4 NY Giants who impressed in the preseason win over Carolina

Following the NY Giants' preseason Week 1 loss to the Detroit Lions, fans were excited to see New York bounce back against the Panthers. This excitement only increased once it was announced that the Giants' starters would be playing. Needless to say, the team didn't disappoint as the G-Men took down Carolina 21-19.

While things slowed down a bit once the starters called it a night, this was still an impressive win for Big Blue. In just one series, New York's offense had fans drooling over what this team could look like going into the upcoming regular season. With that said, here are four guys who impressed on Friday night at MetLife Stadium:

4. QB Daniel Jones

While he was in for just one possession, what we saw out of Daniel Jones has us very excited for what he can do in 2023. We already knew that he was going to improve once again this season, but when looking at him with this new and improved Giants offense, he could potentially make the leap to superstardom.

Now, coming to this assessment based on one preseason possession may be a little crazy. However, looking at both his play in training camp, and against the Panthers, things are adding up for Jones to have a huge season.

For the game, Jones completed eight of his nine pass attempts for 69 yards and one touchdown. Jones simply couldn't miss when he was in. Even his lone incompletion was on the money, it was just dropped by Darren Waller after he took a pretty big hit. Not only was Jones playing incredibly well, but the rest of the Giants' QBs looked pretty good too.

Tyrod Taylor, who played from when Jones went out to the end of the first half, completed nine of his 13 pass attempts for 90 yards and one touchdown while adding three carries for 21 yards on the ground. Alongside Taylor, Tommy DeVito also had another great showing, completing nine of his 11 passes for 88 yards.

Knowing that the Giants have these three QBs in the depth chart has us feeling good for this season. Not only is Jones looking to potentially breakout into stardom this season, but both Taylor and DeVito look to be very good backups, something the Giants could always use in case Jones goes down with an injury.

3. WR Jalin Hyatt

After a very quiet preseason opener, Jalin Hyatt bounced back better than we could have imagined. While his numbers may not have been out of this world, he showed exactly what the Giants drafted him for: big play potential.

For the game, Hyatt caught four passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. So while yes, he didn't do too much aside from his TD catch yards-wise, watching him run routes has us excited for what he can do in '23. His TD came after a drop too. Talk about bouncing back in a big way:

Overall, Hyatt looked rather impressive. Even when he didn't have the ball in his hands, he demanded attention from the Panthers' safeties. This will be a pretty big difference-maker in the Giants' offense. New York was in desperate need of a deep threat outside of Darius Slayton. Now, they have that in the form of Hyatt.

2. TE Darren Waller

Now, this may not come as a surprise, but Waller looked pretty damn dominant against the Panthers. Not only did he make some pretty impressive plays with the ball in his hands, but even just as a route runner he demanded so much attention that it opened things up for everyone else. For example, on Daniel Belinger's TD catch, Waller's route helped open up the underneath for Bellinger and created a ton of space for him to post an easy score.

Similar to Jones, Waller only played the first possession in this game, but it didn't take long at all for him to make his presence known. I mean this literally, as Waller caught the first two passes of the contest. By the time it was all said and done, Waller had three receptions for 30 yards.

While these may not be crazy numbers, it must be remembered that Waller played only eight snaps. We can only imagine the yards Waller will be racking up once he plays a full game in the regular season. This isn't even mentioning the impact he'll have on the offense when he isn't getting the ball.

New York has been without a receiving X-factor since Odell Beckham. While they've had some pretty solid pass catchers, it simply hasn't been the same without him. Now, after a masterful trade, the Giants have a player who will not only be a game-changer for the numbers he'll put up, but he'll open everything up for the rest of the Giants' offense too.

1. LB Bobby Okereke

The Giants have been without a starting-level linebacker on their defense for years now. However, in just his second offseason with the team, it seems like Joe Schoen has already solved this problem. In his first preseason game, Bobby Okereke looked strong, living up to expectations.

In 21 snaps, Okereke racked up seven tackles and looked incredibly fast when getting to the ball. This has been lacking on the Giants' defense for a very long time and if this holds up like we know it will in the regular season, New York could have a genuinely elite defensive core heading into 2023.

With Okereke looking set to work with Micah McFadden, plus the up and coming Darrian Beavers, we are likely going to see a rejuvenated defense. The offense already looks fun to watch, but now, adding an elite linebacker to a core that features names like Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, Xavier McKinney, Adoree' Jackson, and more could make for one of the best to watch in the NFL.

READ MORE: 5 takeaways from the Giants preseason win over the Panthers