New Coach, Clean Slate: Three Players Big Blue Should Cut This Offseason

The Giants have been in a wheel of struggle with players on both their offensive and defensive lines. The Giants have officially hired their new head coach, John Harbaugh, who spent the last 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Harbaugh is ready to take control and make the changes that will make this Giants squad look better than it has ever been. However, there is already discussion about who he plans to cut from his roster next season. New York has a lot of work to do before it enters the new era, and several players need to go through the process of this rebuild. 

Wide Receiver Darius Slayton 

Darius Slayton is one of the top players on the Giants who need to come off the roster. The Giants' current wide receiver was drafted by the franchise in 2019. He flashed early as a big-play, deep threat receiver. However, over time, his development with the team has stalled out on multiple occasions. He has been inconsistent on the field, has at least several drops per game, and his limited route versatility has become an issue for him while playing on this team. There have been games when he has occasionally done well, but most of the time, it has been downhill for the Giants when he gets on the field. Slayton no longer aligns with the direction the Giants are going. If the Giants keep him, they are clogging the snaps that could lead to significant and explosive plays on this team. New York would definitely benefit from letting him go and allowing him a better shot at succeeding somewhere else, where his expectations will be lower and more defined. 

Cornerback Deonte Banks 

Deonte Banks has not lived up to the expectations the Giants had of him. The organization needs to consider taking the time to move on from him. Banks was drafted in the first round coming out of Maryland in the 2023 NFL Draft. He has struggled with on-field penalties and with making coverage happen on the field. Banks has broken down for this team in costly moments during gameplay. In the Giants' rebuild, there is no point keeping him on the field. This team is trying to rebuild who they are, and they can’t afford to keep him if they want to build the identity they want. At this point, he only brings projection, not production, to the defensive secondary. His draft status doesn't reflect the player he is, because he hasn’t got that heat to this line. While he showed promise in the singular year as a kick returner, a change of scenery could benefit him, and the Giants need to find a more dependable cornerback in the future. 

Wide Receiver Jalin Hyatt 

Jalin Hyatt has been on the Giants’ chopping block before. At the end of the season, the Giants are at the same crossroads with him once again. This time, the organization may make the decision to move on from him this time. He was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, coming out of Tennessee. Hyatt was a vertical playmaker and had elite speed and a reputation coming out of college as a breakout player. However, this has not transpired in the past several years that he has been with Big Blue. Hyatt has failed to reach even 500 receiving yards in a single season. This wide receiver is also always invisible in the red zone. Hyatt has always had one skill set for this team and has had no offensive flexibility. New York can no longer afford to wait on him, and they need to move on to get someone with more impact for the receiving corps next to Malik Nabers for next season. 

The Giants have their work cut out for them going into the offseason. They have plenty of ideas as to what they would like to do. However, it's a matter of the Giants agreeing on who will develop and elevate the team, or hold them down. Now that Harbaugh has signed his paperwork to be the team's new and official head coach, there will be plenty of decisions to make, now that he has a say on who will play for this team. The Giants will definitely look like a brand new team next season in the direction that they are going, and with their young core, Giants’ fans are all for it.