Giants Roster Breakdown: Louis Murphy

The New York Giants brought wide receiver Louis Murphy in as a free agent with the hope he would bring big-play capability to an already high-scoring offense. Let's look at Murphy as we continue our player-by-player breakdown of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp later this month.

2012 Season In Review

Murphy caught 25 passes for 336 yards (13.4 yards per catch) and one touchdown for the Carolina Panthers in his only season there after three years with the Oakland Raiders. His longest catch was for 55 yards.

2013 Outlook

The Giants hope Murphy will bring a vertical threat to their passing game, complementing the work of Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and developing second-year man Rueben Randle. Ofensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said during the offseason he hoped the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Murphy would "give us some explosiveness that maybe we haven’t had since we lost Mario Manningham."

With Cruz, Nicks, Randle and new tight end Brandon Myers giving quarterback Eli Manning plenty of options in the short to intermediate areas Murphy will get plenty of opportunities to stretch the field in four- and five-wide receiver sets. He also gives the Giants an experienced player, one with 115 career receptions, in the event of injuries.