Youth may be wasted on the young, but it is not wasted around the Giants.

All the evidence needed to reinforce that this franchise is going through an extended period of rebuilding can be seen with the way the 2019 draft class has been utilized. It is a 10-player class and already, after only six games, six of the drafted rookies have NFL starts on their résumés.

This is either splendid or suspect. Getting rookies on the field is not necessarily an earned assignment. Sometimes it is a sign the roster is devoid of enough proven, experienced talent. Sometimes it is an indication of superior maturity and readiness. Sometimes is it by design, other times out of desperation.

It is all of this with the Giants.

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, the No. 17 overall pick, is the only member of the class to start from Day 1. Cornerback DeAndre Baker, selected at No. 30 after the Giants traded up into the first round to get him, was moved into the starting lineup as quickly as Week 2. That was no surprise. Ryan Connelly, a fifth-round pick, also started the second game of the season, at inside linebacker, and would still be there had he not suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament that landed him on injured reserve.

It took two games, both losses with Eli Manning as the quarterback, before the move was made to No. 6-overall pick Daniel Jones, far and away the most prominent rookie on the team.

Outside linebacker Oshane Ximines, a third-round pick, got promoted to a starting role against the Vikings when Lorenzo Carter, a budding second-year player, was out with a neck issue. With Carter back, Ximines did not start Thursday night against the Patriots, but Ximines did play 52 of the 82 snaps on defense and is part of the rotation in a big way.

Wide receiver Darius Slayton became the sixth rookie draft pick to find his way into the starting lineup when he was on the field at the start of the 35-14 loss at Gillette Stadium. Sterling Shepard’s second concussion in five weeks opened a spot, which could have been filled by veteran Cody Latimer. It was not, and it is clear Slayton, a fifth-round pick from Auburn, is now the No. 3 receiver, behind only Shepard and Golden Tate.

Two other rookies, safety Julian Love (fourth round) and cornerback Corey Ballentine (sixth round) are making smaller strides forward. Ballentine has emerged as the primary kickoff returner and is a core member of several special-teams units. Love has been slower to come around, but he did get his first (and only) snap on defense in the loss to the Patriots.

Two seventh-round picks, offensive lineman George Asafo-Adjei and defensive lineman Chris Slayton, are not in the picture. Asafo-Adjei is spending the season on injured reserve and Slayton is on the practice squad.

Putting so much inexperience on the field means the Giants are hanging on for a thrill ride with no harness.

Jones’ development is out in the open for all to see.

Baker struggled terribly in his first two games, looking not at all ready to embrace and excel in NFL pass coverage. The coaching staff stuck with him and Baker, although far from lockdown in any sense, is showing signs of the player he was at Georgia. He played 79 of the 82 defensive snaps against the Patriots and was not bad at all.

Slayton adds a speed dimension and looks like a keeper.

Lawrence is intriguing. His workload increases every game, as does his imprint on the defense. As an interior lineman, Lawrence is not going to live on the edge in any way, shape or form. At 342 pounds, he is always one of the largest players in the game and learning how to use his big body is an ongoing challenge. He played 76 percent of the defensive snaps at Foxborough, his highest total to date.

Rookies on the defensive line usually take time to figure it out. It seems Lawrence is ahead of the usual learning curve.

“Yeah, it’s unusual but then when you think about it, he was a first-round pick, with what he did in college,’’ veteran linebacker Markus Golden said. “With Big Dex, everybody expected him to come in and do what he is doing, he has been every bit of what everybody said he would be. He has come in here and been disruptive every play, that’s just every day. Not even just in the game, he does it in practice every day. I have a lot of respect for Big Dex. I expect him to keep on helping the team win.’’