The Giants may have a starting lineup penciled in, but one projected wrinkle jumps off the page: Malachi Fields isn’t in it.
That’s the takeaway from ESPN’s Seth Walder, Aaron Schatz, and Mike Clay, who ranked New York’s projected starting lineup 23rd in the NFL and slotted the rookie wideout behind a pair of veterans. In their Week 1 picture, Darnell Mooney and Darius Slayton are the starters alongside Malik Nabers, with Fields opening his first season as the WR4.
That setup feels hard to square with what’s been happening around the team. Fields, a third-round pick, has been one of the most noticeable offensive standouts in OTAs, especially with his contested-catch ability. He’s also the kind of player the Giants clearly drafted to bring something different to the room.
The bigger issue is the uncertainty around Nabers. He is not a lock to be full go in Week 1 while he continues rehabbing a torn ACL suffered in Week 4 against the Chargers. If he’s not ready, the Giants’ receiver group looks thin in a hurry.
Mooney did finish just shy of 1,000 receiving yards in 2024, but his production comes with plenty of volatility. Slayton, meanwhile, is not viewed as a player who should be starting for this team. That’s why Fields’ omission stands out so much.
At 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, Fields gives New York the big-bodied target it has been missing, and he should become Jaxson Dart’s go-to option in the red zone. Once Nabers is healthy, the Giants appear to envision Fields as part of the future of the receiver room.
Training camp should keep pushing that conversation forward. If Fields keeps showing what he’s shown so far, it shouldn’t take long for him to force his way into the lineup.
In Other News...
This Giants Rookie Already Faces A Brutal Camp Reality
Bobby Jamison-Travis arrived in camp with the usual rookie hope, but the path for a sixth-round defensive tackle is already looking steep. The Giants have built a roster that is fairly settled in a lot of places, which leaves late-round newcomers fighting for a narrow opening, especially along the interior defensive line where depth is still being sorted out.
Jamison-Travis is in the mix with several veterans and other depth options, and that alone tells the story of how tight this battle is shaping up to be. For a rookie trying to carve out a role, every practice rep matters, because the margin between sticking around and being squeezed off the roster is already thin before the pads even come on. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Finally Took Something Back From The Titans This Offseason
The Giants added another body to a defensive front that needed one, bringing in lineman C.J. Ravenell and making a corresponding roster move to clear space. It is the kind of low-key summer transaction that can still matter for a team trying to sort out depth, especially when the player comes with some familiarity in the building and a track record of fitting into multiple systems.
Ravenells path has already taken him through Baltimore and Tennessee, and his connections to the current coaching staff give this move a little more context than a standard waiver pickup. For the Giants, the appeal is straightforward: add a player who knows the league, knows some of the people around him, and can help stabilize a position group that needed another option. [Read more 🡒]