New head coach Joe Judge spent his entire NFL coaching life with the Patriots working on special teams, so rest assured he is not going to shortchange anything as far as the kicking game. The Giants have two strong-legged players to handle these jobs, placekicker Aldrick Rosas (25) and punter Riley Dixon (26), but for the first time since 2007, they will need to find a new long snapper, with Zak DeOssie expected to retire.
Casey Kreiter, 29, was selected to a Pro Bowl with the Broncos and he figures to have the upper hand to replace DeOssie. Colin Holba handled the duties late last season when DeOssie was placed on injured reserve. Drew Scott is another option on the roster.
The Giants secured Rosas, a restricted free agent, with a second-round tender that will pay him $3.2 million. Rosas was superb in 2018, hitting 32 of 33 field goals, but was not as accurate last season, making only 12 of 17. His career field-goal percentage is 82.7 percent. His leg is incredibly strong, but his technique failed him at times in 2019 and you can be sure Judge will be watching closely to see if he can trust Rosas to get the job done.
It came as a surprise late last season when the Giants gave Dixon a three-year contract extension worth $8.7 million, making him the sixth-highest-paid punter in the league. It was a reward for a fine season. Dixon finished seventh in the NFL in net punting with an average of 43.5 yards and was 12th in the league at putting the ball down inside the 20-yard line, at 42 percent.
Finding a player with kick-return or punt-return ability is never a bad thing, especially considering there is no one on the roster who accomplished much in those areas last season. The re-signing of receiver Corey Coleman, an excellent kickoff returner in 2018, might help, if Coleman can stay healthy and make the team. Perhaps Judge gives the nod to use Jabrill Peppers, a feared return man in college at Michigan, more often this year.