The early read on Anquin Barnes Jr. isn’t exactly glowing, and The Athletic’s Dan Duggan didn’t soften it.
Duggan recently went through every defender and specialist on the Giants’ roster, and when he got to the rookie defensive tackle, he was blunt: “Barnes’ college career suggests he won’t make it in the NFL,” Duggan wrote, “but the Giants signed him as an undrafted free agent to get a closer look at a prospect once viewed as having big potential.”
Barnes arrived in New York after a winding college path that included Alabama and Colorado. He was a consensus four-star high school prospect, but he went undrafted and landed with the Giants as a priority free agent.
The numbers help explain why Duggan was so skeptical. Barnes finished with 34 tackles and an interception across 25 games between Alabama and Colorado. He never logged a tackle for loss, with Alabama crediting him with half a TFL in 2024.
Still, there’s more to Barnes than the stat line. His Colorado page points to charity work, including voluntarily cleaning homes and giving food to people in need. This wasn’t a player carrying off-field baggage into the league.
And while Duggan’s take was harsh, it also fits the kind of honesty fans don’t always get from beat coverage. The challenge now is whether Barnes can turn that skepticism into fuel once camp opens.
That won’t be easy. Even with the Giants’ defensive line dealing with the Dexter Lawrence trade and Roy Robertson-Harris’ Achilles injury, Barnes is staring at a tough path to the 53-man roster.
But there’s still a lane for him. At 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds, Barnes should get preseason opportunities, especially with no reason for the Giants to expose DJ Reader or Shelby Harris to unnecessary injury risk in exhibition games. John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson would be wise to let Barnes take some of those snaps.
Maybe that’s enough for him to stick around on the practice squad. Maybe it’s the first step toward proving Duggan wrong.
Barnes didn’t do much in college, but he’s getting a clean slate now. All he needs is a chance, and that chance is coming soon.
In Other News...
Giants Left Guard Battle Could Lead To A Surprising Camp Move
Jon Runyan Jr. has been the Giants primary left guard in practices, but his spot is no longer feeling locked in as training camp and preseason approach. The team is weighing its options along the interior line, and the conversation has widened beyond a simple depth chart check, with the possibility of a camp competition now hanging over a position that looked settled not long ago.
Daniel Faalele is among the names in the mix after joining the Giants, and the group of alternatives also includes Evan Neal and Lucas Patrick. For a line still trying to find the right combination, the question is no longer just who starts in Week 1, but whether the Giants are willing to make a bigger move before camp even gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Camp Already Has A Health Problem Fans Feared Most
The Giants are heading into camp with the kind of health concern no team wants to be talking about in July. After a spring that already included multiple notable injuries, the focus now is less on scheme and more on how quickly the roster can get through the early part of the summer without adding to the list. Head coach John Harbaugh said the team has added new monitoring technology to help track players, but he also made clear that injuries like these are hard to forecast and that the practice load itself has not changed.
For a club trying to sort out its depth chart, the timing is especially rough because the injury picture does not stop there. Malik Nabers is expected to open camp on PUP after a second knee procedure, Darius Slayton is still rehabbing core muscle surgery, and Cam Skattebo is on track for Week 1. Even before the pads come on, the Giants are already dealing with the kind of availability questions that can shape a season before it really starts. [Read more 🡒]