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The 2023 NFL preseason is entering its final days and these 11 New York Giants players need to finish strong or risk losing a roster spot.
The New York Giants must trim their roster down to 53 players by 4:00 p.m. ET on August 29, so the upcoming preseason game against the New York Jets might be the last time some of these players don a Giants uniform.
There are at least 11 players who need to finish the preseason on an uptick so that they can either a) secure a roster spot or b) a place on the Giants’ 16-man practice squad.
Let’s take a look.
Here’s a look at seven (of many) New York Giants players who are on the roster bubble headed into Week 2 of the preseason against Carolina.
The New York Giants host the Carolina Panthers in the middle preseason game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Friday night.
Jobs are on the line and several players will have to display that they are serious about making the 53-man roster, which will be cut in less than two weeks.
Here are seven players (of many) who are on the roster ‘bubble’ and need to have a good showing in this game.
New York Giants rookie Habakkuk Baldonado took a long and winding path to the NFL, and he plans to make the most of his opportunity.
One of the players attending the New York Giants’ rookie camp this weekend in East Rutherford is Pitt edge rusher Habakkuk Baldonado, who was born and raised in Rome, Italy.
Baldonado’s odyssey from Europe to the U.S. and to the NFL is an interesting one, starting with how he got involved with American football in the first place.
“My mom bought Sky Sports so we had all the packages. On regular TV they didn’t show it but on Sky they had ESPN and they used to show some college and NFL games,” he explained in an interview with Sky Sports.
“Scrolling through the channels one time I saw this sport, went to Google it, and found highlight tapes on YouTube of Ray Lewis, Richard Sherman and it just looked interesting.
“I was in a phase of my life when I was deciding what sport I was going to do because I’d just got out of swimming which my mom forced us to do for the majority of our childhood. I tried it, which didn’t last long when I was 13 but I picked it back up when I was 16 and now I’m here.”
It just so happened that Baldonado had the desired physical frame (6’4″, 251) to play the game. He began playing in the youth leagues in Europe and soon found himself stateside, playing high school ball in Clearwater, Florida.
“I was playing for the U19 Italian National Team and we had this Championship in Europe in spring 2017, we played Serbia and one of the coaches that was coaching us had contacts with the head coach at Clearwater in Florida where I ended up going,” he said.
“He saw me playing fairly well and said he thought I had a shot to try to go to the US to play football. I dropped everything that spring, got my visa and went over in June.”
At Clearwater, Baldonado racked up big numbers (83 tackles and 30.5 sacks) in one season and passed on offers from several big-time college programs (Michigan State, Coastal Carolina, Nebraska, Illinois, and Syracuse) in favor of Pitt.
At Pitt, Baldonado registered 99 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery over a 40-game career.
He accepted an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this past February but his performance was below expectations. He knew it, too.
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In last week’s NFL draft, Baldonado went undrafted. The Giants decided to take a flyer on him and signed him as a free agent after the draft. In this week’s CFL draft, he was selected in the second round by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Baldonado can be seen as an ascending player. He’s fairly new to football and is still learning.
“I’m light years away from where I was when I started,” he said. “The average player in the US has been playing since they were four to six years old. I’ve only been playing for seven or eight years so I’m really fresh to the sport.”
So, what will the Giants be getting in him?
“My football IQ is really high, I love to learn, that’s what a lot of players are not so that’s where we’re different,” he said. “I’m very versatile, I played a lot of sports growing up so I have a lot of skills other people don’t have and can play a lot of different positions. A versatile really smart play that has all the athletic tools as well.”
The Giants have two talented edge rushers in Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari and also have Jihad Ward, Tomon Fox, Elerson Smith and Oshane Ximines on the roster, so Baldonado will have a long ladder to climb this summer at training camp.
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The New York Giants will host their 2023 rookie minicamp on Friday and Saturday, and here are a few things to keep an eye on.
The New York Giants will host their 2023 rookie camp this weekend at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
There’s a lot of anticipation after last week’s NFL draft. Here are a few things to watch for this weekend.
