The New York Giants enter the final stretch of their offseason program, with mandatory minicamp from Monday June 8 through Wednesday, June 10. Intensity will ramp up with practices of 2½ hours set for the first two days. Here is a look at how the team’s rookie class has done so far, and what we might look for going forward.
DRAFT PICKS
LB Arvell Reese (Round 1, No. 5)
Reese, 6-foot-4, 243 pounds, and Tremaine Edmunds, 6-4, 251, look like hulking monsters aligned in the middle of the Giants’ defense.
Reese’s athleticism, instincts, range, ability
to be an effective blitzer, and potential in coverage have all been on display.
G Francis Mauigoa (Round 1, No. 10)
It is really impossible to gain any real insight into offensive line play in non-contact, unpadded practices. What is noticeable about Mauigoa is that he looks comfortable, and he certainly isn’t intimidated.
“Sisi, he just wants to learn,” said veteran offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor. “He asks a bunch of questions. He’ll watch film, he’ll ask me a question about this, or a set and he’ll ask for my opinion and be talking to (Jon) Runyan, be talking to (John Michael) Schmitz but he’s also a really confident guy. Also, a really hard worker and doesn’t take BS from anyone.
“A lot of the times when me and (outside linebacker Brian) Burns are going at it and he’s sliding out to him, he’s not afraid to get in Burns face or get in (outside linebacker) Abdul’s (Carter) face. And let them know that when we put in pads on and like if it was a game, he would be waiting for him right there, waiting for him to spin back inside so he can smack him. It’s like that young-guy energy that you kind of feed off.”
CB Colton Hood (Round 2, No. 37)
Hood might eventually work his way into the mix with the starters, but his snaps throughout OTAs were almost all with the second team. He did knock down a couple of passes.
WR Malachi Fields (Round 3, No. 74)
The 6-foot-4, 222-pound third-round pick has shown potential as a red zone and as a player who could help Jaxson Dart in the middle of the field. OTA practices are non-contact workout without pads, so we have to see how things go when practices are padded and cornerbacks are allowed to be physical with receivers.
So far, so good for Fields. Without Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton practicing, Fields has been working with the starters.
DT Bobby Jamison-Travis (Round 6, No. 186)
Jamison-Travis worked as the second-team nose tackle behind D.J. Reader during OTAs. It looks like the Giants are giving the 6-3, 328-pound Jamison-Travis every chance to earn regular playing time.
OT J.C. Davis (Round 6, No. 192)
Davis, thought to have guard versatility, worked at left tackle during OTAs. It will be interesting to see if the Giants begin to move him around as he settles in.
LB Jack Kelly (Round 6, No. 193)
Kelly has been working with the second and third groups. Can he earn enough trust to push Micah McFadden or Darius Muasau off the roster?
UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS
RB Damon Bankston
There was very little running game and no kickoff return during OTAs, so it was hard to get an impression of Bankston. Still, there were some flashes of speed. He will be interesting to watch during minicamp and training camp.
DTs Anquin Barnes, Ben Barten
I put these players together because, like the offensive line, defensive line play is difficult to gauge without pads. The Giants have added a number of players at defensive tackle, but they have not exactly accumulated a Murderor’s Row at the position. So, both might have a chance.
CB Thaddeus Dixon
Dixon’s chance to make the team ended before it really began when he tore an Achilles tendon. That was unfortunate because Dixon plays a position where the depth is unsettled.
LS Ben Mann
The Giants cleared a path for Mann to earn the job as their long snapper by cutting veteran snapper Zach Triner. From what we were able to see in OTAs, Mann looked solid. That, of course, does not mean the Giants are giving him the job and won’t bring in veteran competition.
RT Ryan Schernecke
A Division II player out of Kutztown, Schernecke was working as the second-team right tackle during the last two OTAs media had access to. Josh Ezeudu did not appear to be practicing, leaving an opening for Schernecke.
PK Dominic Zvada
The fact that the Giants cut veteran kicker Jason Sanders increased Zvada’s chance of opening the season as the team’s kicker. He and Ben Sauls are now in a mano-a-mano competition. We never saw Zvada kick in OTAs as the three practices media saw fell on days where it was not his turn to kick.
