The offensive player taking the biggest leap in camp is OL Evan Neal.
John Schmeelk: Fiction – Neal has been good in his shift over to guard and I am optimistic that he can find a long-term home there as a starter in the NFL. But I want to take a moment to give credit to another player that has significantly improved, especially in his 1-on-1 drills at both guard and tackle: Josh Ezeudu. He has done a nice job at both guard and tackle and there seems to be a comfort level that has not been there in past years. The Giants will have fierce competition for who is going to grab the final offensive line spots on the depth chart. I also considered John Michael Schmitz, who has been better holding firm in the center of the line.
Dan Salomone: Fiction – While Neal embraces his position change, Jermaine Elueumunor has found stability at right tackle. And it’s showing. Like Burns, he was a newcomer last year and is taking on a bigger leadership role this season.
“It’s actually the first offseason of my career where I get to play one position,” Eluemunor said. “Last year, I was at left guard and I had to play right tackle. The year before that I was at left tackle, right guard, right tackle, left guard, right guard. I’ve had to move around every single offseason, so t’s been nice to just play one position to truly hone in on my technique, just watch the film, go against Burns and Abdul and Thibs and just try different things so when I get out there with the pads on, I know what I’m doing. There’s things I’ve been working on all spring, they show up on tape, which has been really cool for me.”
Matt Citak: Fact – It’s only been a couple of padded practices, but it appears as if Neal is playing a lot more comfortable inside than what we’ve seen the last few years. The young lineman has always shown flashes in the run game, but over the last few days, he’s had numerous plays where he is seriously moving people to create lanes for the running backs. Neal has also held his own during 1-on-1 drills against some of the team’s top defensive linemen. With Greg Van Roten absent a few days this week due to the birth of his second child, Neal has gotten an extended look at guard with the first-team offense and had taken advantage of it. He still has a long way to go, but it certainly has been an encouraging start to camp for Neal.
The defensive player taking the biggest leap in camp is CB Dru Phillips.
John Schmeelk: Fact – No fiction slam here. Sorry folks. In his rookie season, Phillips was excellent around the line of scrimmage with his aggressiveness, physicality and tackling. As he got more knowledgeable and comfortable, I expected to see improved coverage coming off a strong rookie season and so far he has done that, playing tight defense against Wan’Dale Robinson, Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt and whomever else lines up in the slot. Tyler Nubin was also a consideration here as he has been around the ball a lot more during this camp. There was no category for best newcomer, so I also want to take this space to point out how great Chauncey Golston has been. His length, strength and burst show up constantly as he always finds himself in the backfield.
Dan Salomone: Fact – Brian Daboll said Phillips has made a “big jump” from Year 1 to Year 2 in his communication and is playing with a lot of confidence right now. Veteran linebacker Bobby Okereke also had huge praise for the young nickel.
“Dru is a freak athlete,” Okereke said. “So for him, he’s got All-Pro, Pro Bowl in his future. It’s just as he gets mentally more in tune with the game and understanding concepts and playing the game, playing ahead of the game, seeing those pre-snap indicator. I sit next to him in meetings every day and you see the notes he’s taking, the questions he’s asking, so it’s cool to see that maturation. And then Nubin, he’s such a leader that just as time goes, he’s going to step into that role and get even more confident. I feel like he’s just learning from some of the pitfalls and mistakes of his rookie year and going through practices but he’s a very sharp kid and I’m very excited for him.”
Matt Citak: Fiction – This one was close, as it does look like Phillips has taken a jump heading into Year 2, even coming off his impressive rookie season. But I’m going with the other starting defensive back from the 2024 draft class in Tyler Nubin. The second-year safety has been all over the field during team drills, as the addition of Jevón Holland seems to have really opened things up for Nubin. He came up with an interception in the red zone on Friday and has gotten his hands on several other passes throughout the first week. I could have gone either way with this one between the two young DBs, but eight practices in, I’m giving the slight edge to Nubin.
Source link
