Five Storylines to Watch Ahead of New York Giants Mandatory Minicamp

The New York Giants off-season program concludes this week as the team will take the field for a mandatory three-day minicamp. "

It will be a little bit longer," head coach Brian Daboll said of the plan for the minicamp's daily practices and how they'll differ from the OTAs. "We'll do an extra walk-through with the practice, but it's not going to be over the top. Again, no pads on. Player safety is important to us. Will be in a little bit longer meetings, but not too much. Fairly similar."

That probably means that the Giants will continue their emphasis on teaching rather than attempting any in-depth player evaluation. They'll also get a final look before training camp opens next month at the rehabbing players, something they'll want to do for planning purposes in case they have to add to a position for depth to make it through the summer.

Daboll's goal this spring has been simple. Get the players and coaches acclimated to each other so that the team will be able to up its tempo to the next level by training camp.

"People are learning our language, our playbooks, how we want to do things here in terms of the building," he said. "So there's been a lot of teaching going on, which it needs to be."

That doesn't mean there hasn't been any evaluation going on, as the coaches have installed various segments of the offense and defense. Still, according to Daboll, that evaluation has been more about the mental aspect than it has execution.

"The evaluation process is really more, 'Can they take the stuff from the classroom to the field," he said. "Other than that, without any pads on and stuff like that, that will be more in training camp."

The practices will be padless and sans contact, but there should be plenty of storylines to stimulate outside interest.

Here are a few.

Who's In, Who's Out?

The Giants expect 100 percent attendance at the mandatory minicamp, but whether they get 100 percent participation from everyone who shows up is quite another story.

One of the main storylines of the spring has been the players (beyond the quarterbacks and kickers who wear the jerseys as a matter of practice) assigned to the red medical jerseys.

The Giants' list of players in red jerseys has included left tackle Andrew Thomas (ankle); receivers Sterling Shepard (Achilles), Kenny Golladay (unknown), and Kadarius Toney (knee); linebacker Blake Martinez (knee); and rookie edge Kayvon Thibodeaux (unknown, lower body).

Daboll didn't sound overly concerned about the players who have had to wear the red medical jerseys.

"I'd say this with the red jersey guys, they are all making progress, taking it day-by-day, but they are all doing a good job of doing the rehab that they need to do, whatever that's required of them," he said.

While he's correct in not pushing the panic button yet, mental reps can only take a player so far in his development, especially a younger player like Thibodeaux, who suffered his mysterious injury during the team's third OTA.

It's something to keep an eye on, but to panic? If Thibodeaux isn't ready by the start of camp, then things are subject to change.

Practice Tempo

Thus far, the Giants have been practicing at a moderate practice tempo. At some point, Daboll and company are likely to speed things up. Will that point be this week, or will they wait until camp?

Practicing at an up-tempo pace will be important because that's how games are played. On the flip side, working at a slower pace has allowed the players to get used to what's being asked of them.

Play Calling?

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has been calling the plays for the offense all spring and is expected to continue in that role for the upcoming camp. Daboll hasn't decided who the regular-season play-caller will be--Kafka or himself--but Kafka so far has been doing a good job of things, according to Daboll, in his quest to win that responsibility.

Any hints on depth?

At the start of the spring, Daboll mentioned that he doesn't yet have a depth chart (likely due to all the players who were missing because of injuries). Instead, he said, he had a workload chart he used to distribute reps.

At some point, though, a depth chart will have to come into play, especially given how crowded the roster is at receiver for the fourth and fifth spots, interior offensive line, cornerback, and inside linebacker.

This camp probably won't clarify how the coaches' depth chart will look, but it should give them an idea for future workload planning ahead of training camp.

Speaking of Which...

Barring anything unexpected, the Giants' starting offensive line looks like it's set at four of the five positions, left tackle (Andrew Thomas), center (Jon Feliciano), right guard (Mark Glowinski), and right tackle (Evan Neal).

Left guard is the only position that seems up in the air, though for most of the spring, Shane Lemieux, projected as the starter last year until a season-ending knee injury put the kibosh on that, has been working with the starters.

The Giants, who already have Ben Bredeson on the roster, added a couple of interior offensive linemen with experience at left guard, including Max Garcia and Jamil Douglas, and drafted guard/tackle Joshua Ezeudu in the third round.

The job, however, seems to be Lemieux's to lose.

"He's a tough, smart, dependable guy. Plays with a nasty edge, which you need upfront," Daboll said. "Did a really good job in the meetings with him leading up to the draft when I was in Buffalo.

"He's done a really nice job here. He's smart. He's what I thought he was when we evaluated him. Now when the pads get on, he'll have an opportunity to show that."

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