3 Under-the-Radar New York Giants Training Camp Battles to Watch in 2026

New York Giants training camp is going to be lit this year.

While there are some players who likely don’t have to worry about where they stand with new head coach John Harbaugh–quarterback Jaxson Dart, outside linebacker Brian Burns left tackle Andrew Thomas, and receiver Malik Nabers all come to immediately to mind–there are several positions where the competition promises to be at an all-time high as Harbaugh and his staff determine which players are willing to give everything they have to be a part of his first-ever Giants team.

For instance, the battle at receiver should be a good one as the Giants figure out the pecking order after Nabers and try to define the slot receiver role.

The defensive line promises to be another area to watch as the team tries to figure out how to compensate for the loss of Dexter Lawrence, who was traded before the draft to the Bengals.

Then there are other competitions brewing that, if you dig a little deeper, might not be getting as much attention but probably should, for reasons people aren’t necessarily discussing.

Here are three such developing competitions.

Kicker

After the Giants went through a rocky adventure at kicker last season, it was hoped that the position would finally be settled, given the solid showing by then-rookie Ben Sauls.

That’s apparently not the case. While Sauls remains on the roster, it apparently hasn’t been lost on head coach John Harbaugh that Sauls hasn’t attempted any long-distance (50+-yard) field goals while under pressure.

That’s in part why the Giants brought in former Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders, who missed last year with a hip injury, to compete. Sanders, per assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Chris Horton, has been “ready to go since I think the last four weeks of last season” and was kicking well, at least as of the start of the month.

But with the team having added Dominic Zvada to the mix, it’s fair to wonder if Sanders, who presumably, with his other veteran teammates, went through the team’s voluntary minicamp last week, lacked leg strength or showed any kind of performance deficiency to where the team’s brass felt it necessary to bring in Zvada, one of the top-rated kickers in this year’s draft class.

It’s certainly possible that the Giants have considered carrying a kicker on the practice squad in the event they go with the veteran. Still, this particular competition just got a whole lot more interesting.

Left Guard

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Everyone knows about the competition at right guard, where first-round draft pick Francis Mauigoa is projected to come out on top. But something to keep an eye on is the spot at left guard, where far too many people are assuming that incumbent Jon Runyan has the starting job locked up.

That shouldn’t be the case, however. Last year, Runyan graded out as the worst of the starting five offensive linemen in pass blocking with a 60.6 grade. He was also the worst-graded of the 10 Giants offensive linemen in the run-blocking department with a 49.2 grade.

If the Giants are looking to implement a power rushing game, that left guard spot needs to be upgraded, pure and simple. And a name to watch as a chief competitor could very well be none other than Evan Neal.

Yes, that Evan Neal, who signed a one-year veteran salary benefit with zero guaranteed money. Harbaugh has spoken before of being enamored with Neal’s tape when he was coming out of Alabama–you know, the tape in which Neal played the bulk of his college snaps on the left side (1,094 at left tackle and 723 at left guard versus only 765 snaps at right tackle and one snap at right guard).

If that’s the tape Harbaugh has been referring to, wouldn’t it make sense to try Neal out at left guard, where he last played meaningful snaps at the spot in 2019 for the Crimson Tide, recording respectable grades of 70.1 in run blocking and 70.0 in pass protection?

If Neal does end up competing with Runyan and Aaron Stinnie–Stinnie is more of a left guard–the Giants could potentially move on from Runyan’s $9 million base salary due this year and maybe kick some of that money toward Neal if he should happen to win the starting job.

Cornerback

This is one of those battles that might have a greater effect down the line than in the immediate season.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s start with the current season. All eyes will be on the cornerback battle between second-round draft pick Colton Hood and Greg Newsome II for right cornerback, with Hood expected to really push for the job.

But don’t discount Deonte Banks from this competition just yet.

Yes, it’s easy to say that the team should give up on Banks, whom many believe the Giants will pass on exercising his $12 million option year in his rookie deal.

But as of last weekend, general manager Joe Schoen said that a decision had not yet been made on whether to pick up Banks’s option year and that there would be a discussion about it, perhaps an indication that maybe the coaches see something worth salvaging in Banks.

Even if New York doesn’t exercise Banks’ option year, no one should be thinking he’s going to be cast aside, as was the case last year when he fell out of favor and ended up just returning kickoffs, a role that he was good at, by the way.

Banks has been given a fresh start (as have his other returning teammates) under Harbaugh, with a Dennard Wilson-led defense that promises to rely more on press-man coverage (a Banks strength) than on zone coverage. As such, reports of Banks’s pending demise with the Giants might very well be premature.

While Hood becomes the favorite for the job given his draft pedigree, it’s worth noting that Paulson Adebo, while under contract for 2027, has no guaranteed money owed to him and could save the Giants $14 million if one of Banks or Newsome emerges as a viable option at the position.

Adebo, by the way, didn’t exactly play well in his first season as a Giant. He finished with an overall 58.4 grade from PFF, the second-worst of his career. Yes, he had a knee injury that cost him five games, but in 759 defensive snaps, he recorded just one interception, while allowing a 66.7% completion rate against him, the second-highest rate of his career.

Given his showing, might Adebo’s starting job be hanging by a thread as well?

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