The rush to sign undrafted rookie free agents is underway! Here’s a live 2023 tracker for the New York Giants.
The 2023 NFL draft has officially come to a close and the frenzy to sign undrafted rookie free agents (UDFA) is underway.
For general manager Joe Schoen and the New York Giants, they’ll look to add several players prior to the start of rookie mini-camp which will take place from May 5-6 in East Rutherford.
“I think you tie in free agency and you tie in the draft and I’m excited to go upstairs and see where we are on some undrafted free agents,” general manager Joe Schoen said after the draft.
It’s important to note that UDFA signings are not announced by the NFL, so some initial reports may be incorrect, changed or, unfortunately, outright faked. Until the Giants/NFL themselves announce the signings, these should all be considered rumors and subject to change.
As signings and rookie mini-camp invites are reported, we’ll update this article. So keep refreshing.
Rumored signings:
Rumored mini-camp tryouts:
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Taking a look at 1 edge rusher prospect for the Colts in each round of the draft.
The Indianapolis Colts are just under two weeks away from the start of the 2023 NFL draft where they’ll be looking to add talent and depth to the roster.
While the edge rusher position isn’t high on the list of needs for the Colts, a team can never have too many pass rushers. At some point throughout the draft, we should expect general manager Chris Ballard to add some competition to the room even if it comes on Day 3.
With Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo going into their highly anticipated third seasons, the Colts also added Samson Ebukam to work in the LEO role as the Yannick Ngakoue replacement. They also brought back the versatile Tyquan Lewis, who again suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in 2022.
Following this series of articles, we’ve also looked at these positions:
We’ll be tracking the Colts’ reported interest in the 2023 draft class so be sure to keep up with latest updates via our tracker.
Here’s a look at one edge rusher prospect who fits the Colts in each round of the draft:
With the workouts set to begin, we’re looking at 10 sleeper prospects for the Philadelphia Eagles to watch at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine
The Eagles contingent is at the NFL scouting combine and with two first-round picks for the second year in a row, they’ll look to retool with 18 pending free agents set to hit the open market.
The Eagles have 9 critical contributors on defense set for free agency, and GM Howie Roseman has acknowledged that he won’t be able to retain his core of free agents with Jalen Hurts set to land a massive contract extension.
With the onfield portion of the combine set to heat up, we’re looking at 10 sleeper prospects for the Eagles to watch.
Stetson Bennett, Juice Scruggs, Sidy Sow, DeMarvion Overshown, and Habakkuk Baldonado are all part of the 2023 scouting combine All-Name Team.
What’s in a name? Well, some people live up to their names, and others perhaps don’t. In football, you can look at tape of Bronko Nagurski or Mack Strong running the ball, and think that those two men could not have been named anything else. Then, there’s Richie Incognito, who was anything but in his NFL career.
The participating prospects at the 2023 scouting combine aren’t really here to make any sort of All-Name Team; they have bigger and better goals on their minds. But when we see Stetson Bennett, Juice Scruggs, Sidy Sow, DeMarvion Overshown, or Habakkuk Baldonado, we think it’s fun that these young men are about to join an all-time pro football fraternity that includes Fair Hooker, Buzz Nutter, Mac Speedie, Atari Bigby, and Bacarri Rambo.
So, here’s Touchdown Wire’s All-Name Team for the 2023 scouting combine.
Up next in the Unpacking Future Packers draft preview series is Pittsburgh edge Habakkuk Baldonado.
The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft.
The Green Bay Packers struggled to consistently put pressure on the quarterback this past season. Rashan Gary may miss the beginning of the season as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL. Preston Smith will be a year older and the upcoming season could be his last go around in Green Bay. Kingsley Enagbare flashed during his rookie season.
Add it all up and the Packers need to add an edge rusher or two this offseason. Luckily for the Packers, the 2023 NFL Draft has no shortage of talented edge rushers.
