EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The 2023 Giants took to the field together in front of reporters for the first time Thursday. Draft picks and veteran recruits finally joined the core that propelled the Giants into the playoffs last season in OTA practice.
Here are observations and notes from Thursday:
participation
As always, it must be noted that OTAs are voluntary. Additionally, a player’s mere absence on Thursday doesn’t mean he skipped the entire offseason schedule. And it’s possible some absent players were at the facility recovering from an injury.
However, these players were not seen Thursday: RB Saquon Barkley, CB Nick McCloud, DL A’Shawn Robinson, DL Vernon Butler, DL Dexter Lawrence, DL DJ Davidson and DL Leonard Williams.
Barkley is not currently under contract and as such cannot participate in any team activities until he either signs his franchise tag tender or agrees to an extension. Lawrence hinted he probably wouldn’t fully participate in the offseason program after signing his four-year, $90 million contract extension on May 4. Davidson tore his cruciate ligament last October, so he’s still recovering from the injury.
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injury report
Wide receiver David Sills landed hard when he caught a deep pass down the sideline from quarterback Tyrod Taylor late in practice. It was obvious that the apparent rib injury was causing Sills severe pain.
The coaches immediately took care of Sills while Taylor, quarterback Daniel Jones, wide receiver Darius Slayton and tight end Lawrence Cager came across the field to check on their teammate. Sills finally left the field cautiously in sneakers.
WR Wan’Dale Robinson, WR Sterling Shepard, WR Makai Polk, OL Tire Phillips, OL Marcus McKethan, OLB Elerson Smith, ILB Darrian Beavers, CB Aaron Robinson, S Jason Pinnock, S Dane Belton and S Trenton Thompson worked alongside coaches during of training.
Robinson (ACL), Shepard (ACL), McKethan (ACL), Smith (Achilles), Beavers (ACL) and Robinson (ACL) suffered serious injuries last season so they are likely still in the rehab process. Coach Brian Daboll didn’t provide details on the players working on the team, but the Giants were extremely cautious about handling injured players last season so that approach is likely to continue.
WR Collin Johnson (Achilles), OL Shane Lemieux (toe) and OL Josh Ezeudu (neck) attended practice after finishing last season on injured reserve.
observations
• The competitive phases were strictly seven-on-seven mode, as players are not wearing their full pads and contact is prohibited in OTAs. These offensive-friendly ground rules must be considered when evaluating an exceptionally good day for the quarterbacks.
Jones completed 19 of 20 passes, with his only miss coming on an exit to tight end Daniel Bellinger. Taylor completed 15 of 17 passes, with one of his incompletions due to the Sills injury – the receiver went wide. Third street quarterback Tommy DeVito completed 11 of 13 passes.
What was special about Jones’ performance was that he didn’t just score with short passes. He aired it, highlighted by a bomb hit on Darren Waller in the first snap of the day. Waller got a big lead behind slot cornerback Darnay Holmes, who slipped in cover.
Waller made a strong first impression with four catches from Jones. He added another long catch against Holmes, noting that defenders were instructed not to aggressively deny deep balls to avoid collisions like the one that injured Sills.
Not surprisingly, Jones’ favorite target was Slayton, who made six catches. Slayton beat new cornerback Amani Oruwariye for a good finish, then made three straight catches in the lone period where the offense drove the ball around the field in game-like conditions. Slayton capped that drive with a touchdown catch in the back of the endzone, with Oruwariye and safety Bobby McCain the closest defenders in cover.
Free agent wide receiver Parris Campbell worked underneath to intercept three passes from Jones.
Tight end Lawrence Cager hit slot cornerback Cor’Dale Flott wide but had to slow down to catch an underthrown pass from Taylor. Like last summer, before he tore his Achilles tendon, Johnson was a volume receiver. He made two catches from Jones passes and three more from Taylor passes, mostly on curl routes that allowed the 1.8m tall, 220-pounder player to use his size to fend off defenders.
• Second-round pick John Michael Schmitz was the first-team center. Jones gave Schmitz the OK to proceed with the “dead snap technique he used in college.”
“He’s right,” Jones said. “I’m fine with it.”
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• Flott, acting as second-team cornerback, made a nice stop on a short pass from Taylor to wide receiver Jamison Crowder. Rookie safety Gervarrius Owens nearly intercepted DeVito on a dangerous pass to tight end Ryan Jones.
• It was interesting that first-round pick Deonte Banks was in the second-team defence. It’s not like Daboll has a policy of getting top draft picks to work their way up the depth chart.
Schmitz was the first-team center while last year’s first-round picks Kayvon Thibdoeaux and Evan Neal started Day 1 of the OTAs. It shouldn’t take long for Banks to overtake Amani Oruwariye, but it was a surprise to see the first-rounder with the second-rounders.
