Giants Rookie Minicamp Notebook, Day 1

Let's run down all the latest happenings from the first day of the Giants rookie minicamp.

Making the jump from college to the pros can be daunting for any rookie, regardless of where--or if--he was drafted.

That's why Giants head coach Brian Daboll, in planning for his first rookie minicamp, has been putting more of a focus on the mental aspect of things than the physical part.

"Good to be out here with these guys. They got in last night. Had some meetings today with them. Really going to be kind of a short practice, if you will, a little bit over an hour," Daboll said.

"Have some more meetings. Very similar in terms of scheduling tomorrow. It's good to get with these guys and start working with them and see what some of the stuff they can do in the classroom, and just ease them into things outside on the field."

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It's a different yet more traditional approach than what some of Daboll's contemporaries, such as Robert Saleh of the Jets, took during their minicamp last weekend in which the rookies didn't partake in certain drills.

Daboll's approach seems to be to ramp up the rookies to the daily grind expected of them both in the meeting rooms and on the field.

"I think that's right on. That's what I told them yesterday--'It’s for you to get to know us, us to get to know you,'" Daboll said. "There's only a couple of days we'll do stuff on the field. There's a long way to go, as they can see.

"We're not going to overdo it in terms of the installation and give them a ton of things to learn. I think it's really important, particularly the trial guys, to minimize the package, not motion and shift, do all these crazy things, and just see who can perform there."

Daboll was later asked what the biggest transition for rookies coming from college to the NFL is, and his answer might lend some insight into his thought process behind how he set up the minicamp.

"There's a lot. Just having that one year in college. You don't have as much time in the meeting room. I need to install a lot less," he said.

"We went through a couple of cadences today just on the offensive side. They’re used to claps, not many cadences. We put in two -- we put in three. Cut it back down to two because it took a little while to get these two cadences. That's just the start of it. Formations, how you signal into the sideline. There are so many different things."

To make sure he's not setting anyone's hair on fire just yet, Daboll has structured the practices to run just over an hour each day.

"Almost half of it will be some type of walk-through. We'll do some individual drills. We'll get about 15, 20 minutes of individual stuff. We have seven-on-seven periods, and we'll do 14 plays."

The grind will eventually come but for now, giving the rookies--many of whom haven't played football since December--a chance to reacclimate to the game seems to be the smart approach in getting them ready for the transition."

Cornering the Market

Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

With the Giants having had no choice but to move on from James Bradberry, the team now appears to have a major hole in its defensive secondary.

That's largely because the talent behind Bradberry was either inexperienced or not nearly as accomplished as the 29-year-old veteran.

But life--and the roster-building process--goes on, and the Giants sound as though they're going to give second-year man Aaron Robinson, who played 149 of his 268 defensive snaps on the outside in his rookie season, and who in college played 1,152 of his 1,683 snaps in the slot, that opportunity to win the job.

"All I can go by with what we've done out here this past month, which is no pads and things like that, but Aaron's been doing a really good job picking up the system, does a good job in drills," Daboll said.

So does that mean he feels good about Robinson's chances of making the transition?

"Yeah, we'll see. Yup."

So then no need for a veteran to come in as a mentor and a safety net?

“We have a lot of guys in today and rookie camp and are trying out stuff. We had guys here yesterday, really all camp, Phase II. Guys working hard--good group. Take it day by day,” Daboll said. 

“We’ll work with the guys we have. We’re going to try to add and, at times, replace guys if other guys are better.”

Toney Settles In

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Remember all that chatter about Kadarius Toney not showing up for the start of the off-season program and how it soured some people toward the second-year player?

Well, that all seems to be in the past now as head coach Brian Daboll said that the receiver has been a consistent participant since reporting to the team's off-season program on April 25.

"I really like him. He's smart," Daboll said. "You can tell he's got instinctive football. He was a really good (high school) quarterback down in Alabama. He's been a pleasure to be around. Good teammate. Smart. It's been great."

Daboll didn't want to rehash last season when Toney seemed to be a more regular presence in the trainer's room than on the football field. But the head coach stressed that Toney has settled nicely into the program.

"He's doing everything we're asking him to do," he said. "Glad he's here. We've had everybody here, so it's been a good few weeks."

Look Out Daniel Jones!

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are looking to stress to the rookies that no one man is above the team and that everyone needs to do their part.

That includes Schoen, who, despite assembling a full roster for Daboll and the coaches to run the rookie camp, couldn’t procure one very important element for this camp: a second quarterback.

So rather than overwork Brian Lewerke, the only quarterback on the rookie minicamp roster, Schoen pitched in to help with some drills, and he actually threw a few darts.

Schoen appears to have some work to do yet on his form. Still, it will be interesting to hear what quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, who with the rest of the coaches is scheduled to speak to the media at the mandatory minicamp next month, has to say about the Giants' new secret weapon.

Giants Sign Four Draft Picks

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants have signed sixth-round draft pick Darrian Beavers, a linebacker out of Cincinnati, to a four-year, $3866 million deal that includes a $206,536 signing bonus, per Aaron Wilson.

The Giants also signed fifth-rounders D.J. Davidson, linebacker Micah McFadden, and offensive lineman Marcus McKethan to their rookie deals.

Other Notes

Giants.com

Florida defensive lineman Tyrone Truesdale, invited to camp on a tryout basis, failed his physical and thus was not signed. In what's a stark reminder that until players come in and pass their physicals, any reports of UDFAs signing are just that, reports.

Not that it matters much at the moment, but the Giants had Evan Neal at right tackle and Marcus McKethan at right guard, with Joshua Ezeudu getting some snaps at left tackle on one of the offensive line configurations.

Among those players in camp who are not rookies were receiver Travis Toloivenen, defensive back Lamont Wade, offensive tackle Devery Hamilton, receiver Austin Proehl, linebacker Josh Watson, tight end Nate Becker, receiver Dieter Gehrig, quarterback Brian Lewerke, and running back Sandro Platzgummer.

Editor's Note: The Giants say they erroneously listed Rodarius Williams on their minicamp roster. Williams is not eligible to be at this camp and the team issued a clarification.

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