Giants Camp Surprises: Nabers Ahead of Schedule, Cornerback Battle Wide Open

With the New York Giants having wrapped up their 10-practice stay at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, the camp pretty much went as expected in terms of intensity and tempo.

“I think we got a lot better,” said head coach John Harbaugh. “We're much further along than we were when we started. I think we can look back and say that we've come a long way.”

He’s looking for the team to keep that up.

“It's just a matter of keeping your head down and staying after it every day.”

Even Harbaugh, though, will admit that there is still a lot of work to get done in the remaining time before the start of the regular season. And within that time, there are sure to be twists and turns to add to what we view as the biggest surprises to have emerged from the first two weeks of training camp.

Both Starting Cornerback Spots Appear Up for Grabs

New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo is competing to retain his starting job. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before camp started, everyone knew that the cornerback spot vacated by Cor’Dale Flott would be open for someone to win it. The primary competition for that spot was expected to be the trio of Deonte Banks, rookie Colton Hood, and free-agent Greg Newsome II.

In retrospect, we should have known better, as Harbaugh is not in the business of handing out scholarships to guys just because of their contracts or draft pedigree.

The Giants have been working different combinations at the cornerback spots, with Banks really pushing for one of the spots while Newsome has been pushing equally as hard for another.

That has left Paulson Adebo, who a year ago was one of the team's top free-agent signings, fighting to retain his job.

Many people have been sleeping on Banks given his inconsistencies that have led to struggles, but without question, Banks has the skill set that fits what Dennard Wilson wants to run. If he can continue stringing together good practices, he might emerge as one of the starters on the perimeter this year.

Jalin Hyatt Gets Gunner Work

New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Look at most 53-man roster projections, and they’ll all have receiver Jalin Hyatt not making the roster. But that doesn’t mean that the coaching staff isn’t trying to help him out.

Hyatt, who really doesn’t offer much on special teams, has done a little bit of gunner work in an effort to increase what he has to offer to a football team.

While that probably won’t help his case for a roster spot with the Giants, it’s still a nice move on the part of the coaching staff to exhaust every possibility with the disappointing third-round pick and give him a chance to put additional stuff on film so that he can land somewhere once final cuts are announced.

Evan Neal Not Getting Any First Team Reps

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Giants took a flier on first-round draft bust Evan Neal, whose size and physical traits undoubtedly appealed to head coach John Harbaugh as he looks to build a more physical offensive line.

But despite his second chance, Neal doesn’t appear to have moved the needle in terms of earning more reps. He was mostly stuck with the third-team offensive line in drills and is not thought to have stood out once the pads go on.

There is still a matter of the upcoming preseason games for Neal to make his case.

Considering how Harbaugh said that Neal sat before him back in the offseason with an enthusiastic attitude and a plan to get better at his craft, it’s still a little bit of a surprise to see that Neal hasn’t been able to make headway in his quest for a roster spot.

Barring a solid showing in the preseason games, it looks like Neal will have to salvage his NFL career elsewhere.

Malik Nabers’ Rapid Recovery

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When we last left Malik Nabers, the Giants had just completed their mandatory minicamp, with their star receiver having not been spotted working on the side with trainers as he continued his rehab from a torn ACL.

But then, as the mandatory minicamp wrapped up, general manager Joe Schoen and Harbaugh both expressed cautious optimism that Nabers would be good to go by Week 1.

Turns out Nabers was indeed a little further along than anyone outside the building thought anticipated, and that’s a good development for a Giants offense that needs its top receiver in the lineup, especially as quarterback Jaxson Dart continues to adjust to working more under center and working with more timing plays.

No “Major” Injuries

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh talks to his players during drills during training camp at The Greenbrier Resort Sports Performance Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As was widely expected, Harbaugh ran a physically demanding camp which included six practices in a row, three of which were in full pads. That had some people a little nervous about injuries, given the rotten luck this team has had in that department in years past.

While the Giants didn’t come through the first two weeks completely clean injury-wise—center John Michael Schmitz (protocol), receiver Juju Smith-Schuster (knee), offensive lineman Lucas Patrick (knee), outside linebacker Brian Burns (ankle), and cornerback Dru Phillips (knee) are among those who are dealing with ailments—Harbaugh indicated that those injuries don’t appear to be long-term issues that should keep the players sidelined for the Week 1 opener.

Perhaps even more important, though, is that the players were able to withstand the rigors of Harbaugh’s camp, a testament not only to the individual work each guy put in but also to the strength and conditioning staff, which undoubtedly kept close tabs on the workloads to ensure that no one was overtaxed.

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