• A number of defensive players have green dots on their helmets, indicating who is receiving direction from coordinator Wink Martindale. Safety Xavier McKinney, who carried that responsibility until his hand injury last season, was one of the players to carry the green dot.
Martindale has preferred using safeties as defensive signallers, but free agent linebacker Bobby Okereke also wore a green dot Thursday. The Giants will likely wait until just before the season to make a decision on who will wear the green dot.
Linebacker Micah McFadden and safety Alex Cook also wore green dots on Thursday.
• Slayton, Crowder, Holmes, WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Jaydon Mickens, WR Kalil Pimpleton and CB Adoree’ Jackson were the punt returners during practice. It will certainly concern some that Jackson is still returning punts despite sustaining a knee injury in the role last season.
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The Giants need to find a new returnee in free agency following the departure of Richie James. Mickens, who has extensive returnee experience, was first in line for Thursday’s drills. The problem is that unless his ability to return is highly valued, Mickens faces a steep rise to a squad spot. Crowder also has extensive experience as a returner, but as a receiver he offers more.
• Matt Breida served as personal protector on the punt team. That’s an important role that Julian Love took on last season. McCain and Sills were also given representatives as personal protectors.
• Kicker Graham Gano hit 9-for-9 on his field goal attempts. Veteran Casey Kreiter was the long snapper on all nine attempts. The Giants made Kreiter more competitive this season by signing undrafted rookie Cam Lyons.
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depth map
Before we take a look, keep in mind that some positions have frequent player rotations and I don’t record the roster for every play, so you may not see all names listed.
First team offense: QB Daniel Jones, RB Matt Breida, WR Darius Slayton, WR Parris Campbell, WR Isaiah Hodgins, TE Darren Waller, LT Andrew Thomas, LG Ben Bredeson, C John Michael Schmitz, RG Mark Glowinski, RT Evan Neal.
RB Gary Brightwell, RB Jashaun Corbin, WR Collin Johnson, WR Jamison Crowder and TE Daniel Bellinger also received replays at the starters.
As the Giants performed walk-through installation phases, Marcus McKethan (LT), Josh Ezeudu (LG) and Bredeson (RG) received some first-team representatives. I didn’t see Bredeson take on any center reps on Thursday.
Second team offense: QB Tyrod Taylor, RB Eric Gray, WR Collin Johnson, WR David Sills, WR Kalil Pimpleton, TE Lawrence Cager, LT Matt Peart, LG Shane Lemieux, C JC Hassenauer, RG Jack Anderson, RT Korey Cunningham.
WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Jeff Smith, WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton and TE Dre Miller got work with the second unit.
Third team offense: QB Tommy DeVito, RB Eric Gray, WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WR Jaydon Mickens, TE Dre Miller, LT Tire Phillips, LG Devery Hamilton, C Shane Lemieux, RG Wyatt Davis, RT Korey Cunningham.
TE Ryan Jones also got replays on the third-team offense.
First team defense: DL Ryder Anderson, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches, OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux, OLB Azeez Ojulari, ILB Bobby Okereke, ILB Jarrad Davis, CB Adoree’ Jackson, CB Amani Oruwariye, CB Darnay Holmes (slot), S Xavier McKinney, S Bobby McCain.
ILB Micah McFadden took over the starters late in practice for Okereke.
Defense of the second team: DL Ryder Anderson, DL Jordon Riley, OLB Jihad Ward, OLB Oshane Ximines, ILB Micah McFadden, ILB Carter Coughlin, CB Deonte Banks, CB Rodarius Williams, CB Cor’Dale Flott (Slot), S Gervarrius Owens, S Alex Cook.
Third team defense: DL Ryder Anderson, DL Jordon Riley, OLB Tomon Fox, OLB Habakuk Baldonado, ILB Cam Brown, ILB Dyontae Johnson, CB Tre Hawkins, CB Leonard Johnson, CB Zyon Gilbert (Slot), S Alex Cook, S Gemon Green.
ILB Troy Brown moved to third-team defense. Green was playing at college cornerback, so he may not have been hauled out until Thursday since there were no more players at that position.
game of the day
Waller’s deep catch in opening practice was a highlight that will fuel suspense over how he might transform offense. A tight end capable of burning slot corners adds a dimension that was missing to the Giants’ offense, which finished bottom last season in explosive passing plays.
quote of the Day
“It feels like you hear from most guys or see them on the program and they’re listed at 6-6 and in reality they’re at 6-4 or 6-5. He’s a true 6-6. He’s a real 250, 260 and he can fly, he can run, he can run all the distances. He’s just an amazing athlete.” — QB Daniel Jones on TE Darren Waller
next up
Players will enjoy a break over the holiday weekend. They will be back on the field Tuesday for their next OTA training session.
(Top photo by Darren Waller: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)