The NFL is an opportunistic, zero-sum game. There are only 60 minutes in a game, and what a player chooses to do in those minutes directly affects their playing time moving forward. That’s why when an opportunity arises, it’s important to make a good first impression — especially for the unproven guys.
The offseason is the perfect time for the overlooked to put in the work and effort to give the organizational brass a glimpse of what’s to come. Those who make every moment count typically have a much better chance at making the 53-man roster than those with just traits.
Beaux Collins has been falling into the former bucket. The 22-year-old former Notre Dame wide receiver has been making plays early and often on Day 1 of Giants mandatory minicamp. His involvement in the offense has seemingly increased ever so slightly due to Malik Nabers still not practicing and Jalin Hyatt’s unfortunate setback. But Collins is making the most of his moment.
Like I said earlier, it's all about opportunity.
Giants UDFA WR makes most of opportunity during mandatory minicamp
Collins has looked solid so far. He caught two passes for touchdowns early on and almost had a third, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes, had it not been for an unreviewable bobble. One of the touchdowns can be seen below — it’s a beautiful, catchable pass from Russell Wilson dropped perfectly over the shoulder and into Collins’ breadbasket for an easy six:
Russell Wilson hits Beaux Collins in the back of the end zone for a TD pic.twitter.com/rWsbjhcVTc
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) June 17, 2025
With Nabers and Hyatt out, now is the perfect opportunity to showcase his ball skills. Collins surely has ideal size for the position. However, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver never quite put everything together at the college level. He played three years at Clemson before transferring to Notre Dame for his senior season. In all, he totaled 132 receptions, 1,780 receiving yards, and 14 touchdowns across 48 games.
While he did cool off a bit after his scorching start, expectations for an undrafted guy probably shouldn’t be making a play on the ball and scoring a touchdown every time a pass gets thrown their way, anyway. Shortly after the touchdown catches, his production fell off with no more receptions and an offensive pass interference penalty.
Still, he showed enough flash to think there might be some staying power here.
That’s why Collins turning heads this early matters. With health questions starting to swirl around the top of the depth chart, someone unexpected might just get a real shot — and if Collins keeps playing like this, New York might not be able to ignore him when the real decisions start.