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By Matt Lombardo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Giants are just 19 days away from opening the 2018 NFL season against the Jacksonville Jaguars at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 9, and with several position battles already decided, the starting lineup is starting to take shape.

Quarterback Eli Manning, rookie running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and tight end Evan Engram form one of the more dynamic and explosive collections of skill position players in the league while a new defensive scheme looks to maximize the skill-sets of Landon Collins, Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon, and Alec Ogletree on defense.

Here's a look at what the Giants' starting lineup would look like if the regular season began today:

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OFFENSE:

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Quarterback - Eli Manning

Every move the Giants have made this offseason has been with the intention of making a playoff push with the 37-year-old two-time Super Bowl MVP at quarterback. Manning looks to leverage an improved supporting cast in moving past his worst statistical season since 2013.

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Giants position battles: Who won? Which new ones emerged during camp?

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Running Back - Saquon Barkley

The Giants chose Barkley No. 2 overall in April's NFL Draft to add a dynamic multi-dimentionsonal running back to Manning's arsenal with the hopes that he can become an immediate focal point of the offense. In three collegiate seasons at Penn State, Barkley averaged 5.7 yards per carry, 11.7 yards per reception, and scored 51 touchdowns.

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Wide Receiver - Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham is returning from a shattered right ankle suffered in Week 5 last season, and in search of a new contract extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. The impact Beckham, and his 14.1 yards per reception average has on the Giants' offense was certainly felt in his absence last season. Expect a healthy Beckham to do wonders for the production of Barkley, tight end Evan Engram, and slot receiver Sterling Shepard.

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Wide Receiver - Sterling Shepard

Sterling Shepard is one of the NFL's premier slot receivers, and is entering his third season which is when NFL wide receivers typically hit their stride. Through his first two seasons, Shepard has averaged 62 catches for 707 yards and five touchdowns. Don't be surprised if his production balloons with an improved supporting cast around him this season.

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Wide Receiver - Cody Latimer

Latimer has taken nearly ever first-team rep this offseason, and seems to have developed a nice rapport with Manning, particularly during spring OTA and minicamp practices when Beckham was unavailable. A former second-round pick of the Denver Broncos, the Giants are hoping that Latimer reaches his potential in a new offense with a change of scenery.

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Is shakeup coming for Giants' starting kickoff return job?

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The Giants signed Solder to a four-year contract worth $62 million that includes $34.8 million guaranteed, both to anchor the offensive line as well as provide steady veteran leadership at a position that was severely lacking it last season.

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Left Guard - Will Hernandez

The Giants chose Will Hernandez with the No. 35 overall pick in the second round of the NFL Draft, to pair with Solder with the hopes of building a dominant left side of the offensive line. A nasty road-grader in the running game, Hernandez plays with an attitude that likely will make him popular among his teammates, but annoy his opponents.

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Center - Jon Halapio

The battle for the starting center job between Jon Halapio and Brett Jones never really developed this summer. Halapio has taken a vast majority of first-team reps, started both preseason games, and has been as steady as they come all summer in the center of the offensive line.

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Right Guard - Patrick Omameh

The Giants signed Patrick Omameh this offseason, after losing out on free agent prize Andrew Norwell to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Omameh has been wildly inconsistent all summer against the Giants' front-seven, and will need to play at a high-level alongside Ereck Flowers, who is making a position change.

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Ereck Flowers fires back at Ben McAdoo's criticism

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Right Tackle - Ereck Flowers

The Giants showed just how confident they are that Ereck Flowers can bounce back from a season in which he allowed a career-worst 6.5 sacks in 2017, by signing Solder and moving him to right tackle. Flowers will likely be motivated to have a big season to cash in on a contract in free agency next offseason after the Giants declined his fifth-year option this spring.

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Tight End - Evan Engram

Evan Engram burst onto the scene and was a statistical top-five tight end in the league when he caught 64 passes for 722 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie. A dynamic pass-catcher, Engram has a chance to see his production increase exponentially, particularly in the red zone, with all of the attention likely paid to Beckham and Barkley. The challenge for Engram is if he can become a more complete tight end and improve on his blocking, which has been a bit of a struggle.

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AD5!

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DE - B.J. Hill

The Giants' third-round pick in the NFL Draft has been entrenched as one of the starting defensive ends since late in the spring, and looks more and more every day in practice like he is going to be a handful for opposing offensive tackles.

