Bill Barnwell’s latest ESPN exercise puts a fun spin on football geography, and the Giants show up in it in a big way. In his “Domestic Cup of American Football,” Barnwell split the country into eight regions and built 30-man rosters based on where players played high school football, with teams constructed for September 2026 and no trades allowed.
The Giants wound up with five players across those regional squads, giving the roster-builder a decent-sized Big Blue footprint. The headliners are Abdul Carter and Andrew Thomas, but Tremaine Edmunds, Jordan Stout and even the Giants’ special-teams upgrade all find their way in too.
Carter lands on the Northeast roster at edge rusher, and Barnwell points to the absence of Micah Parsons - who isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the season after ACL and meniscus surgery - as the reason the door opened. Barnwell’s case for Carter leans heavily on what the rookie showed in 2025: 66 quick pressures, an NFL-best 2.39 seconds average time to pressure, plus a top-10 ranking in pressure rate and pass rush win rate against true pass sets. He also finished sixth in quarterback hits.
The talent is obvious, and Barnwell doesn’t hide that. The question is whether Carter can keep the week-to-week details from getting in the way. As Barnwell put it, “Carter won’t be an alternate for long if he can fully apply himself when doing the little things during the week.”
Edmunds makes the South Atlantic team at linebacker, and Barnwell describes him as part of an athletic pairing behind a defensive line built to keep blockers off the second level. That setup sounds a lot like what the Giants are trying to create themselves. With Dexter Lawrence anchoring the front and a rotation meant to clog interior lanes, Edmunds, Arvell Reese and Micah McFadden should have room to run and react.
Barnwell’s description of Edmunds as “undersized” is the kind of line that makes you blink, because that is not the first word most people would reach for. But the larger point is clear: the linebacker belongs on the field behind a strong interior line, where his athleticism can do the most damage.
Stout, also on the South Atlantic side, is Barnwell’s specialist choice, and he doesn’t need much explanation beyond that the region has “strong specialists.” For the Giants, though, the fit matters.
Stout followed John Harbaugh from the Ravens to New York, was a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro last year, and arrives as a real boost for a special teams unit that can use one. He and Edmunds were teammates at Virginia Tech before Edmunds transferred to Penn State, and Stout’s résumé includes a 74-yard punt that tied the Ravens’ franchise record and a 61.5-yard single-game average, the sixth-best in NFL history.
That kind of leg can change field position in a hurry, even if the Giants hope they don’t have to lean on it too often.
Thomas is the easiest Giant to justify on any list. He made Barnwell’s Southeast roster at offensive tackle, and leaving him off would have felt wrong.
Injuries have kept him from being consistently available, but when he’s on the field, he’s been one of the NFL’s best tackles. Barnwell calls him one of the most complete left tackles around, and that tracks: Thomas can handle elite pass rushers one-on-one and still move people in the run game.
The Giants are simply better when he’s out there, and Barnwell even gives a nod to Jason Garrett for pounding the table for Thomas back in 2020.
There are also a few Giants who came close but missed out. Brian Burns, listed for the Florida region, loses out to Nick Bosa, Trey Hendrickson and Nik Bonitto.
Jaxson Dart is squeezed out in the Southwest by Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy. And Cam Skattebo, who is currently injured, is not eligible for the California roster.
Still, five Giants on Barnwell’s regional teams is a solid showing, and the names on the list say plenty about where the roster’s strengths are showing up. The defense, the punter and the left tackle all made their mark.
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