Donald Sussman asks: Ed, with the signing of Ricard it looks like the Giants’ offense will be focused on a fullback helping the run game. But all of the roster projections have the Giants 53 man team carrying only a single fullback.
My question is what happens if Ricard gets hurt during a game? Do they need to call different plays? Is there another player on the roster that is practicing that position and could fill in? Bellinger and Chatman are gone and I don’t see an obvious backup fullback option.
Ed says: Donald, teams very rarely carry a true second fullback. Most don’t even carry one. The Giants carried two when Joe Judge was head coach in 2021, but that was only because Cullen Gillaspia was a key special teamer. He played just four offensive snaps, while Eli Penny handled the fullback duties.
Patrick Ricard will be used situationally. He won’t be on the field every time the Giants run the ball. If he gets hurt, the Giants will do what NFL teams do every week. They will adjust. Maybe Chris Manhertz or Theo Johnson would lead block out of the backfield. Maybe they would use two inline tight ends on some plays. Maybe they would use an offensive lineman in the backfield. Maybe, as you indicated, the fullback plays in the game plan would just get scrapped.
We have seen very little run game thus far, so we haven’t seen what any contingency plan might be.
Bill Michalski asks: Watching the placekicker competition on the Giants this year, I’m wondering how predictive a kicker’s college career is of their success in the NFL. One would think that of all positions it might have the strongest correlation, especially if there are 3+ years of data to demonstrate consistency. What do the numbers say? Is a “placekicking competition” in camp just a way to make bad decisions based on recency bias and a too-small sample?
Ed says: Bill, I think we can say that no college player’s career at any position is predictive with foolproof accuracy of succcess at the NFL level. What a player does in college tells you he has a chance, but does not guarantee success.
The hashmarks are different in college and the NFL. In some ways, that might make kicking in college harder because of the angles.
I also think expectations are higher in the NFL. Look at the Giants’ current kickers. Dominic Zvada made just 68% of his field-goal attempts last season, and 82.8% in his career. Zvada had two good seasons and two so-so seasons. Ben Sauls made 81.3% in college. In the NFL, those percentages make you a journeyman guy bouncing from team to team looking for opportunities.
As far as making a decision, what other way would they make it? These guys kick a few times a week beginning in the spring and going through training camp and preseason games. The guy who does the best job will win. There aren’t any All-Pro kickers on the street who would make a competition moot.
Eight placekickers were drafted from 2023-2025. The three that were drafted in 2023 — Jake Moody, Chad Ryland, and Anders Carlson — have all played for multiple teams already. Moody and Carlson for three, Ryland for two. Their college careers led teams to draft them, but their performance did not lead those teams to keep them.
Bob Donnelly asks: Jamis Winston is one of the better backup QBs in the NFL as well as a great veteran locker room leader and mentor to the developing QB. He is in the last year of his two-year contract and will be a free agent at the conclusion of this season. Should the Giants be looking to extend his contract before the ’26 season and lock him in for a few more years?
Ed says: Bob, I don’t know about getting it done before the season starts, but I absolutely believe the Giants should try to keep Winston. He and Dart have a great relationship, and he is a great veteran presence for the entire locker room.
This gives me a chance to clarify/correct something I said in Friday’s ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast. In talking about Winston around the 15:10 mark, I did not mean to imply that Winston is not a good player. He is one of the league’s best backup quarterbacks. I simply wanted to say that he is a “backup” quarterback, and you want him on the bench because you want the starter — Jaxson Dart — playing.
The LaBrees asks: If Neal is not in Giant’s plans, do you think Harbaugh will cut him early to give him a chance to catch on with another club?
Ed says: If the Giants didn’t think Evan Neal had some type of chance to make the team — or the practice squad — I don’t think he would be on the roster at all. They aren’t going to cut him to do him a favor. They have a preseason to get through, and you need extra linemen to do that. You cut him early, you have to go out and replace him on the 90-man roster to get through training camp and the preseason games. That’s counter-produc tive.
Jim Moriarty asks: I see you are keeping 3 TEs on your current roster. We had a bit of a debate regarding this on “the Feed.”
Based on everything we have heard/read, the Giants want to run a 12 offense quite a bit next year. If either Theo or Likely get hurt, what then? Manhertz is really a blocking specialist. You can keep someone on the practice squad, but he would likely put a quite a dent in your quality of play. What would your plan be to cover an injury to a starting TE?
Ed says: Jim, I kept three because — at least right now — I feel like other players are more deserving than Thomas Fidone or Tanner Conner, the two tight ends I had not making the roster. Fidone did not practice all spring, and we learned this week that he just underwent a “clean up procedure” on the foot injury that landed him on IR last year.
If you get an injury during a game, you can use Patrick Ricard to fill some of those blocking responsibilities. Or, you can go “jumbo” with an extra offensive lineman.
As for a multi-week injury, that is what the practice squad is for. You keep a couple of tight ends, probably including Fidone, on the practice squad. Elevate one if and when you have a need.
