Giants Roster Breakdown: Frank Okam

Frank Okam is one of the bevy of defensive tackles the New York Giants added during the offseason. With the position now so crowded does the five-year veteran have a realistic chance of making the team? We look at Okam today as our player-by-player breakdown of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp continues.

2012 Season In Review

Okam, a five-year veteran, was out of the NFL last season after having been cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the end of the preseason. Okam, 6-foot-5, 350 pounds, is a run-stuffer who was drafted in the fifth round by the Houston Texans in 2008. He played three seasons with the Texans and two with the Buccaneers. In 25 career games (three starts) he has 33 tackles. Okam's forte is supposed to be run defense, but Pro Football Focus has never given him a positive full-season score in that department.

2013 Outlook

Is Okam in the wrong place at the wrong time in his effort to continue his NFL career? It might appear that way on paper since the Giants have eight defensive tackles on the 90-man roster, but maybe not. Who knows whether 13-year veteran Shaun Rogers, on IR last season with a blood clot, can still play? Second-year man Markus Kuhn might not be ready to start the season. Mike Patterson, a nine-year veteran, played only five games for the Philadelphia Eagles last season after undergoing brain surgery in January. Marvin Austin has shown nothing in two seasons. Perhaps if some of these players fall by the wayside and Okam, 27, shows something during training camp he could sneak onto the roster.