New York Giants Unofficial Depth Chart -- Breaking Down The Defense

In advance of Friday's preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars the New York Giants have released an unofficial depth chart. We looked at the offensive depth chart already. Now let's see what the defense looks like.

Left End

Starter -- Justin Tuck
Second Team -- Adrian Tracy
Third Team -- Craig Marshall, Adewale Ojomo

Valentine's View -- With Justin Trattou sidelined Adrian Tracy is looking more and more like a guy who can make this team.

Left Defensive Tackle

Starter -- Linval Joseph
Second Team -- Marvin Austin
Third Team -- Martin Parker, Chris Canty

Valentine's View -- We know that when he is healthy Canty will start alongside Joseph.

Right Defensive Tackle

Starter -- Rocky Bernard
Second Team -- Shaun Rogers
Third Team -- Dwayne Hendricks, Markus Kuhn

Valentine's View -- Bernard, Rogers and Austin give the Giants solid depth at defensive tackle. Kuhn is a big, strong, athletic guy who has a lot to learn and could become a player.

Right Defensive End

Starter -- Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora
Second Team -- Justin Trattou
Third Team -- Matt Broha

Valentine's View -- Interesting how the Giants still tip-toe around Umenyiora, listeing both he and Pierre-Paul as starters.

Strong-Side Linebacker

Starter -- Mathias Kiwanuka
Second Team -- Keith Rivers
Third Team -- Greg Jones, Clint Sintim (PUP)

Middle Linebacker

Starter -- Chase Blackburn
Second Team -- Mark Herzlich
Third Team -- Jake Muasau

Valentine's View -- It seems like only a matter of time before Herzlich takes this job away from Blackburn. In reality, Greg Jones is the third middle linebacker as well as a backup on the strong side.

Weak-Side Linebacker

Starter -- Michael Boley
Second Team -- Jacquain Williams
Third Team -- Spencer Paysinger

Valentine's View -- Paysinger has had a strong camp. Can he continue to play well and force the Giants to make a difficult decision?

Left Cornerback

Starter -- Corey Webster
Second Team -- Michael Coe, Bruce Johnson
Third Team -- Jayron Hosley, Dante Hughes

Valentine's View -- Hosley will move up this chart at some point. The Giants really want to see him take over some of the slot responsibilities.

Right Cornerback

Starter -- Prince Amukamara
Second Team -- Justin Tryon, Antwuan Molden
Third Team -- Brandon Bing, Terrell Thomas (injured)

Valentine's View -- Amukamara has clearly moved into the starter's role in Thomas' absence. The Giants have several veteran corners fighting for roster spots and it will be very interesting to see which ones make the grade in the end.

Strong Safety

Starter -- Kenny Phillips
Second Team -- Tyler Sash
Third Team -- JoJo Nicolas, Chris Horton

Free Safety

Starter -- Antrel Rolle
Second Team -- Will Hill
Third Team -- Stevie Brown, Janzen Jackson

Valentine's View -- The player to watch Friday night is Hill. He has been extremely impressive and has been getting snaps with the first unit in the nickel defense.