New York Giants OTA No. 3 Report: Going Deep

The Giants' third OTA is in the books. Here's a rundown of what went down.

East Rutherford, N.J.: The New York Giants held a nearly two-hour practice that can best be described as more of a walkthrough.

Quarterback Daniel Jones later referred to the current camp as a passing camp, and as such, the deep ball was on full display during this walkthrough.

Receiver Darius Slayton caught two deep balls from Daniel Jones, one over the middle and the other along the sideline. Meanwhile, Tight end Darren Waller looks like he's been playing with Jones for years.

Waller also had a few deep receptions, but the big thing to take away from watching him was how well he adjusted to the ball.

"He can do a lot," Jones said of Waller. "He's a tough matchup for people, for defenses, with a guy who can run like that with that size, and how you play him in man and account for him in zone coverages. He gives something for a defense to worry about or to game plan for, and we can move him."

Waller said the best thing about the Giants offense is it's challenging.

"It requires you to know everything that's going on on the field, not just have yourself fixed in one spot like you need to know the whole picture of the offense," he said. "Why the quarterback's looking in a certain direction, why you need to be in a certain window at a certain time. It forces you to move fast, think fast, and I love challenges. That’s what I like the most about it."

Let's get into a few more notes and takeaways from the third OTA practice.

David Sills Injured

The injury bug continues to be alive and well. This time it was receiver David Sills V who came down awkwardly while trying to secure a pass thrown by Tyrod Taylor. Sills, who was covered by Rodarius Williams, landed hard on the ground and stayed down for a bit in obvious pain.

He eventually got up and walked back to the building for further evaluation. The exact nature of Sills’ injury was unknown.

Dead Ball Snap is Alive and Well

When the Giants first drafted him, rookie center John Michael Schmitz said he would go to quarterback Daniel Jones regarding whether he'd continue using the dead ball snap that he took a liking to at the University of Minnesota.

Turns out that Schmitz had that conversation with Jones, and the quarterback is just fine with the dead ball snap extending its life in the Giants' offense.

“Yeah, I’m good with it," Jones said. "He’s accurate. He asked me [if he could use that snapping technique], and I said yeah.”

Jones also offered praise of the young center.

"He's been great. He's a smart guy. Been in here working hard. He's on it every day, working to learn and understand what we're doing in protections, what we're doing in the run game," he said.

"This is more of a passing camp. So, a lot of that run stuff's happening in meetings and then walkthroughs out here. But he's doing a great job, and it's been fun working with him."

Silent on Saquon

As anticipated, neither head coach Brian Daboll nor the players brought to the podium had much to say about running back Saquon Barkley's contract impasse with the team.

Daboll opened his press conference before the team hit the field by referring any questions about Barkley's status to the front office. He added that any conversations with the running back would remain private.

“That situation is going to be between Saquon and the organization,” Daboll said. “I’m not going to get into detail of any of the discussions we’ve had.”

Likewise, quarterback Daniel Jones, who spoke with reporters after practice, said that while he continues to speak with Barkley, his friend, a lot, he declined to comment too much on the running back's standoff.

"That's been him and the team," Jones said. "Saquon is a close friend of mine, and he's been a very important part of what we've done here, and he's a tremendous part of this offense. I hope they can get something done."

The Giants have until July 17 to reach a new long-term deal with Barkley. If no such deal is reached, the running back's only other option is to play on the franchise tag. However, as long as that tag remains unsigned, Barkley doesn't have to report, nor does he risk being fined if he doesn't report.

For his part, Daboll isn't worried about any hard feelings existing between Barkley and the organization when the contract situation eventually gets resolved.

"I think you build relationships with people in the business," he said. "There's always a business sighted of things in this league, and again, those conversations will remain private, but the guys on the team that you have, everybody goes through it at some point, and you just build on relationships and keep discussions private between yourself and the players."

Practice Notes

Rough afternoon for cornerback Amani Oruwariye, who Darius Slayton beat for a deep ball reception down the left sideline. Oruwariye was beaten on at least one other deep ball, as he looked hesitant in coverage.

Two cornerbacks who did look good were Cor'Dale Flott, who broke up a pass after getting in an ideal position, and rookie Gervarrius Owens, who managed to knock away a ball.

Slayton, one of the two stars on offense to stand out besides Waller, beat Bobby McCain for another touchdown reception. Slayton seems to have developed a comfort level in this offense.

From left to right, the Giants offensive line consisted of LT Andrew Thomas, LG Ben Bredeson, C John Michael Schmitz, RG Mark Glowinski, and RT Evan Neal. I'm curious to see if Joshua Ezeudu, who is coming off a season-ending neck/shoulder injury, pushes for the starting left guard spot.

Great seeing Sterling Shepard work into reps. The Giants ran OTA #3 at mostly walkthrough speed, and something new this year is that when the team did full team drills, they did so without helmets and at a vastly reduced speed. When they did seven-on-seven drills, they put the helmets on and cranked up the tempo just a bit.

Shepard took some snaps in the team drills, lining up outside and going through the motions at the same speed as his teammates. Otherwise, Shepard was seen on a side field working with a trainer, doing some running and cutting, and going against a blocking pad.

Player Participation

Daboll said that he's been pleased with the participation this off-season.

"We have had really good attendance all the way through," he said, also acknowledging that a few guys had some things going on this week and weren't able to partake in the camp.

"The guys have been out here working. I think we've made some strides relative to when we started back in April. Got a long way to go, but the guys are working well."

Among those not spotted were defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams. Lawrence doesn't have a workout bonus this year in his new contract.

Williams does, but it's unclear as to whether his absence was due to any ongoing rehab for the neck ailment that bothered him late last year.

Musical Notes

With superstar Taylor Swift set to rock MetLife Stadium for two shows starting Friday, the Giants worked in some of her music during their practice.

At the start of practice, the team warmed up to "22".They also ended practice on a Swift song, the title of which I don't know.

And speaking of music, the Giants paid tribute to the late Tina Turner, who passed away yesterday at the age of 83, by playing her hit single "Simply the Best" during the mid part of practice.

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