The New York Giants wrapped up their three-day mandatory minicamp on Thursday. The team has two voluntary practices early next week and then there’s a six-week break before training camp.
The most important development during minicamp is that the team appeared to avoid any serious injuries. Here are some additional takeaways from this week’s practices:
• New wide receiver Kenny Golladay replied, “That’s my boy,” when asked for his first impression of quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones has proactively built a relationship with the $72 million receiver (and the rest of the receiving corps) this offseason, organizing workouts in New Jersey, North Carolina and Arizona.
The chemistry between Jones and Golladay continued to grow this week. The duo seemed to be together whenever an opportunity presented itself.
While most players participated in a special-teams drill at the start of each practice, Jones and Golladay went to an adjacent field to play catch. During a special-teams period later in practice, the quarterbacks and a few receivers, including Golladay, worked near the goal line. Wednesday’s throwing sessions featured a smooth one-handed catch by Golladay as he drilled back-shoulder fades with Jones.
The Giants are counting on the addition of Golladay to help Jones make a leap in his third season. The relationship is in its very early stages, but the first impression was promising.
• Rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney has had an inauspicious introduction to the team that took him with the 20th pick in this year’s draft. Toney didn’t finish either of the team’s two rookie minicamp practices, first due to an issue with his cleats and then due to an apparent minor injury.
Toney then skipped three weeks of voluntary full-team workouts, which is an unusual step for a rookie. Toney signed his contract last Friday and reported for minicamp, but he left Tuesday’s practice early after again slipping multiple times.
The good news is that Toney completed Wednesday’s practice and showed glimpses of his skill set. Jones described Toney as “twitchy and explosive,” and special-teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey referred to the rookie’s “extreme talent” and “unique traits.”
Toney’s quickness and agility stand out in practice. The issue has been keeping him on the field. He was excused from Thursday’s practice for a family emergency, according to the team.
My understanding is that Toney’s absence from the voluntary workouts was because he hadn’t signed his contract. That’s bizarre since rookies regularly participate in the offseason program before signing their contracts because they sign waivers that protect them in case of injury. Toney signed the waiver before participating in rookie minicamp, which is why his subsequent absence from the voluntary program surprised the team.
Toney missed three weeks of working with Jones to build chemistry. Toney didn’t get any reps with Jones in team periods during minicamp, working exclusively with the second-string offense.
Wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert spent a lot of time working with Toney, however. Expect that to continue, as Toney has plenty of room to grow.
• Toney’s four-year, $13.7 million contract is fully guaranteed. The Giants have $2.4 million in cap space after signing their draft class.
• A slimmed down Patrick Graham — the defensive coordinator said he got serious about losing weight after being “my heaviest at the end of last year in my whole life” — spoke for the first time since passing on an opportunity to interview for the Jets’ head coaching job in January. Graham instead signed an extension to remain as the Giants’ DC and assistant head coach.
“This is my dream job to be here as the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants,” Graham said. “So I’m just happy to be here. It’s nothing against (the Jets) or anything. I’m just happy to be a New York Giant.”
Graham later acknowledged that he has aspirations to advance in his career, but he’s in no hurry to leave his current situation. He’s extremely close to coach Joe Judge, dating back to their time together in New England, and he seems intent on building on a strong defensive performance last season.
“We played decent defense as the year went on, (though there’s) a lot of room to grow,” Graham said.
Graham is being modest considering the Giants finished ninth in points allowed despite some glaring personnel deficiencies. The Giants made personnel upgrades in the offseason and the returning players’ reverence for their leader is evident.
Safeties Logan Ryan and Jabrill Peppers both mentioned “the beauty of Graham” when it comes to fitting pieces together.
“He’s a hell of a coach,” Peppers said. “I’m happy we got him back. We’re not done yet. I don’t think we touched the tip of the iceberg.”
• The mix at safety is intriguing since Ryan signed last year after Xavier McKinney got injured in training camp. McKinney didn’t debut until Week 12 and only played substantial snaps in the final four games.
So now is the first time the three safeties have been on even ground. Ryan and Peppers appear to be atop the depth chart, but the Giants figure to play plenty of three-safety packages. The workload for some defensive backs could vary greatly from week to week as Graham adjusts the game plan based on the matchup.
The Giants can play a bigger nickel package with McKinney as the fifth defensive back or use a cornerback in the slot — Darnay Holmes or Aaron Robinson — in a more traditional nickel package. The Giants will also use a dime package with McKinney and an extra corner.
• The defensive depth chart isn’t easy to decipher in a Judge practice, especially so far from the start of the season. There’s a ton of mixing and matching that makes it difficult to know if a player is truly rising up the depth chart or if a starter is just having a lighter day.
