Giants roster tracker: Tony Jefferson signing is finally official

The New York Giants’ roster merry-go-round continued to spin at a dizzying pace on Thursday morning, with the team swapping four spots on its 16-man practice squad.

In are:

OL Wyatt Davis
DE Henry Mondeaux
DB Tony Jefferson
LB Charles Wiley

Out are:

DB Darren Evans
OT Roy Mbaeteka
OT Garrett McGhin
DB Nate Meadors

What it means

The big news there is that the addition of Jefferson, a veteran safety entering his ninth season, is finally official. That move has been expected since the Baltimore Ravens cut the 30-year-old, who spent three full seasons and part of a fourth with Wink Martindale in Baltimore.

Jefferson is — at least for now — part of the practice squad. It will not surprise anyone, though, if he is soon elevated to the 53-man roster. Or, at least made a game day elevation. Jefferson has played in 104 regular season games with 66 starts.

Wyatt Davis is a former Ohio State guard and a player yours truly liked as a potential Giant before the 2021 draft. He was selected in Round 3 (86th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings recently let him go as new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah purged most of the team’s draft class class from last season.

Davis, 6’4, 315 pounds, played only 28 special teams snaps over six games in 2021. He did not play a single offensive snap.

In a 2021 draft profile of Davis, BBV’s Chris Pflum called him “arguably the top guard prospect in the draft.”

Here is Chris’s projection for Davis:

Wyatt Davis projects as a starting guard with scheme versatility in the NFL. He has the athleticism to transition to the left side if his future team needs to use him there, but staying at right guard would allow for a quick transition to the NFL.

Davis is, for the most part, a “clean” prospect with all the traits to be a reliable starter and step into a starting role almost immediately in the NFL and play in any blocking scheme. Even Davis’ weaknesses will likely improve with experience, particularly his slight tendency to lose track of defenders on chaotic plays. He already has the technique and play strength to start on an NFL line, and should adapt to the speed of the pro game quickly.

Coaches will likely fall in love with Davis’ competitive toughness over the course of the draft process. Davis is every bit a mauling guard and it was not a rare occurrence to see him finish a play with his man on the ground. There were even several occasions in which Davis would put an exclamation point on the play by jumping on the defender he threw to the ground like a pro wrestler going for the pin.

Davis’ late knee injury will likely garner interest, both for his timeline to return to the field and for his future prognosis. However, if those reports are optimistic, there are few concerns with Davis’ play on the field.

Davis’ draft stock is likely limited by his positional value — that of a “guard only” prospect — but what you see is what you get from him as a prospect. And what you get from Wyatt Davis is a good plug and play guard.

Things, obviously, did not work out in Minnesota. Perhaps the Ohio State knee injury had something to do with it. The 23-year-old, though, is still a player with upside and an interesting acquisition for the Giants.

Mondeaux is a 6’4, 280-pound defensive end who played in 26 games with two starts over the past two season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had two sacks and 16 tackles (six solo) in 2021. Wiley is an edge defender from UTSA who was waived by the Baltimore Ravens.

Mbaeteka is seemingly the most interesting player dropped from the practice squad. The 6’9, 320-pound Nigerian offensive tackle had never played football until being signed by the Giants. The 22-year-old is far from being ready to play in NFL games, but remains an intriguing athlete. It won’t be a surprise if he is back on the practice squad at some point.