Giants roster preview: CB Trevin Wade should stick as fourth corner

Perhaps the player most directly impacted by the first-round draft selection of Eli Apple is cornerback Trevin Wade, If everyone is healthy, Wade, who manned the slot for the Giants much of last season, would seem likely to be the player who loses the most snaps.

Let's take a closer look at Wade as we continue our player-by-player profiles of the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp in just a few days.

2015 Season in Review

A 2012 seventh-round pick by the Cleveland Browns, Wade bounced from the Browns to the New Orleans Saints to the practice squad of the Detroit Lions before being signed to a reserve/futures contract by the Giants in 2015. Wade took advantage of the opportunity, earning a spot on the 53-man roster as a reserve cornerback.

Wade ended up as a valuable member of the secondary, playing in all 16 games and starting three. After playing no defensive snaps the first two weeks, he played sparingly in the next three games.He became the team's primary slot corner in Week 6 and remained there the rest of the season. He ended up playing 529 snaps, or 45.8 percent of the defensive plays.

Wade finished the season with 48 tackles, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, six passes defensed and five quarterback hits as a blitzer off the edge.

2016 Season Outlook

Wade, who turns 27 on August 1, should make the team. With Janoris Jenkins, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Apple expected to see most of the playing time, however, his role could be limited. That could change if there is an injury or if Apple struggles as a rookie, but right now Wade appears to be ticketed for special teams duty and work as an emergency fill-in at corner. Fortunately for the Giants, the 5-foot-10, 192-pound Wade can play in the slot or on the outside.