Daniel Faalele was expected to be the New York Giants’ swing guard, providing depth behind Jon Runyan Jr. and Francis Mauigoa. Now, Faalele is a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars after a Wednesday morning trade. So, what does the Giants’ guard depth look like folloewing that surprise move?
Let’s go player-by-player through the options.
Aaron Stinnie — The 32-year-old, in his ninth NFL season, doesn’t excite anyone. He is, though, exactly what NFL coaches look for in backup players. He is an experienced,
capable, plug-and-play guard who can step in and do the job on either side at a moment’s notice. Stinnie has 16 starts in 64 NFL regular-season games, including four starts with the Giants over the past two seasons.
Josh Ezeudu — Yes, Ezeudu. The Giants drafted Ezeudu as a guard in 2022, but played him mostly at tackle in 2023 and 2024. He spent last season on injured reserve, mostly because the Giants never really had a roster spot for him after he suffered a preseason ankle injury.
Ezeudu worked mostly at right tackle throughout the spring and early part of the summer. He took some guard reps during practice last week, and was exclusively at right guard with the second team during Tuesday’s practice.
His chance of making the roster seems to have increased exponentially with the trade of Faalele, especially since he can play four positions.
Jake Kubas — A former undrafted free agent working with a new coaching staff, Kubas looked like an odd man out most of the spring and early part of the summer. Injuries, though, provide opportunity.
Last week, starting center John Michael Schmitz and backup center Lucas Patrick were both out with injuries. That necessitated giving Kubas, who has cross-trained at the center position, reps there as well as at guard.
In Saturday’s preseason game, Kubas played well while getting 10 snaps at center and 11 at left guard. He graded at 78.8 with a 100% pass-blocking efficiency score in 10 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
During 1-on-1 blocking/rushing drills on Tuesday, Kubas, playing left guard, anchored and stopped Kayvon Thibodeaux in his tracks.
I still don’t know if Kubas can make the roster, but he will be worth paying attention to the rest of the way.
Evan Neal — The trade of Faalele had some Giants’ fans leaping to the conclusion that “Neal is making the 53-man roster.”
I wouldn’t go there yet, but Neal is still on the roster and there is one fewer competitor. At Tuesday’s practice, Neal was still working with the third team behind Stinnie and Ezeudu.
There is no denying, though, that Neal looked capable in 20 snaps vs. the Vikings. PFF did not grade him as highly as Kubas (60.9 overall), but Neal also had a 100% pass-blocking efficiency score in nine pass-blocking opportunities.
[NOTE: Patrick and center Bryan Hudson also have guard flexibility, though neither figures directly into the competition for backup guard spots.]
