The Giants have spent years treating kicker like a revolving door, and this summer’s camp battle already looks like another chance to finally get it right.
New York’s special teams has been through plenty of turbulence, with general manager Joe Schoen cycling through five kickers before the team found some stability late last season. That relief came from undrafted rookie Ben “Better Call Sauls” Sauls, who closed the year by making all 15 of his kicks over the final three games. He hit eight field goals and seven extra points in that stretch.
But the good vibes didn’t carry into the spring. At mandatory minicamp, Sauls struggled badly and never looked like the same kicker who finished last season strong. By the end of spring work, he had put the “ick” in “kicker” for Big Blue, opening the door for another rookie to take control.
That rookie is Dominic Zvada, and he enters training camp with the clearest path to the 53-man roster. During minicamp, Zvada was perfect on all 13 of his attempts, while Sauls went 7-of-14. That kind of split does not leave much mystery about who has the edge heading into camp.
The Giants also know the danger of leaning too hard on inexperienced legs. Head coach John Harbaugh saw that firsthand last year with the Ravens, when rookie Tyler Loop missed a game-winning field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18, a miss that all but ended Baltimore’s playoff hopes.
New York had a veteran option on the roster earlier this offseason in former All-Pro Jason Sanders, but moved on and chose to carry only Sauls and Zvada into camp. That decision leaves the two rookies to sort it out on their own, with no veteran pressure valve in the room.
There are other roster battles worth watching, too. UDFA cornerback Thaddeus Dixon was in the mix before tearing his Achilles earlier in the offseason.
Long snapper Ben Mann, the former Boston College Eagle, has a strong chance to take over snapping duties. And at defensive line, Anquin Barnes Jr. could push fellow rookie Bobby Jamison-Travis if he has a big camp, though that battle already looks crowded after all the defensive linemen the Giants added this offseason.
For now, though, the spotlight is on Zvada. Sauls already stumbled through the spring, and if Zvada keeps kicking the way he did at minicamp, the Giants may not have much of a debate left when roster cuts arrive.
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