Where would they be without them?

Not sitting at 5-1, that’s for sure.

There are layers to an NFL roster. When a team is losing, those layers are exposed as too thin, too weak, almost as if the roster is a tree with sick roots. The Giants are not losing. And the strong layers of support underneath the season’s first six weeks reveal why.

It is easy to see the thick branches at the top end of the Giants’ roster: Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones and Andrew Thomas leading the charge on offense; Dexter Lawrence, Julian Love, Adoree’ Jackson, Xavier McKinney, Leonard Williams and the  emerging Kayvon Thibodeaux on defense. Flourishing from that base is a hearty line of contributions from rookies Evan Thomas and Daniel Bellinger and Dane Belton, along with a recent surfacing of Wan’Dale Robinson. And then there are the new grafts taking hold, players such as Mark Glowinski, the team’s biggest-ticket signing in free agency, stabilizing the right guard spot. Or Jihad Ward, a veteran brought in because of his familiarity with Wink Martindale’s defense. Jamie Gillan was a raw, but talented young punter from the Browns.