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What to Watch in Giants'  First Padded Practice of Camp

The pads go on for the first time this summer Tuesday night for the New York Giants. Here is some of what we'll be watching.
Patricia Traina|
What to Watch in Giants'  First Padded Practice of Camp
What to Watch in Giants'  First Padded Practice of Camp

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New York Giants

Things are about to take another step closer to real football Tuesday night as the New York Giants will be in pads for the first time since their 2022 season ended in January.

Here's a quick rundown of what we will be watching as the pads start popping.

The Offensive Line

With pads comes live contact, and all eyes will be closely watching the offensive line, and in particular, right tackle Evan Neal and whoever lines up at left guard to see how that position fares.

Neal is coming off a rocky rookie season due partly to a mid-year knee sprain he suffered. He's been hard at work this off-season, developing more of a comfort level in his stance on the right side of the formation, and he claims he's made progress.

"I feel very comfortable," he said after the Giants second training camp practice. "I felt great out there the past two days. Just going to use the rest of camp to continue to hone in on those skills, just make small improvements every day. I feel like I am never going to be a finished product; I am just going to take each day to get better and better."

Neal will see a combination of Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux, both speed rushers who will put him to the test.

Meanwhile, at left guard, there continues to be a rotation that has included Ben Bredeson, Joshua Ezeudu, and, more recently, Tyre Phillips as the coaches try to decide who the best fit is in that spot.

"I think it will be settled by the players once we figure that out," head coach Brian Daboll said when asked if he had a timeframe for when he wanted the offensive line settled.

" Our job is to give people opportunities to go out there and compete, use different lineups. See how they react to different things, whether it’s from tackle to guard, guard to center, center to guard. I think every place I have been, we have always done that with the offensive line." 

John Michael Schmitz vs. Wink Martindale

Schmitz is, of course, part of the offensive line, but he's getting his own category because all signs are pointing to the team, hoping he can emerge as the starter.

But until this point, Schmitz has rotated snaps with Ben Bredeson and, until he was injured, JC Hassenauer. Others who can play center include Shane Lemieux and Jack Anderson.

Starting today with the pads on, look for the Giants defense to throw everything they have at Schmitz to see how well he handles pressure packages, trickery, and everything in between.

"He’s a smart guy; he works hard," Daboll said of Schmitz. "There’s a lot, as you know, on your plate, playing center. He’s very cerebral; he’s intelligent. He’s made progress since he’s been here."

The Run Defense

It's well-documented that the Giants run defense wasn't very good last year. That was partially due to the constant issues at linebacker, where the second level of the defense didn't do a good enough fit. It was also partially due to the lack of depth on the defensive line to fill in for Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence when they weren't in the lineup.

No surprise then that general manager JoeSchoen made a heavy effort to correct that by adding guys in free agency (Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Bobby Okereke) and in the draft (Jordon Riley). And now, with the pads going on, we should start to get an idea if better days are ahead of the Giants' 27th-ranked run defense.

"A lot of walkthroughs, a lot of meeting time spent on (run) fits, just the mental part," Okereke said when asked how they were working to improve the run defense.

Okereke has built a reputation of being a solid run-stopper, but for as good as he's been, it will take an entire army to get the job done.

"Yeah, I mean, it takes 11 guys to do their job at the same time. But also, once you fit your gap, be a football player and tackle the ball. It takes that dogmatic mentality to make the tackles, but you also have to do your one-of-11. Stay in your A-gap, stay in your B-gap, and set the edge. It takes everybody," he said.

The run defense will get a good test from a highly motivated Saquon Barkley and friends starting today.

Receivers vs. the Defensive Backs

Thus far, the offense has looked light-years ahead of where it was this time last year. But while some of that is due to this being Year 2 in the same system, it's also fair to wonder how much of that is because there has been no jamming of receivers coming off the line due to the no live contact rule.

Starting tonight, we'll see if the defensive backs "close the gap" a little more in breaking up passes and disrupting the timing of players coming off their routes.

Of particular interest will be first-round pick Deonte Banks. Banks has gotten off to a slow start thus far, though, in the last couple of practices, he's looked much better.

Still, it will be interesting to see if being able to get physical with receivers makes even more of a difference. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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