Now that the New York Giants’ 53-man roster is locked in, there are unanswered questions about this team heading into the 2026 season. From the running back rotation to the second receiving target to the starting cornerback tandem, the Giants have several unknowns that could shape how this year plays out.

Let’s dig in.

What will the Giants running back rotation look like?

The Giants currently have four running backs on the roster: Cam Skattebo, Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy, and Devin Singletary. All four have had significant touches at various points in their careers, and they are at very different stages. Harris and Singletary are the older players. Tracy has back-to-back 1,000-yard scrimmage seasons but had a down preseason. Skattebo is the player the fan base loves, and hopes can emerge as a legitimate star.

Based on how training camp and the preseason played out, Skattebo should be the starting running back and receive the majority of carries. He is not going to be a true RB1 who gets every single opportunity to touch the rock with the offense built around him, but he will be on the field more than anybody else. 

There is validity to Tracy sliding down the pecking order and Harris stepping into the second running back role. Given that John Harbaugh just got out of Derrick Henry in Baltimore, it makes sense that New York would want a big, bruising presence.

Harris, who stands over 6’1” and weighs over 240 pounds, fits that mold. He looked solid in pass protection during the preseason and was able to grind out hard yards.

He’s probably not going to average over 4 yards a carry, but if he averages around 3.8 on 10 or so carries a game, that’s a solid return. Quite frankly, if the Achilles injury doesn’t hold him back, there is a world where he takes over as the primary running back, or it becomes a committee situation between him and Skattebo.

Behind those two, Tracy and Singletary are probably going to split opportunities without much separation. The Giants wouldn’t have kept both if they didn’t see it that way.

One wrinkle worth monitoring is whether Tracy gets more opportunities to return kicks, because he’s been impactful there and could carve out a solid role as a kick returner.

Who emerges as the Giants’ second receiving target?

The big positive is that every indication suggests wide receiver Malik Nabers is good to go for Week 1, despite the receiver’s ambiguous comments. He’ll have some rust to knock off, and hopefully he has a great first game. 

But even with Nabers on the field, who becomes the second option for quarterback Jaxson Dart? It felt clear during the preseason that tight end Isaiah Likely was carving out a role as the consistent dump-off target over the middle and as a yards-after-catch threat.

The preseason didn’t give us much of a sample between Dart and Likely outside of a brief quarter against the Minnesota Vikings, so that connection still needs time.

Maybe rookie wide receiver Malachi Fields become a phenomenal boundary player? Or at the very least, does he deliver the multi-touchdown rookie season, dominating in the red zone with his contested-catch ability?

Does Darnell Mooney end up being as productive as Wan’Dale Robinson was last year out of the slot, knowing Dart relied heavily on Robinson at Ole Miss? Does Dart have a natural affinity for looking at Likely and Mooney over the middle more than targeting the boundary?

It has to be one of those guys. As for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who made the roster despite many doubts (including mine), the expectations should be tempered.

He had no production the last time he was on an NFL roster, and that was two years ago. At the very most, he’s looking at maybe 150 yards. Best-case scenario, 300 yards. If that’s the second option, the Giants are in trouble.

Who starts at outside cornerback?

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reported in his roster analysis that cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome appear to be pacing as the starters, with Paulson Adebo essentially pushed out of the mix as a starting outside corner.

Newsome has been a solid outside starter since he was a first-round pick. He’s had ups and downs, but his camp performance showed me what he can be. I think he can be better than everybody expected and much better than the cheap contract he received.

As for Banks, he is a volatile player. He’s either going to be phenomenal, making big plays and flying all over the field, or he’s going to be a disaster giving up chunk plays.

He does not have a high floor. But if he earned the starting job during the preseason, there’s optimism that the ceiling is what the Giants will touch, similar to his rookie year when he was disruptive, consistent, and showed he could become a reliable starter.

Hopefully, Colton Hood breaks through and gets some playing time as well. The cornerback battle will be one of the biggest storylines to track once the regular season begins.