New York Giants beat reporter Dan Duggan (The Athletic) hinted that two roster cuts/moves were incoming on May 10 once the UDFA signings were made official. In the end, Big Blue only needed to make one with Rutgers kicker Jude McAtamney joining the organization as an “International Player” and roster exemption rather than an undrafted rookie.
And as the Giants announced their 2024 UDFA class on Friday morning (May 10), the lone departure was revealed. Under the “waived/injured” designation, NYG has released veteran running back Deon Jackson.
Assuming he goes unclaimed, the Giants will have an opportunity to transfer Jackson to a reserve list. Although these situations often result in some sort of injury settlement at this stage of the offseason.
To reiterate, since McAtamney was given a roster exemption, Big Blue only needed to clear one spot on the 90-man roster rather than two — following the signings of wide receiver Allen Robinson and quarterback Nathan Rourke.
Deon Jackson Fails to Catch on With Giants
Jackson joined the Giants as a potential pass-catching option out of the backfield in October of 2023. However, even with the lack of depth behind Saquon Barkley last season, the NFL journeyman failed to catch on and make an impact with just one appearance and two yards.
Big Blue picked up Jackson off waivers after the Cleveland Browns let him go, but he really made a name for himself with the Indianapolis Colts.
The undrafted ball carrier out of Duke first entered the league in 2021, fighting his way off of the Colts practice squad to suit up for nine games as a rookie. He built on that debut in 2022, registering a career-high 445 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns over 16 appearances — and nearly half of those yards came as a receiver.
Jackson caught 30 out of 34 targets for Indianapolis during his second season. That amounted to 209 receiving yards, 10 first downs and one of the two TDs.
He has been much less successful as a runner with just 3.0 yards per carry throughout his career, and Jackson’s biggest issue has been ball security. Two 2023 fumbles and a drop contributed to his release from the Colts after two appearances in year three, and the 25-year-old had a drop and a fumble in 2022 as well.
We’ll see if Jackson sticks with the Giants organization after the waiver claim process is complete.
Giants’ Official 2024 UDFA Class
There were no surprises within the NYG undrafted rookie class. Instead, the May 10 announcement acted as a sort of confirmation.
As reported, the following eight players made up this year’s crop of UDFAs competing for a spot on the 53-man roster or the practice squad this summer:
WR Ayir Asante (Wyoming).
WR John Jiles (West Florida).
DB Alex Johnson (UCLA).
OT Marcellus Johnson (Missouri).
G Jake Kubas (North Dakota State).
DE Ovie Oghoufo (LSU).
DL Casey Rogers (Oregon).
K Jude McAtamney (Rutgers – International Player/Roster Exemption).
There are certainly several interesting names to watch here. Oghoufo was deemed the “most likely” Giants UDFA to make the Week 1 roster this year as an experienced rotational edge rusher with a solid floor as a run defender and tackler.
Similarly, Kubas has received some media attention for his “mean streak” and the Marcellus Johnson addition turned heads because of the signing bonus and potential salary guarantees. Needless to say, any promising offensive linemen prospects are a welcomed sight in New York.
Alex Johnson is a ball-hawking CB that received salary guarantees too, and Jiles was compared to Drake London as a receiver.
Finally, there’s the local Jersey City native, 6-foot WR Ayir Asante, a Syracuse native in the 6-foot-5 Rogers and the Irish-born McAtamney — who could earn a look as a long-term understudy behind Graham Gano.
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