As the Giants wrap up their two weeks of training camp in West Virginia and head back to East Rutherford, the kicking battle is still drawing plenty of attention. Dominic Zvada and Ben Sauls have spent the offseason fighting for the job, and the competition has been front and center since the draft, through minicamp and OTAs, and now into August.
Sauls, the incumbent, had a shaky start to the offseason program but settled in enough to make things interesting, hitting 35 of his 44 field goal attempts, which works out to 79.5 percent. Zvada, though, has separated himself in a big way.
The undrafted rookie from Michigan has been nearly automatic, drilling 41 of 45 kicks for 91.1 percent. With the stronger leg and the higher ceiling, he looks like the clear favorite as the preseason begins.
Still, the Giants’ easiest undrafted-rookie roster path doesn’t belong to the kicker getting the most attention. That distinction goes to Ben Mann, the rookie long snapper out of Boston College.
Long snappers usually live in the background, which is exactly how teams want it. Their names only tend to surface when something goes wrong.
Mann’s situation is different because there’s no real battle at all. The Giants opened the door for him earlier this offseason when they released seven-year veteran Zach Triner, leaving Mann as the only player on the 90-man roster who can handle the job unless the team makes a sudden and surprising free-agent addition.
Mann has helped his case with a steady summer as well. As The Athletic’s Dan Duggan noted, "Undrafted rookie long snapper Ben Mann has been consistently accurate with his snaps. Mann can secure the job if he covers punts well in preseason games."
That part should not be a problem. The 6-foot-5, 232-pounder anchored an Eagles punt return unit that ranked fifth in the country last year.
There’s also a neat family connection here. Mann’s grandfather is Chuck Mercein, a fullback drafted by the Giants in 1965.
Mercein later won a Super Bowl with Vince Lombardi’s Packers and played in the 1967 "Ice Bowl." Now, six decades later, his grandson is in position to wear Giants blue.
Zvada still looks like the favorite to win the kicker job. Mann, meanwhile, doesn’t need to beat anybody out. With no competition standing in his way, he’s the safest undrafted rookie bet to survive cutdown day and make the Giants’ final 53.
In Other News...
Odell Beckham Jr. Is Making The Giants Face A Real Roster Decision
Odell Beckham Jr. spent the entire 2025 season unsigned, but he is back in Giants camp on a one-year veteran-minimum contract and already working with the first team. For a team sorting through the bottom of its receiver depth chart, that matters. Beckham is no longer just a familiar name in the building; he has become part of a genuine competition for one of the final spots on the 53-man roster, and his work this summer is forcing the staff to treat the decision like more than a nostalgic reunion.
The larger wrinkle is how practical this all has become. New York did not commit much to the move, and there is no guarantee the roster path stays open just because Beckham once mattered so much here. If his camp work keeps holding up, the Giants will have to decide whether the upside and experience are enough to justify carrying him, or whether the final receiver cut comes down to something a lot less sentimental. [Read more 🡒]
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For a defense that wants to make quarterbacks think twice before snapping the ball, the appeal is obvious. The idea is to use both players to create uncertainty by blending pass-rush and coverage responsibilities, giving the Giants more flexibility in how they line up and attack. If the pairing develops the way the team hopes, it could become one of the more useful adjustments in the defenses mix this season. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Just Made A Risky Bet On Their Passing Game
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What remains less clear is how quickly Austin can settle into a role that matters and whether he can give New York the kind of impact WanDale Robinson provided before leaving for Tennessee. The Giants are betting on speed and flexibility, but this is still the sort of signing that asks for patience before it offers proof. [Read more 🡒]