Giants Are Finally Living Up to Their Name, and Malachi Fields Is Exhibit A

It’s ironic, isn’t it?

For over 100 years, this New York Giants franchise we all know and love has borne the nickname “Giants.” There have been stretches of time when they not only haven’t played like Giants, but also haven't lived up to the moniker when it comes to roster size.

That’s changed under head coach John Harbaugh, who has emphasized bringing in taller players at certain positions to give them a height advantage that has been missing for years.

Like at wide receiver, where 6-foot-4 rookie Malachi Fields came down with what, at the time, was the go-ahead touchdown reception in the second quarter by outjumping a much smaller defensive back in the process, who had zero chance at sticking a hand up to knock the pass away.

Times are changing for these Giants under Harbaugh. And while that play by Fields was just one indication of something more fun to come, there was much more to be had.

Here are our grades and evaluation of the Giants receivers and tight ends.

Did Not Play

WR Malik Nabers (knee), WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), and WR Jalin Hyatt (leg) did not play in the Week 1 preseason opener. The hope is that Nabers, who is coming off an ACL injury, advances this week to get into 7-on-7 and some team drills, as he remains on pace for the start of the regular season.

Receivers

Malachi Fields

The star of the group–Fields caught all three of his pass targets for 34 yards–his highlight being his touchdown catch in the end zone, his quarterback exploiting the size mismatch that the 6-foot-4 Fields lorded over his 5-foot-10 opponent.

Give Fields credit for navigating his way across the field to the far edge of the end zone and with the awareness to stay in bounds and toe-tap his feet neatly for the 15-yard touchdown. That’s what you want to see in a red-zone threat.

"That's one of the reasons we drafted him," said head coach John Harbaugh after the game. "Most red zone touchdown passes are not on time. Most red zone touchdown passes are extended and/or plus scrambles.

"Yo've got a quarterback that can go make a play. That's how you score a lot of those touchdowns. So, that was good to see."

Fields also deserved credit for his blocking efforts, which weren’t lauded as loudly as his receiving skills on the telecast, but were just as impressive. We had him down for about five legit positive and very physical blocks, some of them coming against larger opponents.

Fields looked like a blocking tight end out there at times. Mix that in with his obvious receiving skills, and you have something very special in the making.

Beyond his touchdown catch, his two other receptions moved the chains, showing very reliable hands against contact. Fields also made a special teams tackle. He’s got the look of a starter on this team, and should be very tough to handle in the red zone.

Odell Beckham Jr.

Looking sharp, fast, and quick running his routes, Beckham caught two balls for 6 yards, but should have had more, as he ran several deep routes only to be ignored by the quarterbacks.

"I thought he looked pretty good," said Harbaugh. "Made a couple catches, you know, did some things, some things he could have done better. He'll be the first guy to tell you that. But I thought he looked solid."

Regardless, Beckham sure did look the part out there. His ability to mentally process matters in the blink of an eye seems to help him play faster. His hands look reliable. If he can stay healthy, this 33-year-old looking for one last run in the sun might be another ingredient to mix into the gumbo.

Darius Slayton

Slayton received 14 snaps but did not get any targets. His role was more of a “get-in-the-way” blocker. With so much talent at this position, we can easily see a world in which Slayton’s pass targets, which have been declining the last two years, decline even further.

Darnell Mooney

Getting just 14 snaps, Mooney also didn’t get a target in the passing game. To our eye, it looks like Slayton and Odell Beckham Jr. play a similar role to what Mooney plays, and both of them may be ahead of Mooney right now.

Braxton Berrios

This veteran committed one false start—he was actually drawn off by a defensive encroachment. He was unable to convert a 3rd-&-10 receiver screen in the slot by getting tackled by pursuit two yards short of the marker.

He was much better on special teams, which we’ll get to in a separate piece.

Isaiah Hodgins

This veteran had one catch for two yards and was called for a very iffy offensive pass interference call when his contact came after the ball was caught.

Dalen Cambre

This second-year player has been making noise in camp, and he continued that strong play by getting open on two occasions. One catch, a short crosser, went for 20 yards while an offensive pass interference call negated Cambre’s second catch (11 yards).

Xavier Gipson

Getting 12 snaps with the third-team, Gipson looked quick on his one catch for one yard, but he’s an extreme long shot as a slot/returner.

Ryan Miller

Getting nine third-team snaps, Miller got wide open and made a 14-yard catch. He was also the deep target on the offense’s second interception of the day.

Tight Ends

Isaiah Likely

Likely looked like the ideal move-the-chains guy in his short stint on the field, turning both of his catches into first downs with quick reads, adroit routes, and reliable hands. He caught two balls for 11 yards, but wasn’t asked to block too often. No surprise there, as that’s not going to be his primary role.

Theo Johnson

Getting both first and second team snaps (14 total), Johnson hauled in his lone target for 6 yards and looked physical with his blocking.

Chris Manhertz

Getting just nine snaps early on, Manhertz handled his blocking role with adequate physicality.

Tanner Conner

Conner got a bunch of second-half snaps as a move tight end, but didn’t always execute his blocks. A wide receiver screen had a chance to work if Conner had gotten a piece of his man, but he didn’t.

Conner did get his man on another wide play with a much more resolute attack. He didn’t get any balls thrown his way, but Conner looked quick and mobile. Still, he’s a long shot to make this roster.

Thomas Fidone II

This second-year pro with the great hands, who had been catching everything in camp, got plenty of snaps but did not shine.

He was flagged for an alignment foul on punt blocking, and an offensive holding on a wide run (ticky-tack call). He also failed to hold up to several other blocking responsibilities, and was targeted once in the passing game, but did not come up with the ball.

Watching Fidone try to run his routes is painful. He is a ponderous mover in a league where speed is king, though to be fair, he is coming off a foot injury from last year for which he had a cleanup, so perhaps that could be at play?

Regardless, Fidone’s game lacks physicality, and we question if his assorted injuries in college have compromised his NFL promise. That said, if you can come up with a way to get him open and you throw him the ball, chances are pretty good that he’ll come down with it.

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