NY Giants Rookie Minicamp Report: Off to a Good Start

East Rutherford, NJ - As we’ve noted repeatedly, the rookie minicamp is not the place where roster spots are earned or lost; rather, the practices are treated as instructional periods.

“There's probably different levels because you've got to meet every person in a different place. You know, there's a lot of range of where guys are at,” head coach John Harbaugh said when asked what he hoped to accomplish this weekend.

“You have anywhere from your first two round picks, top 10 picks. That's one extreme. The guys who are here on a tryout basis are trying to earn a shot. So you try to accomplish all those things.

“You try to orient the guys who are going to be here next week and you know are going to be here to where you're going so they can be the best they can be and make the most out of next week moving forward. Then you try to see if you can find a couple of guys, too.”

We won’t know whether they did just that, but a few players were definitely noticed for one reason or another.

Rookie Kicker Impresses

Feb 25, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan place kicker Dominic Zvada (PK07) kicks the ball during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Rookie undrafted kicker Dominic Zvada hit all five of his field goal attempts, all of which were from the left hash. His longest was a 55-yarder, and all five of his attempts were right down the middle of the uprights.

“Really strong leg,” Harbaugh said. “More than anything, just the consistency. He’s got a vertical swing pattern, as we call it. He does a nice job of getting downfield through the kick. Because of that, he tends to kick a straight ball consistently. If you do that, you’ll probably have a chance.”

Zvada will compete with veteran Jason Sanders and first-year player Ben Sauls, assuming the Giants take three kickers to camp (which we doubt).

“It's going to be a competition, for sure,” Harbaugh said. “We're coming next week. We'll be kicking field goals. We go to OTAs, we'll kick field goals, I think, every other practice, but we may be kicking them every practice because we have three guys to kick. We'll just see how it shakes out.”

Play of the Day

May 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants cornerback Colton Hood (12) speaks during a press conference at rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

Second-round pick Colton Hood had the play of the day on a takeaway from a running back in the flat, which he then returned for a touchdown during the two-minute drill.

“We were just in Cover 2,” the former Vol said. “My guy went in and went short. I had the running back to my flat. I just broke on the ball and made a play.”

Hood actually ripped the ball out of his teammate’s hands for the turnover.

“I got to get paid too,” he said with a smile when asked if he was too physical on the play.

But anyone hoping to see his celebratory move was left disappointed.

“It's practice. I'm not really going to celebrate on my teammates,” he said. “It's definitely going to come out when the season starts for sure.”

All good, though, as far as Harbaugh is concerned.

“He was at press corner. He was playing press out there with the other corners. He looked really good.

“You saw him make a couple of plays. How about the interception in two-minute? That was a nice play. He was good. He was good and diligent the whole time.”

Perfection

May 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese (52) speaks during a press conference at rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

Linebacker Arvell Reese has one goal in mind every time he sets foot on the practice field: be as close to perfect as possible.

So far, so good.

“Picks things up really quickly. Very serious-minded. Very diligent about the assignments,” Harbaugh said.

“I don't think he's got one assignment wrong throughout the two days, which is great to see.”

Harbaugh said that what Reese showed on the field was what they saw on tape.

“I thought he moved well. You know, he is 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, yet he moves like a smaller guy. He moves his feet. He can flip his hips,” he said.

“Very natural looking mover off the ball, which was something we saw on tape. We thought we saw, but now we saw it on the practice field, so we feel better about it.”

Reese, who will play the WILL linebacker, will get to put his versatility on display.

“The way we're built is the WIL position lines up in all those spots, so you are going to see him lined up with what looks like the defensive end position, but it's actually the WIL by call. That's where he goes based on the way the defense was organized,” he said.

“I don't know if we're cheating or not, but you'll see him playing over the guard sometimes just by virtue of the call.”

Reese, who credited Giants linebackers coach Frank Bush for spending a lot of time with him to bring him up to speed, said he’s just taking things one step at a time.

“I want to show the team right away that I'm one of those guys who would rather be seen and not heard. Especially as a rookie, that's what you've got to do,” he said.

“You've got to know what you're doing on the field before you say what you're about. So just get on the field, minimize mistakes, and just show I'm one of those guys that can get better every day.”

Fields Impresses

May 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Malachi Fields (0) participates in a drill during rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

Six-foot-four-inch receiver Malachi Fields was another rookie who got off to a strong start, according to Harbaugh.

“You see him on those slants today,” Harbaugh gushed. “He made every catch yesterday. Made one high catch over the top of a corner one time.

“Real strong. It’s a good start for him.”

The thing about Fields is how fluid he looked. From running his pattern to making his breaks on the ball, it was all one fluid motion. Toss in his catch radius, which came as advertised, and it’s no wonder Fields was a frequent target in the passing game.

But Fields offers much more than just a big target in the passing game: he is a willing blocker.

“You ask about wide receivers blocking, and he was. He was a blocker. I mean, look at him. He better be. He's got no excuse not to be,” Harbaugh said.

“He was at Notre Dame, and that's how Coach does it there. Marcus (Freeman) has got those guys playing physical.”

Fields is only too happy to continue that with the Giants.

“I definitely think I was someone who always wanted to be a part of going and getting a block, covering up a guy in the backfield,” he said.

“Those dudes do the same thing in pass protection. They pick up the blitzing linebackers and stick their nose in there. I can only return the favor when they have the ball in their hands.”

Sisi Shines

May 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (65) participates in a drill during rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

Although there was no hitting in the trenches, Harbaugh liked what he saw from first-round pick Francis Mauigoa.

“Sisi was just fantastic. He took pretty much every rep. Looked like a natural at guard,” Harbaugh said.

“Sometimes things happen a little quicker. You've got to get out of your stance a little quicker. We'll see when the pads come on. That will be another thing for him. To see him playing at guard for the first time, I thought he did really good.”

Mauigoa was pleased to hear his coach's feedback and vowed to keep at it. Despite having played just 10 snaps at right guard during his time in Miami, “I don't have that much space to work with,” he said of what he is still getting used to at guard.

“Playing at tackle, you have all the space, where a guard, everything happens so fast. It's not something I really need to work on; it's something that I need to get used to.”

Other Takeaways

May 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants running back Miles Davis (27) participates in a drill during rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

It’s unfair to try to evaluate offensive line vs. defensive drills, but Malin White, an outside linebacker from Buffalo here on a tryout, has a pretty nice, quick first step, which more often than not got him past right tackle Ryan Schernecke before Schernecke could get upright and ready to pass block.

On the flip side, running back Miles Davis, a tryout candidate from Utah State, had a rough showing, dropping a swing pass out of the backfield and then slipping on the turf (a light rain was falling) as he tried to make his cut upfield.

Undrafted free agent Thaddeus Dixon caught an earful from a coach who didn’t like the former North Carolina defender’s grabbiness on the play. To his credit, Dixon showed a lot better technique in coverage.

Sixth-round draft pick JC Davis got snaps at left tackle in team drills. I thought he was a bit too jumpy in the beginning of the practice, where he might have moved a tick or two too early, but soon settled down.

One roster correction: OL Dodji Dahou (Eastern Michigan), who was listed as an UDFA signing, is actually a tryout player. Dahou, an international player, didn’t take part in the drills as he’s still recovering from knee surgery.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.

Add us as a preferred source on Google