New York Giants training camp is about to get rolling, and there’s plenty to chew on before the first practice snaps on Wednesday. Players report Tuesday, and with a new season comes a new tone under 18-year veteran head coach John Harbaugh.
One of the first flashpoints has already been Harbaugh’s “This is the New York Giants” speech to the team on day one. The criticism that followed, in my view, misses the point.
The Giants are an original NFL powerhouse. They’ve won eight championships - four Super Bowls and four titles before the Super Bowl era - and Harbaugh was clearly trying to connect his players to that history. He wasn’t just tossing out empty hype.
That kind of message fits with what players and assistant coaches have said about him. They’ve praised his daily communication with the team, and it’s hard to fairly judge a small clip without the full context of what he said.
What also stands out is how different this camp figures to feel. Harbaugh’s approach is expected to bring more physical work and less hand-holding than plenty of NFL players are used to, and that should make for an interesting test for both the roster and the media covering it.
Tight end Isaiah Likely, who spent the past four years with Harbaugh in Baltimore, put it plainly: “With Coach Harbs, this is all I ever know,” Likely said. “Whatever he’s doing at practice, I’ve been doing it for the last four years in a row. So, whatever you all see out there is what you’re going to get every time.”
There were already signs of that style in the spring. Giants draft picks took snaps during rookie minicamp, something the team’s rookies had not done in several years. Spring practices went right up to the limit allowed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Giants ran 9-on-7 drills without pads, and first- and second-team players got more reps than fans are probably used to seeing.
The schedule in West Virginia only adds to the sense that this camp will be different. The Giants will practice four straight days, then take Sunday off, then go right into six consecutive days of work. That’s not a normal Giants camp rhythm.
Beyond the broader tone, the roster itself still has some real questions attached to it. We probably already know about 75% of the 53-man roster, maybe a little more, but there are still a handful of battles worth watching closely.
At cornerback, the biggest question is who starts opposite Paulson Adebo: Greg Newsome, Colton Hood, or Deonte Banks?
On the defensive line, the competition is crowded enough that sorting out Zacch Pickens, Sam Roberts, Josh Futou, Bobby Jamison-Travis, Leki Fotu, Ben Barten, and Anquin Barnes Jr. feels like a guessing game.
Wide receiver brings its own intrigue. Can Odell Beckham make the roster?
If not, who gets the spot? And is this finally the end of the road for Jalin Hyatt?
The offensive line is another spot to watch, especially when it comes to the backups. Would the Giants risk trying to pass J.C.
Davis through waivers and stash him on the practice squad? Can Evan Neal somehow win a place?
And will Jon Runyan really have to fight for the left guard job?
Safety is a little different. This one isn’t really about making the roster so much as it is about the depth chart. The question there is whether Ar’Darius Washington or Jason Pinnock can unseat Tyler Nubin as a starter.
Then there’s Malik Nabers, who is coming back from a pair of surgeries to repair a torn ACL and will not begin camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. What he does each day, and how he looks doing it, is going to be closely watched.
The expectation is a gradual ramp-up aimed at getting him ready for Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys. Early on, that likely means warm-up work and some individual drills, with 7-on-7 and 1-on-1 periods coming later. Full 11-on-11 work would probably come even further down the line, and there’s no chance he plays in a preseason game.
All of that is enough to keep the football side busy. But there’s also the human side of camp, and this one is personal for me too.
As I’ve been getting ready for the next two weeks in West Virginia, I’ve spent plenty of time thinking about what to pack, what to leave behind, and what I’ll inevitably forget. I’m already bracing for at least a couple of “oh, s--, I didn’t bring such and such” moments.
It’s a 586-mile drive from my home to where I’ll be staying for 12 nights, and I’m grateful for the chance to cover this stretch of Giants camp in person. I’ve always believed seeing things with my own eyes is the only way to do this job correctly.
At the same time, this will be the longest I’ve ever been away from my bride of 41 years, as of Aug. 10. I may even miss the birth of our fourth grandchild unless the little guy decides to wait for grandpa to get back.
Still, I’d feel like I wasn’t doing my job properly if I stayed home. I hope you enjoy, and benfit from, the coverage here at Big Blue View of the West Virginia chapter of the upcoming season.
In Other News...
Giants Just Made A Statement About Cam Skattebos Future
The Giants spent the offseason making it clear they want their ground game to look different, and Patrick Ricard is a pretty loud clue. The veteran fullback brings the kind of lead-blocking presence that fits a more physical approach, and his arrival also reconnects him with John Harbaugh after years together in Baltimore. For a team trying to lean into a tougher identity, adding a proven blocker is not a subtle move.
It also says plenty about where Cam Skattebo fits in all of this. The rookie flashed the kind of bruising style that can anchor a downhill attack, and the Giants appear intent on building around that profile rather than asking him to be something else. Skattebos season ended with an ankle injury, but the direction of the offense suggests the organization still sees him as the centerpiece of a smashmouth run game, with Ricard there to help clear the way. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Just Set Up A Training Camp Move Fans Will Notice
Just before training camp, the Giants cleared a little more room on the back end of the roster by waiving linebacker Cam Jones and defensive tackle C.J. Ravenell. Jones was mostly a special teams piece last season and had been dealing with an injury during minicamp, while Ravenell arrived only recently as a waiver claim and was designated with a non-football injury.
The timing suggests this is more than simple housekeeping, because those two openings give the Giants flexibility to keep shaping the camp roster. Whether the next move is aimed at special teams help or a bit more depth at a few spots, the team has positioned itself to make another addition before the real competition starts. [Read more 🡒]
Evan Neal Era With Giants Feels Like It's Finally Over
Evan Neals Giants tenure has been headed toward this point for a while, with the former first-round pick never finding his footing after arriving as a possible answer on the offensive line. Injuries and uneven play pushed him from tackle to guard, and New York has already moved on in how it has built out the line without him.
The bigger question now is what comes next for Neal, whose NFL future is no longer tied to the Giants plans. He could catch on elsewhere in a depth role or on a practice squad, but there is also a real sense that his time as an active player may be nearing its end after a career that never matched the expectations attached to his draft status. [Read more 🡒]