Giants OTA Storylines: 6 Critical Topics to Watch (and 2 That Don't Matter Yet)

The New York Giants open Phase 3 of the OTAs this week, with practices scheduled for May 19-21, and media access on the 21st, which is the third OTA.

As always, there are going to be storylines worth following and those that maybe aren’t as worth following at this point in the calendar.

That said, let’s look at some of the OTA storylines that will matter–and a couple that won’t just yet.

Jaxson Dart, Year 2

If the Giants are going to go places this year, they need second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart to be vastly improved in a couple of key areas.

The first is throwing the deep ball. Dart completed 32% of his deep passes (20+ air yards) last season, putting him 30th out of 33 quarterbacks with a minimum of 25 such pass attempts.

Yes, a part of that had to do with the quality of his receivers, though on those long balls, he had only one dropped pass per PFF data. And yes, not having a healthy Malik Nabers was a big part of that.

But part of that also had to do with Dart holding onto the ball too long at times. Dart not only led the league in percentage of dropbacks in which he was partially responsible for the ensuing pressures (39.1%), he also had 15 turnover-worthy plays, tying him for 21st league wide.

The bottom line is how much quicker Dart, who, with a 3.08 average time to throw, was tied for the 13th highest among quarterbacks last season, is going to be able to get the ball out of his hand, especially as he learns another offensive system.

The Defensive Linemen’s Roles

Defensive tackle DJ Reader is projected to be the Giants' new starting nose tackle. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Like him or hate him, Dexter Lawrence is still one of, if not the best, defensive linemen in the NFL. And despite his down year last season, you don’t simply “replace” what he alone brought to the table.

What you can do–and what the Giants have done–is bring in a bunch of versatile veterans who now give defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson options as to how he constructs the various personnel packages, and that’s going to be one of the key takeaways from the OTAs.

Things to take note of include who lines up where in different situations. All of that could give some early clues as to how defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson is thinking about deploying his options, which include nose guards DJ Reader and rookie Bobby Jamison-Travis, and versatile veterans like Darius Alexander, Roy Robertson-Harris, Sam Roberts, Shelby Harris, Zacch Pickens, and Leki Fotu.

And while Lawrence is again a big loss, if there is a silver lining to his departure, it’s that the Giants don’t have to worry about a massive drop-off in the lineup as they did every time Lawrence came off the field.

The Pass Rush

Again, we won’t see the pass rush at full speed, but what we may potentially see is how Wilson is thinking about deploying as many of his pass rushers–Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Arvell Reese, and Abdul Carter–at once.

Early expectations are that the Giants will bring back the NASCAR package that Steve Spagnuolo used so successfully during his stint with the Giants.

Regardless, expect Wilson to have a few ideas for optimizing what is clearly the defense's strength right now.

The “Basketball” Team

Every year, the Giants carry about a dozen receivers on their 90-man training camp roster, but for the first time in a while, they have themselves a complete “basketball team” staffed with quality options at the slot, Z, X, the big “power forward,” and, of course, the “center” (tight end).

Now it all comes down to how the competition plays out and who builds unmistakable chemistry with quarterback Jaxson Dart in the passing game.

And speaking of the passing game, will the Giants aim to be more of a vertical downfield threat, or will they mix in a healthy dose of shorter, underneath passes, as we saw in rookie camp with rookie Malachi Fields running slant patterns??

The Offensive Line

Is New York Giants guard Jon Runyan in danger of losing his starting job? | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Giants are returning four of their five starters from last year’s line, but left guard Jon Runyan isn’t necessarily a lock.

Runyan, who is in the last year of his contract, is expected to be challenged for his starting job by candidates such as Lucas Patrick, Daniel Faalele, Evan Neal, Josh Ezeudu, and Aaron Stinnie.

Runyan has been serviceable, but there are some questions about whether he fits the Harbaugh offensive lineman mold of a mauler.

New York could save $9 million on their cap if they move on from Runyan. And while they won’t know for sure until the pads go on whether they have a better option, the OTAs could offer clues about who has the early edge in the competition.

The CB2 Competition

Right now, the Giants have a starting cornerback spot up for grabs after the departure via free agency of Cor’Dale Flott to the Titans.

Harbaugh has already said that he expects second-round draft pick Colton Hood to compete for a starting job, and the rookie will get his chance in going against fellow newcomer Greg Newsome II and holdover Deonte Banks.

Two Storylines that Won’t Matter As Much Just Yet

Injury Updates

Yes, everyone is anxiously awaiting news on when receiver Malik Nabers (knee) and running back Cam Skattebo (ankle) will get the green light to return.

For what it’s worth, Nabers isn’t expected to be cleared to do any sort of football activity this spring.

Skattebo could be a different story, as he appears to be closer to being ready for the start of training camp than Nabers, despite suffering his season-ending injury four weeks after the receiver.

What matters most, though, is how soon both players will be fully cleared to take part in training camp.

And the same could be said of any other Giants players currently recovering from offseason procedures.

The Odell Beckham Jr Reunion

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is interested in reuniting with the Giants. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

When last we heard from Harbaugh regarding a possible Giants-Odell Beckham reunion, he said, “I think the goal right now is for him to train and get as ready as he can be, and then we'll see where we're at at that time.”

That was two weeks ago, making it highly unlikely that Beckham is going to be “as ready as he can be.” Further, Harbaugh said that the plan was to “play it out over the next month and into training camp and see where we're at.”

Harbaugh, for what it’s worth, isn’t slamming the door shut on a Beckham reunion, but he also has sounded lukewarm about the possibility.

“I'm pretty sure that he can make a team in the National Football League right now, but can he make a difference? It's something he wants to do. Is his body going to hold up in the way he wants it to, and all those things are questions that need to get answered for anybody at that age.”

The Giants could possibly be waiting to see where Nabers and Darius Slayton, the latter of whom underwent core muscle surgery earlier this offseason, are at once they get to training camp.

If both are ready midway through camp, that likely further reduces the likelihood of a reunion with OBJ.

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