One more note about constructing a 53-man roster. Some people have a misconception that there is a “formula” teams use where they keep a designated number of players at each position. That isn’t the case. There might be a minimum number at each position, but as much as possible teams keep the players they think can help them the most and deserve to be on the roster. If that means the roster looks heavy at one position and light at another, so be it.
Dave Hollister asks: Hi Ed, I have noticed through the years that Harbaugh and Dennard Wilson have had a history of getting a lot more out of corners and safeties than a lot of other coaches have. Has anyone on staff looked into this or planned to, and what are your expectations for this group?
Ed says: Dave, we have not looked into that specifically. The idea that they both have a real understanding of defensive back play makes sense, though.
Wilson was a safety as a player. He had an NFL tryout, but never played in the league. He spent many years coaching defensive backs before becoming defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in 2024.
Harbaugh was also a safety as a player at Miami University. As a college assistant, he spent several years coaching defensive backs. He also did that under Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007.
They both know what it looks like.
As for expectations, I will be shocked if the defensive backs are not better during the upcoming season than they were a year ago. The scheme and the style are a big reason. The scheme and the style employed by Shane Bowen did not really play to the strengths of what cornerbacks like Paulson Adebo and Deonte Banks do, and often put a player like Tyler Nubin in one-on-one open-field situations that don’t suit his skill set.
Having watched the spring and had the opportunity to talk to several of the defensive coaches, this is a more aggressive scheme that makes a conscious effort to let players do what they do best.
Jonathan Lowenhar asks: I have grown to enjoy reading offseason material, likely because of the ease with which we can fantasize about the season ahead without the annoying evidence of actual games.
My unsubstantiated suspicion is that worst to first jumps typically involve at least new coaches, new quarterbacks and/or 4th place schedules. First, is that true? Second, of the teams that would qualify this year, how would you rank the Giants chances?
Ed says: Jonathan, ESPN released answered this question using its Football Power Index. FPI gave the Giants the third-best chance (the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints were 1-2).
Do I think it’s possible for the Giants to go from worst-to-first? Absolutely. Do I expect them to go from worst-to-first? Absolutely not.
Until somebody proves otherwise, the Philadelphia Eagles are the best team in the division. They won the NFC East three of the past four years, and went to the Super Bowl twice, winning it once. The Dallas Cowboys are always talented. On paper, they are better than a year ago. The Washington Commanders start the year with a healthy Jayden Daniels, and they were really good when Daniels was healthy in 2024.
The Giants should be better. Are they ready to knock off the big boys around the league? We won’t know that until we see it.
Jeff Faulkner asks: How do I ask this question without sounding like an old man? In recent past regimes when I would watch a clip of practice or drills I would hear loud music being blasted on the field. In the limit clips I’ve seen recently I haven’t heard that with Harbs (maybe I’ve just missed it). Is that something you’ve noticed? I always was annoyed by it…I grew up with music in my car, my headphones and my room…I feel it’s unnecessary blaring it during practice etc…weight room, fine but when being coached and trying to hone a skill or learn a play it seemed very distracting.
Ed says: Jeff, you do sound like an old man! But, I am an old man, too, and I will admit that some of what I have heard blasting through those practice field speakers has been offensive to me. Personally, I find it all unnecessary.
I do, though, understand these athletes are from a different generation and the music is something they are accustomed to. With John Harbaugh, there is much less music — and much less offensive music.
What generally has happened at practice is that there has been no music for the opening portions of practice. Eventually, there is music but it is much more “muted” than what we have heard in the past. Harbaugh is 63. I’m 66. My guess from the music I have been hearing is that the daily playlist is controlled by Harbaugh rather than the players. I actually know most of the songs that are played!
Michael Barondes asks: Fans are always clamoring to move poorly performing offensive tackles to the guard position. I’m thinking of Flowers, Neal, and Ezeudu. Do you have the share the impression that they are reluctant to groom Ezeudu to be mainly a guard (albeit with positional versatility)? If so, why?
Ed says: Michael, the Josh Ezeudu question is one that fans have had for years. Me, too. Yet, two head coaches (Brian Daboll and John Harbaugh) and three offensive line coaches (Bobby Johnson, Carmen Bricillo, Mike Bloomgren) have insisted that Ezeudu is a tackle with guard flexibility.
I talked to Bloomgren about Ezeudu the other day, and he seemed very happy with what he has seen from Ezeudu at right tackle this spring. It’s clear that people who know a lot more about offensive line play and football in general than I do believe Ezeudu has the athleticism and ability to play tackle, at least on the right side.
The reality is that good tackles are harder to find than good guards, simply because of the athleticism and other physical traits that are required to succeed on the outside. Coaches never want to give up on a guy if they think he can be a capable tackle. The new Giants’ staff, like the old one, thinks Ezeudu has the ability to do that.
Despite my reservations. And yours.
Doug Mollin asks: What is your optimal OL outcome to start the season? Who are the starters and who are the reserves?
I’m going be a little bold (crazy) and say I’d like to see: Thomas, Neal, JMS, Mauigoa, Elu with Mbow, Patrick, Davis, Faalele and if they keep a 10th, Schernecke.
