It’s game on—or more accurately, training camp on, for the NFL after the league and the NFL Players Association finally resolved their remaining differences regarding operational and financial matters that had threatened to end the season before it had a chance to get off the ground.
The Giants rookies have already reported for camp. By Sunday, they will have completed the mandatory five-day testing period in which they were to have taken a COVID-19 test on reporting day (July 23) and again on July 26.
Both tests must be negative if they are to be allowed to begin training within the sterile environment the team has set up to be based out of MetLife Stadium.
The veterans are due to report for their five-day testing period on July 28. There will be an established schedule (as laid out by SI.com’s Albert Breer), who also reports that walk-through practices will be permitted during the strength and conditioning part of the schedule.
Schedules aside, the Giants will have no shortage of storylines this summer, ranging from what new head coach Joe Judge’s practices and command of the team will look like to how the new offensive and defensive schemes will take shape.
Then there are the micro-level storylines such as…
Where will first-round draft pick Andrew Thomas play? Thomas excelled at left tackle for multiple seasons at Georgia, which is why many believe Thomas is the Giants future left tackle. However, that future will likely have to wait as it makes sense on multiple levels to start Thomas at right tackle.
Why? First, the thought process is that it will be easier for Thomas, who played some right tackle as a rookie, to make the switch than for veteran Nate Solder, who hasn’t played right tackle since his rookie season.
Second, and perhaps most importantly, putting Thomas next to right guard Kevin Zeitler will help get the rookie acclimated. Zeitler was by far the Giants’ most consistent offensive lineman last year, and given his experience, well, that should be a big plus in Thomas’ development as a rookie.
What will become of cornerback DeAndre Baker and kicker Aldrick Rosas? Both Baker and Rosas found themselves in the headlines this off-season for the wrong reasons—Baker was accused of armed robbery and aggravated assault at a Florida social gathering and Rosas accused of a hit-and-run accident in California.
Baker was told by the Giants to focus on his legal issues and not worry about the virtual off-season program that the coaches were conducting. Rosas’ alleged incident came toward the end of the off-season program.
As of right now, the plan is for both to report to camp, but that’s not a surprise. According to the CBA, they have to report to camp to avoid any potential fines for being absent (unless excused by the club).
If the Giants intend to seek a commissioner’s exemption for one or both players (which would ensure the players continue to receive any per diem pay for camp), which is believed to be in play for Baker, they need the players to report to camp.
Are all the players coming off injury healthy and ready to go? There’s been no shortage of workout videos from rehabbing players like tight end Evan Engram (foot) and safety Jabrill Peppers (back), in which both appear fully healthy and ready to go.
In 2018 receiver Odell Beckham Jr, coming off a season-ending ankle injury, also looked pretty good running around on the endless workout videos he posted. But when it came to training camp, the Giants didn’t give him the green light to participate in everything, at least not right away.
The point is the Giants medical staff’s criteria for whether a player coming off an injury is a lot different (and usually more reserved) than that of private trainers retained by the players.
The last thing the Giants or any team wants is for a player coming off a serious injury rushed back before he’s physically ready only to have him suffer a setback that will sideline him for any length of time.
How fast will the Giants jell? New coaching staff, new schemes, no off-season OTAs… That’s a recipe for sloppy football, or so it would seem.
But let’s look at this from another angle. For the football to be crisp, the players need to understand what they’re supposed to be doing. On that part, Judge and his staff had optimal control over how the virtual programs were structured, how the players were quizzed, and the team’s overall level of preparedness from a mental perspective.
With that said, knowing what to do and being able to do it are different things. Judge, to his credit, has never publicly bemoaned the unfortunate hand he’s received in his NFL head coaching debut.
He has kept to worrying about what is in his control. And he has been optimistic that if a player understands what to do, after a few practices, that will become second nature to the player.
Is that a realistic expectation? Maybe yes, maybe no. No one is expecting the Giants, for example, to be like the 49ers who last year did a complete 180-degree turn in going from among the worst to the top teams in the league.
But it is not unrealistic to expect the Giants, who have won 12 games in the last three seasons, to win at least half of that total in the first year of the Judge era.
Which one-on-one matchup is the one to watch this summer? That’s an easy one: Receiver Darius Slayton vs. Cornerback James Bradberry. Slayton, a fifth-round pick last year, surprised everyone with what amounted to a breakout season of sorts—and has yet to hit his ceiling.
Bradberry, projected to be the Giants’ No. 1 cornerback, will probably draw the best receiver on the opponents. If you’re talking about the best receiver on the Giants from a vertical passing game perspective, this matchup should be a lot of fun to report.
Who are some under-the-radar players to watch? I’ll give you two, one being a late Day 3 draft pick and the other being an undrafted free agent.
The first is the draft pick, outside linebacker Carter Coughlin out of Minnesota. The first of the Giants’ four seventh-round picks this year, Coughlin (no relation to former head coach Tom Coughlin), recorded 22.5 sacks in four years at Minnesota, which, if that hasn’t grabbed your attention, it should.
The Giants pass rush has been pretty much sleepwalking for several years now, and new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is undoubtedly looking for ways to turbocharge the attack.
They improved (at least on paper) defensive secondary will help, but so too will guys like Coughlin. Although he’ll likely be a role player at first, Coughlin has the speed and quickness not only to penetrate but also to finish off sacks, as his college production suggests.
The undrafted free agent to watch—and this was a toss-up—is Maryland running back Javon Leake.
Yes, really, though not for reasons one might think.
Although the Giants last season finished fourth and tenth on punt return and kickoff returns respectively, they struggled, especially on kickoff returns, to take it to the house.
Leake averaged 24.5 yards on kickoff returns in three seasons for Maryland and recorded three returns for touchdowns, the latter stat ranking fourth in the Big Ten.
If he makes a statement this summer, not only can he fill an immediate opening on special teams but maybe he develops into that long-term No. 2 behind starter Saquon Barkley that the team just hasn’t been able to find since selecting Barkley with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft.
I have been a credentialed NFL writer for 22 years. I am the site manager/senior editor of Giants Country, an SI.com Sports Channel. I am also the host of the daily Lo
I have been a credentialed NFL writer for 22 years. I am the site manager/senior editor of Giants Country, an SI.com Sports Channel. I am also the host of the daily LockedOn Giants. My first book, The Big 50: New York Giants: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants, drops September 8, 2020.