The New York Giants have a day off from training camp after three days, and so far, camp has lived up to expectations in terms of competition and other developments.
The Giants have one more practice (Sunday) before the pads go on for Monday, and that’s when things will start to crank up.
With things quiet for today on the East Rutherford grass fields, let’s reflect on some of what we’ve seen from what’s been a competitive and interesting (so far) training camp.
When we think of standouts from camp, edge Abdul Carter, receiver Malik Nabers, and edge Brian Burns come to mind.
But after three days–and yes, I know it’s early–there are two bottom-of-the-depth chart guys who in 53-man roster projections are the longest of long shots to stick but who deserve a shout out given how they’ve gotten off to a hot start.
Two such bottom-of-the-roster guys have jumped out in these first three days, tight end Greg Dulcich and cornerback Nic Jones.
Dulcich, a third-round draft pick by Denver in 2022, dealt with injuries while in the Mile High City, limiting him to just 16 games over two and a half seasons. This led to the Broncos eventually moving on from him. The Giants claimed his contract off waivers last year and made five appearances for the Giants toward the end of the season.
Despite having been viewed as a top receiver in college who was a good route runner, Duclich, in what few snaps he did get last year with the Giants, didn’t show that, as he did not look particularly nimble.
However, that could have been a direct result of his injuries, as through three days of camp so far, Dulcich has looked much more nimble and has come up with quite a few nice receptions with the second- and third-team offenses.
Dulcich probably won’t make the 53-man roster, and a practice squad spot might even be a long shot as well, if the team keeps three tight ends (Theo Johnson, Daniel Bellinger, and Chris Manhertz) on the roster, with Thomas Fidone II going to the practice squad.
But if nothing else, Dulcich, who also worked as a fullback in these first three days, seems to be gearing up to get some solid film together once the preseason games start.
Jones is a two-year NFL veteran, having played the last two seasons with the Chiefs (last year on the practice squad) primarily as a special-teams player. He joined a Giants team where there appear to be jobs open at the bottom of the depth chart, where his special-teams play could give him a competitive edge.
Jones had five kickoff returns in college (84 yards) and one punt return (zero yards). But while we haven’t really seen much in terms of the special teams work in practice just yet, where Jones has done well for himself so far is in the backup slot cornerback.
Jones has two interceptions in the first three practices, and for a defense that last year struggled to come up with interceptions, if he can keep that going and deliver the goods on special teams, he could end up being more than just another camp body.
No, this is not happening right now, even though in its latest piece outlining 15 possible trade candidates, Pro Football Focus included Winston as one of the players league-wide who makes sense to trade.
First, in the analysis that was published two days ago, it was noted that “The Giants are likely to start either Russell Wilson or first-round pick Jaxson Dart, leaving Winston as the team’s presumptive QB3.”
But with head coach Brian Daboll having already declared (again) that Wilson will be the starter, and with Dart having had an up-and-down start to his first NFL training camp (expected), the Giants aren’t about to put themselves in a situation where if Wilson gets hurt, that they have to force Dart into the lineup before he’s ready.
Yes, the Giants have been giving Dart a lot of work so far with the twos, making it look like there is a competition with Winston for the job. But this is all part of a larger-scale plan in which the coaches want to get as good a look at Dart now because once the regular season starts, his role, at least initially, will be running the scout team.
There is another angle that the “Trade Winston” crowd is neglecting to mention. Winston, who already does his part to help Dart and the other quarterbacks, will likely be glued to Dart’s side during games to serve as a sounding board/mentor to the rookie as things unfold.
Then, come next year, when Dart presumably is anointed the starter, Winston, signed to a two-year deal, will remain that consistent voice in the young man’s ear as he takes that next step.
Could a sweetheart offer change Giants’ general manager Joe Schoen’s mind? Never say never, but I’m pretty confident in saying that such a trade has a very low chance of happening at all and a zero percent chance of happening before the season.
Another popular narrative circulating among analysts is that the Giants should consider trading Kayvon Thibodeaux now, thereby clearing the way for Abdul Carter to take the job full-time.
As we have often said, in the NFL, a starter simply means you take the first snap of the game. If you look at the weekly snap counts, quite often you’ll see that the “backups” end up playing just as many, if not more, snaps than the guys who started the game.
But more importantly, the best defenses have a deep front seven, which allows defensive coordinators to mix and match and employ a variety of different tactics aimed at creating havoc for opposing offenses.
The Giants haven’t had a deep pass rush rotation in years. Assuming everyone stays healthy, they have it now. And while Thibodeaux does need to be a lot more consistent in his pass rush, what people also forget is that he’s pretty good against the run.
Last year despite missing five games, he raised his PFF run defense grade from 52.3 (career low) in 2023 to 65.6, falling just a bit short of his 71.8 run-defense grade set as a rookie.
Thibodeaux also tied for second on the team last year with eight tackles for loss, joining linebacker Micah McFadden and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence for that ranking.
The bottom line is that if you have a deep pass-rush group that can also play the run (which, as everyone knows, has been a problem for this Giants defense), why would they want to break up that unit?
The answer is they wouldn’t, nor should they.
I mentioned this on the current episode of the Locked On Giants podcast, but I could see a world in which if center John Michael Schmitz, who is off to a shaky start this summer after being involved with four errant snaps and also having been rag-dolled by Abdul Carter on the second day of practice, loses the starting job to Greg Van Roten.
To be clear, Van Roten and Schmitz aren’t in a competition for the job. It’s probably fair to say that the job is Schmitz’s to lose.
But if Evan Neal, who has taken most of his first-team reps at left guard and who’s a strong run blocker, can show he can handle the role, figure that would push Jon Runyan, Jr. to right guard (the position he was supposed to play after signing with the Giants).
That in turn would put Van Roten, who can play guard and center, as the top interior backup.
But if Schmitz continues to struggle, it’s going to be very difficult to continue justifying him being considered one of the “best five” on an offensive line that hasn’t exactly been part of the solution.
Granted, Van Roten, signed to a one-year deal, wouldn’t be the long-term solution, but with the team also looking to continue developing Jake Kubas, who last year started cross-training at center, perhaps they might have something there where, if Schmitz doesn’t work out, the Giants won’t be left in dire straits.
Giants fans are already infatuated with rookie running back Cam Skattebo’s old-school, blue-collar style of play.
Imaginations are running wild, picturing Skattebo rolling over incoming defenders as they try to bring the former Arizona State star down not just in the open field but also in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
However, there seems to be another role emerging in which Skattebo has so far excelled: catching passes out of the backfield.
Last year, Skattebo ranked fifth among college running backs eligible for the 2025 draft with 44 receptions for 543 yards and three receiving touchdowns, his 12.3 yards per reception putting him first out of 11 eligible running backs who had at least 42 pass targets.
If Skattebo continues to show he has sticky hands–I don’t believe he’s had a drop yet in training camp–that will give the coaches yet another option in the passing game that maybe they weren’t expecting to have.
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