things a bit for Thibodeaux. And picking up another tip or two from his mentor, Michael Strahan, couldn't hurt, either.
View photos of every move made by the Giants during the 2023 cycle.


OLB Oshane Ximines - Activated, from Practice Squad (Standard Elevation) (September 21)

OL Jaylon Thomas - Activated, from Practice Squad (Standard Elevation) (September 21)

RB Taiwan Jones - Activated, from Practice Squad (Standard Elevation) (September 16)

OLB Oshane Ximines - Activated, from Practice Squad (Standard Elevation) (September 16)

RB Taiwan Jones - Activated, from Practice Squad (Standard Elevation) (September 9)

K Graham Gano - Signed 3-year contract extension (September 8)

WR Cam Sims - Practice Squad Veteran Signing (September 4)

WR Cole Beasley - Practice Squad; Injured (September 4)

G Jack Anderson - Waived, Injury Settlement

DB Kaleb Hayes, WR Dennis Houston, T Jaylon Thomas - Practice Squad Signing (August 31)
RB Taiwan Jones - Practice Squad Veteran Signing (August 31)
TE Tyree Jackson, G Jalen Mayfield - Practice Squad Exception Signing (August 31)
DB Gemon Green, T Tyre Phillips - Terminated (by Club) from Practice Squad (August 31)

CB Zyon Gilbert - Waived, Injury Settlement

DT Ryder Anderson, ILB Darrian Beavers, DB Alex Cook, QB Tommy DeVito, CB Gemon Green, ILB Dyontae Johnson, TE Ryan Jones - Practice Squad (August 30)
WR Cole Beasley, CB Amani Oruwariye, T Tyre Phillips, OLB Oshane Ximines - Practice Squad Veteran (August 30)
OLB Tomon Fox - Practice Squad Exception (August 30)

DE Boogie Basham - Acquired via Trade (via BUF) with 2025 7th Round Pick for 2025 6th Round Pick (August 30)

DT Ryder Anderson - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

DE Habakkuk Baldonado - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

LB Darrian Beavers - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

DB Alex Cook - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

RB Jashaun Corbin - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

QB Tommy DeVito - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

LB Tomon Fox - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

DB Gemon Green - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

LB Dyontae Johnson - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

TE Ryan Jones - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

LS Cameron Lyons - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

T Tyre Phillips - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

WR Kalil Pimpleton - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

DT Kobe Smith - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

LB Ray Wilborn - Waived, No Recall (August 29)

WR Cole Beasley - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 29)

WR Jamison Crowder - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 29)

C Sean Harlow - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 29)

DB Amani Oruwariye - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 29)

WR David Sills V - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 29)

LB Oshane Ximines - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 29)

TE Tommy Sweeney - Reserve/Non-Football Illness (August 29)

WR Wan'Dale Robinson - Passed Physical (August 29)

CB Aaron Robinson - Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (August 29)

TE Chris Myarick - Reserve/Injured (August 28)

DB Zyon Gilbert - Waived, Injured (August 28)

G Jack Anderson - Waived, Injured (August 28)

G Wyatt Davis - Waived, Injured (August 28)

WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton - Reserve/Injured (August 27)

WR Jaydon Mickens - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 27)

OT Korey Cunningham - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 27)

OT Julién Davenport - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 27)

DT Brandin Bryant - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 27)

DE Tashawn Bower - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (August 27)

DT Kevin Atkins - Waived, No Recall (August 27)

WR Collin Johnson - Waived, No Recall (August 27)

DB Darren Evans - Waived, No Recall (August 27)

NT Donovan Jeter - Waived, No Recall (August 27)

RB James Robinson - Waived, No Recall (August 27)

S/ILB Isaiah Simmons - Acquired via Trade (via ARZ) for 2024 7th Round Pick (August 25)

OT Devery Hamilton - Waived, Injury Settlement (August 24)

LB Troy Brown - Waived, Injury Settlement

CB Rodarius Williams - Waived, No Recall (August 19)

OT Julién Davenport - Free Agent Signing (August 16)

LB Troy Brown - Waived, Injured (August 16)

LB Ray Wilborn - Claimed off Waivers from DEN (August 15)

OT Devery Hamilton - Waived/Injured (August 15)

DL D.J. Davidson - Passed Physical (August 14)

WR Jeff Smith - Terminated, Vested Veteran, Injury Settlement (August 11)

DT A'Shawn Robinson - Passed Physical (August 7)

OL Marcus McKethan - Passed Physical (August 7)

NT Donovan Jeter - Free Agent Signing (August 4)

WR Jeff Smith - Waived/Injured (August 4)

C Sean Harlow - Free Agent Signing (August 1)

OL J.C. Hassenauer - Reserve/Injured (August 1)

WR Sterling Shepard - Passed Physical (July 30)

WR Jamison Crowder - Passed Physical (July 30)

DT Vernon Butler - Reserve/Injured (July 29)

LB Elerson Smith - Waived, Injury Settlement (July 29)

DT Kevin Atkins - Free Agent Signing (July 27)

T Andrew Thomas - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (July 26)

DT D.J. Davidson - Declared Physically Unable to Perform (July 25)

