MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - The Giants got a look at two fresh options for Jaxson Dart on Thursday, and both made themselves noticeable in practice against the Dolphins.
Rookie wide receiver Malachi Fields and veteran running back Najee Harris each flashed in ways that fit what the Giants are trying to build around their young quarterback. Fields, a 22-year-old third-round pick from Notre Dame, was busy from the jump. He beat Miami corners on two deep throws in one-on-one work, then added three catches from Dart in 11-on-11 drills, including a long completion up the left seam that went for about 40 yards.
The throw wobbled, but Fields tracked it and finished the play. That catch gave him a tie with Calvin Austin for the second-most grabs from Dart on the day, trailing only tight end Isaiah Likely, who had six.
“You saw his catch radius in college,” Dart said of the 6-4, 222-pound Fields. “It’s been great to see. Because as a team we needed a guy like that to step up, especially on the outside making contested catches and downfield plays.”
Fields also showed some awareness in a late-practice situation that mattered just as much as the splash plays. With 14 seconds left in an end-of-half period, Dart hit him on a slant, and Fields immediately went to the turf so the offense could hurry up and spike the ball. Dominic Zvada then knocked through a 40-yard field goal as time expired.
“He just keeps showing up every day,” Harbaugh said of Fields.
Harris didn’t need nearly as many chances to make his point.
The 6-2, 242-pound back, who tore his Achilles last season with the Chargers and signed with the Giants on Tuesday, was expected to be brought along gradually. Instead, he got into team work on Thursday, first taking a handoff with the third-string offense from Brandon Allen.
Later, Harris joined Jameis Winston and the second-team offense in the red zone and burst through a hole for a touchdown. It was a single snap, but it landed loud.
“The guy that popped more than anybody was No. 22,” NFL analyst Brian Baldinger told the Daily News after watching from the sideline.
“The running back looked good. He was galloping out there.
He’s what John likes, man. He likes those big backs.
Obviously, he had Derrick Henry [in Baltimore]. But [Harris] looked good to me.
He looked like he had some pop and some juice, and he’s healthy.”
That came after Harbaugh had said Tuesday, when Harris was limited to individual work in New Jersey, that the running back would likely build up over the next two to three weeks and be ready “just in time” for the Sept. 13 season opener. Thursday suggested the timeline may not be so rigid.
“I don’t know if it was always the plan, but he was ready,” Harbaugh said. “He looked good yesterday, he said he felt good, he wanted to get in there.
And he looked good. I was happy to see it.”
Of course, both players were doing their work against a Dolphins defense in the middle of a rebuild. The real test comes when the lights are on and the production has to hold up in games. Still, the Giants are desperate for exactly this kind of development around Dart.
Malik Nabers remains the top weapon, but the Giants can’t afford to wait around for him to get back to 100%, and even then they need more than one dangerous target. Likely has already carved out a clear connection with Dart as the quarterback’s preferred target in the middle of the field, and Nabers, who did not practice Thursday, is the most explosive player on the roster when he’s available.
What the Giants need now is the rest of the offense to take shape around Dart. On Thursday, Fields and Harris offered a glimpse that they might be part of the answer.
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