9 Winners and 5 Losers from Giants’ Three-day Mandatory Minicamp

With the completion of their three-day mandatory minicamp, the New York Giants won’t be on the field again until July 29, when they report to training camp at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

That’s when the roster battles will really start to heat up, with the cream rising to the top. But that said, the recently completed spring sessions proved very productive for Big Blue, who focused on building camaraderie, installing new systems on both sides of the ball, and restoring Giants pride to a franchise that, in recent years, has lost its way.

As the players scatter for their seven weeks of downtime, let’s take a look back at who stood out and who did not.

Winners

K Dominic Zvada

Might as well start with the low-hanging fruit. Zvada, the undrafted rookie free agent out of Michigan, hit all 13 of his field goal attempts in practice, taking a firm lead in the kicking competition against Ben Sauls.

While it’s still too early to declare Zavada the winner of this battle–the team could still bring in more competition, or it will wait to see how the rookie does with kickoffs–Zavada has to be pretty pleased with what he put on tape so far.

CB Deonte Banks

Banks looked far more comfortable in this Dennar Wilson defense, the fourth-year cornerback making plays and, most of all, not committing the same sloppiness of not getting his head turned around as was the case in the past.

Having stacked one good play on top of another, Banks is very much in the mix for regaining a starting job on defense.

DL Darius Alexander

New York Giants defensive tackle Darius Alexander | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Alexander began to show progress at the end of last season, as his defensive snap counts increased over the last six games he played. In that span, he recorded three of his 3.5 sacks, 11 of his 20 tackles, four of his six quarterback hits, and three of his four tackles for loss.

Not surprisingly, Alexander got a healthy dose of first-team reps on the defensive line all spring, and while we can’t fully assess his progress without seeing him in pads, the fact that the coaches leaned on him more than some of the veterans they brought in speaks volumes about how they feel about the second-year player.

OL Marcus Mbow

New York Giants guard Marcus Mbow | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mbow finished last season as the swing tackle, and nothing has changed since. He shared first-team reps at left tackle with Andrew Thomas, allowing Thomas to have his reps managed due to ongoing foot and shoulder issues.

While one still needs to see Mbow in pads to fully assess how well he’s improved, the fact that he received first-team reps and didn’t look out of place certainly bodes well for his immediate future.

C John Michael Schmitz

New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Earlier in the spring, there was a thought that perhaps Schmitz, the fourth-year center, might get a push for his job from veteran Lucas Patrick. That never materialized, according to Harbaugh, because Patrick was dealing with “old guy stuff” that limited his participation this spring.

Schmitz, meanwhile, looks like he added some muscle while becoming leaner. He also looked good when asked to pull, which is probably going to be something he’s asked to do more of in the coming season.

RB Cam Skattebo

First, there was the celebratory backfield, which screamed to anyone watching that he was back and better than ever.

But just in case anyone had any doubts, Skattebo, who is eight months removed from a gruesome ankle injury, reached a goal of getting some late-spring reps in team drills, looking no worse for wear and also showing off his pre-injury agility.

WR Malachi Fields

Jun 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malachi Fields (0) participates in drills during the minicamp activities at Quest Diagnostics Center. | Thomas Salus-Imagn Images

The Giants’ third-round draft pick put that big-time catch radius on full display several times this camp by catching balls at their high point.

And did we mention that he didn’t let very many, if any, balls hit his hands before hitting the ground?

It’s still too soon to say how much of a role Fields is going to have in this offense, but if he stays healthy, that big-time catch radius is undoubtedly going to be a welcome benefit for quarterback Jaxson Dart.

DB Ar’Darius Washington

If you thought the Giants’ signing of Ar’Darius Washington was just for special teams, think again. Not only was Washington a part of a three-safety look, but he also received some slot snaps, holding up well. Washington might very well be one of the sleepers on the defensive side of the ball this summer, given all that he can bring to the defense.

OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux

Jun 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) answers questions from the press after the minicamp activities at Quest Diagnostics Center. | Thomas Salus-Imagn Images

Thibodeaux quietly–and we do mean quietly–had himself a strong spring showing.

Perhaps even more admirable is that despite all the chatter surrounding his future and questioning if he’s ever going to live up to his draft pedigree,

Thibodeaux came in, went to work, shut his mouth and put the team ahead of himself, in the process earning public support and respect from teammate Brian Burns and from Harbaugh.

Losers

K Ben Sauls

Saul finished 7-of-14 in the field goal kicking department, sending his missed attempts wide left.

The sad thing is it didn’t matter what the conditions were–wind or no wind; Saul struggled after being perfect at the end of last year. Whether he makes it to training camp is still to be determined, but he’s obviously way behind in this kicking battle.

G Evan Neal

Aug 4, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal (73) on the field during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

I truly thought Neal would get some first-team reps at left guard this spring, as it’s believed that Jon Runyan, the incumbent, is not a lock to retain his starting job.

While Neal did get snaps at left and right guard, most of those did not come with the first team offense, perhaps a strong hint that Neal still has a ways to go before his technique can be trusted to blow open holes in the running game and, even more importantly, protect quarterback Jaxson Dart.

G/T Joshua Ezeudu

Ezeudu offers a bit more versatility than Neal in that he received snaps at guard and tackle.

But if this coaching staff, like the previous one, believes Ezeudu is more of a tackle, that’s potentially bad news for his chances of making the roster so long as Marcus Mbow continues to practice well.

WR Jalin Hyatt

New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Giants have either drafted or brought in veterans who have landed ahead of Hyatt on the depth chart every season since the former Tennessee Vol’s second campaign.

This spring was no different, as in addition to having to fight off rookie draft pick Malachi Fields, Hyatt also has somehow beaten Odell Beckham Jr, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Braxton Berrios for what should be one of six spots.

That Hyatt doesn't give a team much on special teams doesn’t help his case.

CB Dru Phillips

Phillips has been the main slot cornerback for the Giants since his selection as a third-round draft pick in 2024. But that could change starting this year, given how Ar’Darius Washington has quietly started an ascent toward more playing time in different roles.

Phillips, meanwhile, hasn’t been awful–inconsistent is a better word. Per PFF, he’s posted double-digit missed tackles in each of his two seasons and has seen the touchdowns allowed triple from his rookie campaign (all three coming from the slot).

In slot coverage, his 103.4 coverage rating was the worst of the three cornerbacks (Deonte Banks and Paulson Adebo) who lined up in the slot and had at least 20 such snaps from that spot.

From a bigger-picture perspective, Phillips, who played in 115 more snaps last season than he did as a rookie, didn’t really have improved numbers given the additional opportunities.

That said, he’s probably not in danger of losing his job altogether, but he’s definitely going to need to show more consistency this summer if he wants to be the primary slot corner.

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