G Marcus McKethan - Declared Physically Unable to Perform (July 25)

CB Aaron Robinson - Declared Physically Unable to Perform (July 25)

DT A'Shawn Robinson - Declared Physically Unable to Perform (July 25)

WR Wan'Dale Robinson - Declared Physically Unable to Perform (July 25)

WR Sterling Shepard - Declared Physically Unable to Perform (July 25)

WR Jamison Crowder - Declared Non-Football Injury (July 25)

DT Vernon Butler - Reserve/Did Not Report (July 25)

RB Saquon Barkley - Franchise Player Signing (July 25)

OLB Tashawn Bower - Free Agent Signing (July 25)

OLB Elerson Smith - Waived, Injured (July 25)

DB Trenton Thompson - Waived, No Recall (July 25)

DT Brandin Bryant - Free Agent Signing (July 24)

WR Makai Polk - Waived, No Recall (July 24)

WR Dre Miller - Waived, No Recall (July 24)

RB James Robinson - Free Agent Signing (July 21)

WR Cole Beasley - Free Agent Signing (July 21)

DB Darren Evans - Free Agent Signing (July 18)

LB Jarrad Davis - Reserve/Injured (July 18)

DB Leonard Johnson - Waived/Injured (July 18)

DL Kobe Smith - Free Agent Signing (June 15)

DL Dexter Lawrence - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (May 5)

OLB Oshane Ximines - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

OLB Habakkuk Baldonado - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

LB Troy Brown - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

DB Alex Cook - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

QB Tommy DeVito - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

DB Gemon Green - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

LB Dyontae Johnson - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

TE Ryan Jones - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

LS Cameron Lyons - Free Agent Signing (May 5)

CB Deonte Banks - Selected in Round 1 (Pick No. 24) of 2023 NFL Draft

CB Deonte Banks - Selection List Signing (May 18)

OL John Michael Schmitz - Selected in Round 2 (Pick No. 57) of 2023 NFL Draft

C John Michael Schmitz - Selection List Signing (May 23)

WR Jalin Hyatt - Selected in Round 3 (Pick No. 73) of 2023 NFL Draft

WR Jalin Hyatt - Selection List Signing (May 15)

RB Eric Gray - Selection List Signing (May 5)

CB Tre Hawkins III - Selected in Round 6 (Pick No. 209) of 2023 NFL Draft

CB Tre Hawkins III - Selection List Signing (May 5)

DL Jordon Riley - Selected in Round 7 (Pick No. 243) of 2023 NFL Draft

RB Eric Gray - Selected in Round 5 (Pick No. 172) of 2023 NFL Draft

DL Jordan Riley - Selection List Signing (May 6)

DB Gervarrius Owens - Selected in Round 7 (Pick No. 254) of 2023 NFL Draft

DB Gervarrius Owens - Selection List Signing (May 5)

DT A'Shawn Robinson - Unrestricted Free Agent Signing (April 24)

C J.C. Hassenauer - Free Agent Signing (April 7)

OLB Jihad Ward - Unrestricted Free Agent Signing (March 29)

TE Tommy Sweeney - Unrestricted Free Agent Signing (March 23)

CB Amani Oruwariye - Unrestricted Free Agent Signing (March 23)

WR Jamison Crowder - Unrestricted Free Agent Signing (March 23)

S Bobby McCain - Free Agent Signing (March 23)

WR Darius Slayton - Free Agent Signing (March 20)

DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches - Free Agent Signing (March 17)

WR Parris Campbell - Free Agent Signing (March 17)

WR Jeff Smith - Free Agent Signing (March 17)

LB Bobby Okereke - Free Agent Signing (March 16)

WR Sterling Shepard - Free Agent Signing (March 15)

TE Darren Waller - Acquired via trade with Las Vegas Raiders (March 15)

RB Matt Breida - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (March 14)

P Jamie Gillan - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (March 13)

LS Casey Kreiter - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (March 13)

G Wyatt Davis - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (March 13)

QB Daniel Jones - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (March 7)

RB Saquon Barkley - Designated Franchise Player (March 7)

LB Jarrad Davis - Signed, Renegotiated Contract (March 7)

WR Isaiah Hodgins - Signed, Exclusive Rights (February 16)

G Jack Anderson - Signed, Exclusive Rights (February 14)

TE Lawrence Cager - Signed, Exclusive Rights (February 13)

WR David Sills V - Reserve/Future Signing (January 26)

DB Terrell Burgess - Reserve/Future Signing (January 26)

TE Chris Myarick - Reserve/Future Signing (January 23)

T Devery Hamilton - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

WR Dre Miller - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

DB Zyon Gilbert - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

DT Vernon Butler - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

WR Makai Polk - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

T Korey Cunningham - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

WR Jaydon Mickens - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

WR Kalil Pimpleton - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

RB Jashaun Corbin - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

DB Trenton Thompson - Reserve/Future Signing (January 22)

DB Terrell Burgess - Waived/Injured (May 5)

G Solomon Kindley - Waived

WR Kenny Golladay - Terminated, Vested Veteran, all contracts (March 15)