Obviously that assumes Neal beats out Runyan. Run game is helped and fingers crossed on pass blocking. I put the odds on that actually happening at 10% but if we’re dreaming, why not.
Ed says: Doug, I’m just going to refer to the 53-man roster projection I posted Friday morning. Here is what I predicted:
Offensive line (9) — Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, Sisi Mauigoa, Jermaine Eluemunor, Marcus Mbow, Daniel Faalele, Lucas Patrick, J.C. Davis
Based on what we saw this spring, here are a couple of other things I think are possible:
- If anybody beats out Runyan, it is likely to be Faalele. He is the only player besides Runyan who took any first-team left guard reps this spring, and that was only a handful during one practice. Neal was with the third team, and barely got on the field during most practices. Maybe he did, but I can’t recall Neal even getting second-team reps.
- If there is a 10th lineman, my money is on Josh Ezeudu. As I indicated above, I think the coaching staff has more belief in Ezeudu than the fan base. He worked as the second-team right tackle all spring, except when he sat out a few of the OTAs due to an apparent elbow issue. The Giants might try to pass Davis through to the practice squad, but I wonder if they will want to risk losing him via waivers. I like Schernecke, but I think he is ticketed for the practice squad.
Tim Byer asks: West Virginia will be a novel experience I know, but what is training camp in July going to be like for the everyday fan who shows up to watch? I am very much considering attending. Are the fans grouped in bleachers or stadiums to watch practice each day, separate from media? I’m also curious if media and various team staff end up congregating at bars or restaurants at night?
Ed says: Tim, I don’t know what the experience is going to be like for fans. We don’t have any details yet on fan accommodations during practice. All we know is that practices are “expected” to be open to the public.
I don’t know what camp is going to be like for me, either. This will be a new experience for me, spending two weeks away from my family in a place where I have never been.
As for the social part of it, all I know is that media members who used to stay in Albany (near where I live) for camp have told me they would run into players in the evening at restaurants, malls, etc.
Marc Koblentz asks: I’m concerned that Jaxson Dart’s celebrity, which he clearly seeks, is outpacing his development and maturity as a quarterback. I don’t want to see him turn into a modern-day Joe Namath. Does the coaching staff and front office share these concerns? Are they telling him to tone down his off-the-field activities? I’m all for freedom of speech and expression, but each time I see him turn up on page 6, I wish he’d spend his off-time studying the playbook and working on his football technique rather than hanging out with the celebs and visiting hotspots. More like Eli, less like Broadway Joe. Are my concerns overblown?
Ed says: Marc, Dart is entitled to live his life the way he wants to live it. Does he live it the way I would live it? Or, the way Phil Simms and Eli Manning lived their while quarterbacking the Giants? No. It’s a different generation, and to an extent some of what we see with Dart is just the way young men with means and opportunity choose to live their lives now.
Do I wish it was different, and that he would stay out of the public eye and the non-football headlines more? Sure, I do. This idea that he should spend every minute of his off-time in the playbook or working on his footwork is silly. Do any of us spend every minute of our lives doing our jobs? No. We all have lives. We all do things with our families, or to just relax. Athletes aren’t any different. They need down time, too.
As for Joe Namath, I think that’s a bad example. Yes, he was one of the first to be a real media celebrity while he was playing, but he won a Super Bowl and is in the Hall of Fame. So, none of that hurt his career.
Dart loves football. He loves to compete. He works at his craft. I don’t believe that part will ever be an issue.
Richard Norato asks: Just curious as a media person, do you keep track of other people’s published predictions as to how a team player or coach will perform prior to the start of the season? I don’t usually see tallies at the end of a season as to how accurate the predictions were or weren’t. (Except for game by game wins or losses as a season plays out). Is it professional courtesy to just let bad predictions go? Or fear that pointing out some one else’s bad prognostications could come back to haunt.
Ed says: Richard, I don’t personally keep track in any sort of formal way. I will note them in my head, and when others makes roster projections I do read and study them to see if they are wildly different than what I think, or if they have perhaps noticed something I did not see. I do the same with practice reports. It’s good to read the other reporters because we all have slightly different vantage points, and we may not all be looking at the same things every minute of practice.
In terms of record projections, I don’t even have to read these guys anymore. I know them all well enough to know which ones will predict terrible records, and which ones will lean toward being optimistic.
All of thart said, Patty Traina of Giants on SI is a good friend. She and I both posted 53-man roster projections on Friday. I got a kick out of the fact the only difference between her prediction and mine is that she had tight end Thomas Fidone as the 53rd player. I have linebacker Darius Muasau.
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Have a Giants-related question? E-mail it to bigblueview@gmail.com and it might be featured in our weekly mailbag.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: So many of you responded to my Friday morning plea for questions that I couldn’t possibly get to them all without making this a 6,000-word post. It’s already 3,400 words. A lot of good questions have been left out. I will try to do a video mailbag on YouTube and answer as many as I can. If I don’t get to that, some of what was sent will be used next week.]