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We talking 'bout practice? Ranking Giants' best practice players

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NT - Damon Harrison

Damon Harrison was a first-team All-Pro in 2016, and is looking to thrive returning to his role as a 3-4 nose tackle where he was a standout for the Jets. Last season, Harrison posted 76 tackles with 1.5 sacks.

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DE - Dalvin Tomlinson

As a rookie out of Alabama last season, Tomlinson showed that he can be a steady contributor along the defensive line by registering 50 tackles and 1.0 sack. Moving to a 3-4 should help boost Tomlinson's production off the edge.

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OLB - Olivier Vernon

The Giants' decision to move Olivier Vernon from defensive end to full-time pass-rushing outside linebacker could hold the key to just how dominant this defense has the chance to be in 2018. Vernon has 15 sacks over the past two seasons, but when healthy has the chance to be a dominant two-way defender equally stout against the run as he is flying after the quarterback off the edge.

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ILB - Alec Ogletree

The Giants acquired veteran Alec Ogletree in an offseason trade with the Rams to provide both veteran leadership on defense as well as improve the tackling in the linebacking corps. Ogletree has looked shaky in coverage against running backs throughout the summer and preseason, but might be the Giants' best pure-tackling linebacker in years.

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Ranking the Giants' best position groups

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ILB - B.J. Goodson

Goodson is a heavy-hitter in the center of the Giants' defense, who does a nice job getting into the backfield and making plays against the run or pressuring the passer. After a strong sophomore season with 53 tackles, he looks to benefit from playing in the middle alongside Ogletree.

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OLB - Kareem Martin

The Giants signed Kareem Martin largely for his familiarity with coordinator James Bettcher's system, and he has taken a bulk of the first-team snaps. However, look for rookie Lorenzo Carter to potentially steal this job as the third-round pick has consistently made plays in the backfield and drawn praise from the coaching staff.

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CB - Janoris Jenkins

Jenkins was named a second-team All-Pro in 2016, and is the Giants' best cornerback. If the Giants' pass-rush improves exponentially, Jenkins has a chance to best his career-high four interceptions this season.

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CB - Eli Apple

Eli Apple has struggled to live up to the billing of a first-round draft pick, but has made some nice plays this summer, including an interception returned for a touchdown off Lions backup quarterback Jake Rudok last week in Detroit. The Giants are counting on Apple to improve, and take advantage of the clean-slate offered to him by a new staff.

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SS - Landon Collins

A case can be made that Landon Collins is the Giants' best all around defensive player. Look for Bettcher and the Giants to use Collins both in deep-coverage, as well as up near the line of scrimmage against the run or as a pass rusher in a "money backer" type of role this season.

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FS - Curtis Riley

In what was supposed to be one of the more heated position battles of the summer, Curtis Riley appears to have a stranglehold on the starting free safety job, after spending the past two weeks with the first-team defense. There's still a chance that Darian Thompson or Michael Thomas could steal this job, but it's looking more and more likely that this is Riley's job to lose.

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Nickel Cornerback - B.W. Webb

For the past two weeks, B.W. Webb has consistently taken the first-team practice reps in the slot, and got the starting nod against the Lions.

"I want them to know it's not sweet out there," Webb told NJ Advance Media. "I'm out here working. I'm going to get my hand on the ball, whether that be a pick, a PBU (pass break-up), anything. As a corner and nickel, that's big."

Webb played in 49 games with 10 starts from 2013-16 but didn't add to either total last season. He was released after injuring his hamstring in the preseason with the Bears and wound up on the bench for the final three games of an 0-16 season with the Browns.

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Kicker - Aldrick Rosas

Rosas' 55-yard field goal that he made against the Detroit Lions should solidify his place as the Giants' starting kicker heading into the season.

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Here's how Eli Manning relates to younger teammates

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Pat Shurmur's long-time friends explain why Giants are lucky to have him (Plus, great old photos of him)

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Punter - Riley Dixon

The Giants traded a conditional seventh-round NFL Draft choice to the Denver Broncos for Dixon back in April, and he'll open the season as the Giants' punter.

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Long-Snapper - Zak DeOssie

Zak DeOssie's reign as the Giants' long-snapper continues.

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TALK IS CHEAP PODCAST:

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HOW TO REACH ME:

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoNFL

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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