An edge rusher that Brian Gutekunst could target on day three of the 2023 NFL Draft is Habakkuk Baldonado. The Pittsburgh edge rusher checks in at No. 71 in the Unpacking Future Packers countdown.
A native of Rome, Baldonado moved from Italy to Florida in 2017. He played one year of high school football at Clearwater Academy International.
In 2019, Baldonado recorded 4.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. After missing the majority of the 2020 season due to injury, Baldonado recorded 41 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and nine sacks in 2021. This past season Baldonado recorded five tackles for loss and two sacks.
Growing up in Italy, Baldonado tried his hand at a variety of sports, swimming, MMA, and soccer. He played three seasons of football in Italy before moving to Florida and playing one year of high school football.
“I’d say Baldonado’s greatest strength is his athleticism,” Noah Hiles, the Pitt Athletics reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said. “Haba is still a very raw project, having played just one year of football in the United States before arriving at Pitt. This guy was a receiver at the high school level, and a good one too, averaging 24.4 yards per reception (nine catches for 220 yards) during his senior season. When healthy, Baldonado has a combination of size and speed that will make him a great addition to a pass rush, especially on third down. The more football he plays, the better he gets.”
Baldonado has a quick first step off the snap and the lower body flexibility to bend. Once he wins the corner he has long strides to help him close on the quarterback. He has good length, with active hands to help keep himself clean. He converts speed to power. Baldonado has the lateral agility to loop. In 2021, Baldonado led all ACC edge rushers with 48 pressures. That number was cut in half this past season.
“Baldonado will be the first to admit that his 2022 season didn’t go according to plan,” Hiles said. “While his teammate Calijah Kancey put together an All-American campaign, injuries prevented Baldonado from finding a groove. Baldonado’s 2021 season, where he tallied nine sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss, is a better showing of what he can do, when at full health. Baldonado received a ton of attention from opposing teams, which opened up opportunities for others. With that being said, injuries and adjustments will have to be two things he will also have to deal with at the next level.”
Baldonado sets a firm edge against the run. He can be hard to root out. He does a good job of anchoring down and holding the edge. Baldonado has good pursuit speed as a backside defender. He plays with a red-hot motor and coaches will love his hustle.
“Run defense is always a priority for Pitt,” Hiles said. “Pat Narduzzi would rather allow 400 yards through the air than 100 on the ground in any game he coaches. Having played in that system, where expectations are high against opposing rushing attacks, Baldonado held his own. His greatest value against the run was shown against mobile quarterbacks, which the Panthers faced plenty of last fall, including names like Hendon Hooker, Malik Cunningham, and Drake Maye.”
The Packers need to add edge rushers as they look for Gary’s long-term running mate. Baldonado could step in and provide quality depth early in his career.
With his untapped potential and athletic twitch, Baldonado has the upside to develop into Gary’s running mate on the edge for the Packers.
Habakkuk Baldonado led all ACC Edges in pressures last season 💪@Pitt_FB pic.twitter.com/OuI6s25Vbj
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 1, 2022
“Baldonado is worth a Day 3 pick because of what he can be,” Hiles said. “You look at him and see the potential instantly. His build is ideal for an NFL edge rusher. His speed will allow him to be used in creative ways. He is far from a finished product, but if used correctly, Baldonado could be a very effective NFL player next season.”
The name of the game is to get after the quarterback and Baldonado has recorded 72 pressures over the past two seasons. With his raw potential, the Packers could roll the dice on the Pitt edge rusher as they look for more playmakers on defense.
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What happens when the Vikings go best player available? @MattAnderson_8
It’s still early in the Minnesota Vikings’ offseason, and the team hasn’t gone through free agency or found a replacement for their defensive coordinator. That doesn’t mean we can’t speculate on what may happen to this team in April.
The Vikings could get aggressive this April and go get their guys, or they could try to trade back to accumulate more picks given they have a limited amount of draft picks to begin with. For this mock draft, we’ll keep all of our picks and take the best player available. Let’s take a look at how it unfolded.