Among the contested spots, Austin Johnson appears to be the top nose tackle, stepping into the void created by Dalvin Tomlinson’s free-agent departure. Tae Crowder, who made six starts as a rookie, looks like the top option next to Blake Martinez at inside linebacker in the base defense. Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, Azeez Ojulari and Elerson Smith all got work with the first-team defense at outside linebacker. Holmes was the top slot cornerback, but Robinson was held out of live drills, likely due to a minor injury. Robinson got some work with the first-team nickel defense in install periods.
• There are no injury reports at this point of the offseason, but the only players not spotted at the three practices were running back Saquon Barkley, running back Taquan Mizzell, outside linebacker Cam Brown and outside linebacker Ryan Anderson. Barkley is rehabilitating a torn ACL and Mizzell appeared to suffer an injury during an OTA practice last week. Brown and Anderson haven’t participated in any practices this spring. They are dealing with relatively minor injuries, according to a source.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph didn’t practice as he recovers from foot surgery, but the veteran was at Wednesday’s practice observing. On Thursday, a stationary Rudolph caught passes from Jones. Judge was non-committal when asked if Rudolph will be ready for training camp.
Wide receiver John Ross missed Tuesday’s practice before being a limited participant on Wednesday. Ross left Thursday’s practice early as he continued to deal with an undisclosed ailment. It wasn’t a good start for Ross, who was hampered by injuries throughout his four seasons in Cincinnati.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas, who had surgery on his ankle in January, appeared to be on a pitch count. Thomas was held out of conditioning at the end of Tuesday’s practice and had lighter workloads on Wednesday and Thursday. Nate Solder stepped in at left tackle with the starters for a few team periods.
Second-string center Jonotthan Harrison didn’t participate in team periods during the first two days of minicamp. That gave undrafted rookie Brett Heggie an opportunity to work as the second-team center. Zach Fulton, who has been the second-string right guard, stepped in as the third-team center. Fulton has mostly played right guard during his seven-year career, but he saw extensive time at center in 2017 for the Chiefs. Starting left guard Shane Lemieux also took a few reps at center during Tuesday’s practice.
Solder has worked on both sides, but he spent most of his time behind Matt Peart at right tackle. Solder said he needed the break “mentally and physically” that was afforded by opting out of last season. The 33-year-old genuinely seems happy to be playing again and accepts that he’ll likely be a backup after making 127 career starts.
• Barkley provided an update on his rehab from a torn ACL on Wednesday, but the running back sidestepped any questions about a timetable for his return.
“I have no expectation, no set day when I’m going to be full go,” Barkley said.
The season opener will be almost a full year from the date of Barkley’s injury. History suggests that should be enough time for him to recover, but it’s clear he and the team are taking a cautious approach.
If Barkley isn’t ready — at least not for a full workload — free-agent signing Devontae Booker is clearly in line to take over as the lead back. Corey Clement, who signed after a rookie minicamp tryout, also got some work this week with the starters.
• Seven players got extra special-teams reps each day while the rest of the team participated in individual position drills: running back Gary Brightwell, fullback Cullen Gillaspia, wide receiver Derrick Dillon, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, outside linebacker Elerson Smith, cornerback Jarren Williams and cornerback Chris Milton. Outside of Ojulari, a second-round pick, and Smith, a fourth-round pick, those players will need to stand out on special teams to earn roster spots, so the extra reps should be beneficial.
Toney, Holmes, Sterling Shepard, Adoree’ Jackson, Darius Slayton and Dante Pettis took reps returning punts. Interestingly, Peppers, who had a team-high 15 punt returns last season, didn’t get any work at returner.
The best bet would be using Toney as the punt returner, as it’s an easy way to get the ball into his hands. An added benefit of having Toney return punts is it would lighten the workload of Peppers, who never comes off the field on defense. Holmes can be eliminated from the equation after repeatedly muffing punts this week.
• Kelvin Benjamin was a wide receiver when he was a first-round pick by the Panthers in 2014. The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder is transitioning to tight end, but he worked with the wide receivers at times during minicamp. Benjamin, who left practice early on Tuesday but returned on Wednesday, is essentially playing detached tight end. He mostly lined up as a big slot receiver. It would be a major upset if he makes the team after being out of the league for two years.
Quincy Wilson was a cornerback when he was a second-round pick by the Colts in 2017, but he worked with the safeties during minicamp.
• Former Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt is listed as a senior defensive assistant. That title gives Pruitt flexibility, but he worked extensively with the defensive backs during minicamp. That’s not surprising since he’s coached defensive backs throughout his career. He was Alabama’s defensive backs coach when he worked alongside Judge in 2010 and 2011.
• There was a scary scene during Tuesday’s practice when running backs coach Burton Burns was carted off the field after appearing to collapse on a sweltering day. The 68-year-old received immediate attention from the Giants medical staff, while owner John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman and assistant general manager Kevin Abrams looked on.
The Giants said Burns was dealing with heat exhaustion. He was back at practice on Wednesday, wearing a hat with a large brim and spending some time watching from a covered golf cart.
