NY Giants news: Malik Nabers takes step forward

Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are the stories you need to know about after Day 14 of Giants training camp. Who is the Giants’ top performer so far at camp? | ESPN.com TE Isaiah Likely. The offseason acquisition has been the Giants’ No. 1 receiver with Malik Nabers not participating in tea

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What is the story about?

Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are the stories you need to know about after Day 14 of Giants training camp.

Who is the Giants’ top performer so far at camp? | ESPN.com

TE Isaiah Likely. The offseason acquisition has been the Giants’ No. 1 receiver with Malik Nabers not participating in team drills. He’s been quarterback Jaxson Dart’s safety net, leading all first-team receivers in catches by a wide margin. “Zay’s done a great job,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said.

The way Likely smoothly gets in and out of breaks has just looked different from

incumbent starter Theo Johnson. He also seems to have the best handle on the new offense given his familiarity with coach John Harbaugh and senior offensive assistant Greg Roman from Baltimore. Given the way Dart likes to throw to his tight ends, it suggests that Likely is in for a breakout season given the chemistry they already have developed.

Harbaugh on preseason playing time

The somewhat awkward position battle unfolding at Giants camp | New York Post

Jason Pinnock hasn’t reacquired his old No. 27 jersey number from his former protégé Tyler Nubin, but he has begun to steal away some starting safety snaps. Pinnock and Nubin are close enough friends that they are invited to each other’s baby showers — and Nubin to Pinnock’s upcoming wedding — but that doesn’t mean the battle for playing time is not intense. Quite the opposite, actually.

The Giants listed Nubin and Holland as starters and Pinnock and Washington as backups on their first unofficial depth chart. Holland’s place is secure, while Nubin has gone from the beneficiary of early quiet praise from Harbaugh to rocky footing. “That’s my brother,” Pinnock said, “[but] this is what comes with the sport. We’re on each other. We’re probably each other’s biggest competitor, and we’re on each other’s ass. It just is what it is.”

Do Giants need reinforcements at RB, or can Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr. carry the load? | The Athletic

Last year, the Giants finished 18th in yards per carry (4.3), 25th in rushing success rate and 16th in explosive run rate. However, some of the heavy lifting in those numbers was done by quarterback Jaxson Dart, who rushed for 487 yards and nine scores last season. When you remove QB runs, the Giants fell to 25th in yards per carry (4.0), 27th in rushing success rate and 20th in explosive run rate.

Those numbers beg the question: Do the Giants have the necessary components to be as effective on the ground as they want to be?

From idol to teammate: New York Giants players in awe of Odell Beckham Jr. | USAToday.com

“I think as a player, he’s still the same caliber player, but I’ve never been around him in a building,” said Winston. “I only knew him as this football icon, the guy that made one-handed catches, and if you put the ball in his hand, he was going to make a play.

“But to see him being the teammate that he is — it’s very funny seeing he and Malachi (Fields). Because Malachi — most of the young guys — they’re Odell Beckham Jr. fans. It’s true. Jalin Hyatt got 13 because he’s an Odell Beckham Jr. fan. So, it’s fun to see him putting the past in the past and focusing on getting better every day.”

Giants’ John Harbaugh pushes back on ‘way overblown’ narrative | NJ.com

So what does Harbaugh think of the notion that he could wear down the Giants by conducting this sort of camp?

“I feel like it’s just football practice,” he said, adding that he wants players who love football. “So these practices out here, I think it’s way overblown about how hard they are. They’re good, crisp, sharp, efficient practices. We’re chasing the fundamentals. We’re trying to understand situations. We’re trying to build our systems out, so we can execute under pressure and be our best. That’s what we’re working toward.”

Mike Lupica: It’s no regular preseason game for John Harbaugh, Giants | New York Daily News

Whatever the Giants are going to be — and whether or not they can be what they once were — all begins on Saturday afternoon against the Vikings. Preseason game or not. This is where the John Harbaugh Era begins, with the new coach under more pressure on his way through the door as any Giants coach has ever faced.

Whether or not Dart is on the field Saturday, Giants fans will let Harbaugh know — long and loud — just how happy they are that he is on that field…Then Harbaugh hit the open market. The Giants needed someone exactly like him so much they probably would have thrown in naming rights to the big, ugly gray bowl if he’d asked for that. And from the day he was hired, he really has been swept along by the sound of applause. Giants fans don’t just want Harbaugh on that wall. They need him on that wall. Sometimes even the first preseason game feels as if it matters. It’s because of how much Giants fans want their team to matter again.