New York Giants Rookie Minicamp Day 1: Notes and Quotes
The New York Giants were on the field for about an hour on the first day of their two-day rookie minicamp. Still, as expected, thanks to a limited roster consisting of only 22 players, the hour-long practice itself was more about doing positional drills.
The positional breakdown included two receivers (including first-rounder Kadarius Toney), three tight ends (including former first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin, a receiver listed as a tight end), two offensive linemen (the two undrafted free agents signed by the Giants, Brett Heggie, and Jake Burton), two defensive linemen, three linebackers, five running backs (including veteran Corey Clement), two quarterbacks, one fullback and two cornerbacks.
The "noteworthy" item of the day?
First-rounder Toney’s apparent struggles with his right cleat, which forced him to run through some of the drills without one of his shoes.
Toney said that the problem with his cleats stemmed from not having the right size shoe. But that didn't stop him from going through his workouts.
At least there was a minicamp this year, unlike last year when the pandemic wiped out all the spring football activities, so that’s a start.
And in what is an even more encouraging sign that things are slowly getting back to normal, the NFL, fresh on the heels of the CDC’s recent recommendation that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors and don’t have to practice social distancing except in certain situations, has revised its health and safety protocols.
According to a league memo, as reported by the NFL network, tiered personnel is no longer required to wear masks, or social distance inside or outside a team facility provided the individual has been fully vaccinated. It can only be hoped that this means even more of a return to normalcy within the way the league operates.
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- Giants Rookie Minicamp: Tryout Player Profiles
An Unconventional Camp Format
In the pre-COVID world, a rookie minicamp would consist of meetings followed by the players having a chance to show the coaches how much they picked up of what was taught by executing on the field.
But with such a limited roster at their disposal, head coach Joe Judge was forced to structure the minicamp differently.
"I think the biggest thing with these rookies--with any class of rookies--is it's all brand new to them," Judge said. "It's their first day in the National Football League, first time being on the grass, first time in our systems and schemes. So it really, this is an orientation weekend. This isn't a competition weekend.
"This is just get the guys out there and get them moving on the grass, take a look at them, you know, get a better idea of where they are physically. These are guys that have not been with a team now for at least five months. So being out there for the first time in team activities, drills and the pace and the tempo of a practice, as opposed to individual workouts with a trainer are much different."
In some instances, the minicamp participants haven't been on a football field in a competitive sense since 2019.
When asked if getting the chance to view the players up close and in person, he was able to learn anything new about where the various players stood in terms of their conditioning and fundamentals, Judge said, "As a whole, every rookie you get every year is far away from where they're going to be.
"None of their fundamentals are good enough. none of their conditioning will be good enough. That's our job, to get them going. ... We have to help them catch up to where the vets are at so when we get to training camp, they can compete on equal ground."
Toney, Williams Held Out of Post-Practice Sprints
First-round pick Kadarius Toney and sixth-rounder Rodarius Williams didn't take part in post-practice sprints, which raised the question as if either had a medical issue pop up.
As expected, Judge didn't offer any details and even sounded surprised at the question, saying he'd have to consult with the team's medical staff to see if something popped up.
Again, Toney had some equipment issues with his cleats throughout the practice but went through the drills.
"We got to get that straightened out and make sure our guys are on the field with equipment are comfortable with," Judge said. "So we'll handle that kind of make sure it's not an issue going forward."
Williams also went through the drills as well, so hopefully whatever it was that held him out of practice was nothing more than either cramping or an equipment issue.
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