#Giants’ Nate Solder, B.J. Hill and Wayne Gallman must step it up

Longevity and the NFL are not brethren.

The call letters for the league do not mean Not For Long, but the sentiment is clear and evident to anyone involved in the most brutal sport of them all. Careers come and go, contracts are not guaranteed and players at times enter the scene and make their exit with little fanfare and far too much haste.

Keeping hold of a spot on the roster is usually aided by how highly drafted a player is, but there are no extended free passes. One down season is cause for alarm and two of them, coming in successive years, is enough to grease the skids for an ouster. Add in the presence of a new coaching staff and the urgency to impress now, not later, increases exponentially.

Here are three Giants holding onto their jobs and their place on the roster:

Nate Solder, offensive tackle

There is this thing about players and their ages. Before they are 25 or so, including their age when referring to them is a positive. They are “only’’ 24, projecting plenty of potential left to unearth. Once they hit 30, the age might as well be an albatross, as far as identifying them. As in: “The Giants selected Andrew Thomas, 21, in the first round of the NFL draft (this is good for Thomas) as the eventual replacement for Nate Solder, 32 (this is ominous for Solder).”

Solder is entering his 10th NFL season and his first two with the Giants were not great. Not at all. He was serviceable in 2018 and less than that in 2019, when he allowed 11 sacks — only two players were beaten for more. The Giants have been patient with Solder, a tremendous human being who is durable and reliable. He needs to play significantly better, though. His contract extends through 2021, but it is almost inconceivable he finishes that out unless he upgrades his performance.

B.J. Hill, defensive tackle

The encouraging signs from Hill as a rookie in 2018 made it vogue to suggest he was a steal of a draft pick, arriving in the third round out of North Carolina State. The dreary signs from Hill following last season put him squarely on the hot seat. Is he a significant part of the defensive line rotation or just passing through?

Hard to tell. He started 12 games as a rookie and had 5.5 sacks, more than the Giants expected out of him and giving real hope that he would develop into a consistent pass-rusher. Hill is an interior lineman and that push from the middle of the line was outstanding. The same coaching staff enamored with Hill soured on him in 2019, when he started only five games and managed to get only one sack. His effectiveness against the run actually improved, according to Pro Football Focus, but his opportunities declined, as the drafting of Dexter Lawrence and trade for Leonard Williams severely cut into Hill’s playing time.

At 25, Hill needs to show new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham that he deserves to shoehorn his way onto the field, even with Williams, Lawrence and Dalvin Tomlinson available.

Wayne Gallman, running back

The roster overhaul did not leave the Giants with many older veterans hanging onto their livelihoods. Gallman, 26, is a young veteran and this is a year of decision for him. The arrow is pointing down, but that does not mean it has to stay that way.

There was nothing wrong with Gallman. He arrived in the fourth round out of Clemson with a championship pedigree, and as a rookie he rushed for 476 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. Perfectly acceptable. The Giants did not expect greatness out of him; they thought he could be a solid complementary back.

In his second year, Gallman was usurped by Saquon Barkley and, for all intents and purposes, that was that. His rushing attempts went from 111 to 51 to 29 and by last season he was an afterthought. It was a tough break that after he received his big chance — running for one touchdown and catching a pass for another — in a rare starting assignment subbing for the injured Barkley in a victory over Washington, Gallman suffered a concussion the very next game, curtailing his opportunity while Barkley was out. The Giants signed Dion Lewis as a veteran to back up Barkley and Gallman must find a way to convince new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to give him the ball once in a while.