The Giants’ preseason has brought a little bit of everything, and the biggest headline this week is a familiar one: Odell Beckham Jr. is back in No. 13.
That comes as Beckham made the team after a solid preseason showing, a development that sets up what the source material describes as a feel-good final chapter. Malik Nabers is the bigger name in the receiver room, though, and his recovery from the ACL tear he suffered last season has reportedly moved far enough along that he could be available as soon as Week 1. That matters for an offense trying to take a step forward in Jaxson Dart’s second season.
Dart himself remains a central part of the conversation. He drew huge hype during his rookie year, but the numbers were uneven, even if they were acceptable for a first-year quarterback.
The expectation now is simple: he has to make real progress in 2026 if the Giants are going to feel good about him as the long-term answer. There’s also the question of how he handles a more demanding coach in John Harbaugh.
If Dart and Harbaugh click, the Giants can be in the NFC East mix. If they don’t, it could be another long year in New York.
That uncertainty is part of why some around the league see the Giants as a team with real upside, while others are still waiting for proof. One national insider picked them to win the NFC East, but not everyone is buying into the same level of optimism.
One preview called the Giants a possible wild-card contender if Harbaugh still has it, Dart becomes a legitimate playmaker, and Abdul Carter develops into a Defensive Player of the Year type of force. The same preview also projected a 6-11 finish and labeled this more of a transition season.
Defensively, the Giants are drawing plenty of attention because of their pass rush. Andrew Thomas landed at No. 82 in ESPN’s 2026 NFL Rank, with the note that he’s healthy for the first time in years and remains one of the league’s best left tackles when right. His 92.3% pass block win rate was cited as the fifth best among all left tackles over the past three seasons, and last season he was one of only three offensive tackles to rank in the top 15 in both pass block win rate and run block win rate.
Brian Burns came in at No. 81, fresh off a career-best 16.5 sacks. ESPN noted that he looks even better this summer, and Harbaugh said, “He does so many things well, he’s going to excel,” while discussing Burns in Dennard Wilson’s defense.
Burns also may not face as many double-teams with Carter continuing to develop. Last season, Burns was doubled at a rate of just over 13%, and his sack total was the second-most in the NFL.
It was also the most by a Giants player in a single season since Jason Pierre-Paul’s 16.5 in 2011.
That front has looked as advertised in camp. Carter flashed in West Virginia before the pads came on, then Thomas showed why he’s so difficult to deal with by erasing him.
There were stretches where Carter barely registered. But once Wilson started moving him around the way the Giants plan to use him on game days, he began wrecking the interior instead.
Burns remains a stud, and Kayvon Thibodeaux was described as one of the better third rushers in the NFL. The key now is giving that group enough obvious pass-rush chances.
Wilson’s job is to turn all of that pressure into takeaways and cleaner defensive results. Last season, the Giants finished No. 26 in points allowed per game, tied for No. 15 in total sacks, and were No. 16 in opponent pass yards per game.
His 2026 plan is built from 3-4 and nickel looks, with a heavy need to test the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys through blitzes and shell concepts. The goal is to create negative plays and force turnovers after the Giants had just nine interceptions last season.
Wilson’s time with the Tennessee Titans produced only six interceptions in 2024.
There’s also been some preseason grading around the roster, and the receiver group has been a major talking point. Beckham and Nabers drew the most attention there, while the backfield was labeled deep but not without questions.
Cam Skattebo caught Harbaugh’s attention, with the coach calling him “infectious” and not in a glowing manner. Najee Harris was added after Tyrone Tracy Jr. struggled mightily out of the gate.
The Giants also finished adding to the roster by bringing in four more players to complete the practice squad, while the team’s work in the draft continues to get its own scrutiny. And for fans wondering where the biggest concerns sit, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line, secondary, and special teams are all part of the conversation as the season approaches.
In Other News...
Giants Added A Massive New Lineman With More Upside Than Expected
The Giants made a rare end-of-roster move with a little more heft than usual, sending a 2028 seventh-round pick to Baltimore for defensive lineman C.J. Okoye and placing him on the 53-man roster. At 6-foot-6 and 365 pounds, Okoye arrives with the kind of size that jumps off the page, but the interest here is less about the raw frame than the possibility that there may be a usable rotational player underneath it.
Okoye spent much of the 2025 season on the Ravens active roster after coming through the International Pathway Program, and he has already shown signs that he can contribute as part of a defensive line rotation. For the Giants, the appeal is obvious: a big-body addition with more upside than the usual late-summer waiver claim, and a chance to see whether his length and power can be refined into something that helps in real games. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Practice Squad Decisions Just Clarified Their Week 1 Roster Plan
The Giants kept shaping the back end of their roster this week by adding four more players to the practice squad, a group that gives the team some useful depth at a few key spots. Wide receiver and kick returner Charlie Jones, cornerback Elijah Jones, and offensive linemen Kingsley Eguakun and Darian Kinnard all landed with New York, and each brings a different kind of resume as the organization continues sorting out its options behind the active roster.
What stands out is how the group reflects the kinds of bodies the Giants want available as the season opens: return help, secondary depth and more protection up front. The full practice squad is now taking shape, and the names on it offer a better view of how the Giants are planning to cover injuries, special teams and developmental needs once Week 1 arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Nabers Just Put The Giants In A Tough Week 1 Spot
Two weeks before the regular-season opener, Malik Nabers said his surgically repaired right knee feels good, but the Giants top wide receiver still stopped short of promising hell be on the field against the Cowboys in Week 1. Head coach John Harbaugh had already suggested it was reasonable to expect Nabers might be available, which only sharpened the attention on the receivers status as the opener draws closer.
Nabers had surgery to repair a torn ACL and meniscus, then later underwent a follow-up procedure to address scar tissue, and he said the bigger priority is making sure he is fully healthy before he returns. For the Giants, that leaves an obvious layer of uncertainty around one of the offenses key players, even with the calendar ticking toward the start of the season. [Read more 🡒]