In only a few days, the NY Giants will be taking the field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center for the first day of training camp. In the blink of an eye, the offseason is pretty much wrapped up and the G-Men are ready to start their prep work for the regular season.
In what has been an exciting past couple of months for head man Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, it's time for Big Blue to suit up and get ready for the preseason and Week 1. People will be traveling to East Rutherford to see what this team is made of. Leading up to Day 1 on Wednesday, here are 10 talking points for folks to keep in mind:
10. John Michael Schmitz will be ready to make a splash for the offensive line
We'll have more on some of the other rookies later in this piece, but we're kicking things off with second-round pick John Michael Schmitz, the best center prospect from his class. The Giants were in desperate need of a starting center after both Nick Gates and Nick Feliciano left town during free agency.
Schmitz has fans excited about what he'll be able to get done in the future. He may come off as a nice kid out of the University of Minnesota, but make no mistake about it, this guy has a nasty side to him and he'll be ready to go to war in the trenches. Once training camp arrives, the training wheels will come off for him.
The NY defensive line has depth and plenty of star power, highlighted by Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence. Schmitz will have his hands full trying to keep those guys away from quarterback Daniel Jones. We'll see how the youngter does.
9. Will Saquon Barkley surprise us all and report?
This is quite unlikely, let's start off by saying that. When the Giants veterans report to camp, there's going to be no sign of Saquon Barkley, as he didn't come to terms with the Big Blue front office on a new contract before the deadline on Monday. Barkley is not happy with how things have played out and he's yet to sign his tender.
Similar to Josh Jacobs in Las Vegas, Barkley isn't expected to report to camp and there's a good chance we don't see him in New Jersey until early September. Barkley has even left the door open to sit out the entire season, something Le'Veon Bell did previously with the Steelers. Bell has admitted that was a mistake. Will Barkley learn from Bell's error?
We can only hope so, as the thought of Barkley not being with this team for the entire 2023 campaign is a daunting one. No. 26 is the best offensive playmaker for the G-Men and Jones needs him by his side this fall and winter. If Barkley were to play on the tag in '23, he'd take home $10.1 million for his work.
8. Darren Waller will look to silence his haters
The expectations are high for new Giants tight end Darren Waller. After back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020, Waller has missed 17 games over the past two seasons due to various injuries. Depite that, Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka are hopeful he can stay healthy throughout the upcoming campaign.
When healthy, Waller is easily one of the best TEs in the game and fans are staying optimistic that he can return to his Pro Bowl form for the Giants. This team is still without a true WR1 for the offense and while Waller is a TE, he still has the ability to be a superstar pass-catcher for Danny Dimes and Co. starting Week 1 vs. Dallas.
The Giants used a third-round pick to trade for Waller, which they got as part of the Kadarius Toney deal with the Chiefs. Waller is already being labeled at overhyped and overrated, which we think is comical. Yes, injuries have been a problem for him in recent years, but he has the potential to be great for this squad. Look for him and Jones to keep on making impressive plays during camp.
7. Jalin Hyatt will showcase his game in East Rutherford
Another Giants player who has been bashed quite a bit this offseason has been third-round pick Jalin Hyatt. Schoen traded up in the third round to land the Biletnikoff Award winner and people all over NY and New Jersey were thrilled with the selection. Keep in mind that plenty of mock drafts had Hyatt as a first-rounder leading up to late April.
However, the excitement was short lived, as word out of East Rutherford was that Hyatt was running with the third-team offense during minicamp. Because of this, the haters were out in full force claiming that Hyatt was going to be a bust and that there was no way he'd make an impact in the NFC East. You've got to be kidding.
So, because the guy wasn't running with the 1s and making head-turning plays for Jones during OTAs and minicamp, his career is all but over? Yeah, that's insane. Hyatt has electric speed and he's going to open up the field for the offense.
He was even seen working with Jones after practices to try and grow their bond too. Don't let the outside noise fool you - Hyatt will be a key member of the offense moving forward.
6. Plenty of eyes will be on first-round pick Deonte Banks
We've already brought up Schmitz and Hyatt, but the top dog from this year's draft class was No. 24 overall pick Deonte Banks. The cornerback has all the swagger in the world and he's going to be ready to make plays not only at camp, but early on in the regular season too. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale could not be happier that Banks is now with the G-Men.
He's the perfect kind of defensive back for his system. Being a first-round pick, there's always going to be pressure to deliver for your team. In terms of first-round cornerbacks, the Giants haven't had much luck in that department in recent years. Just ask fans about DeAndre Baker and Eli Apple - yeah, not great.
Banks will be tasked at manning the other CB spot opposite of Adoree' Jackson on the outside. Banks has looked strong this offseason and it has people even more excited to see what he'll be able to do leading up to the regular season. He'll be tested by the Giants pass-catchers, but something tells us he'll answer the call for Martindale.
5. Daniel Jones will love his new weapons for the passing game
At this point last summer, the wide receivers room for the Giants didn't feature a whole lot of talent. No disrespect to Richie James and Marcus Johnson, but we're glad they won't be seeing meaningful snaps for the G-Men this season. Schoen made it a priority to bring in new weapons for Jones and they'll look to gel at camp.
We already mentioned Waller and Hyatt. Well, Parris Campbell is a guy that we're quite high on. He's coming off the best year of his young career with the Colts. He signed a one-year deal with the Giants this spring and he's ready to put on a show for this team moving forward. We have a feeling he's going to be a stud for Daboll.
We're hoping to see Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins and others look sharp too. Sterling Shepard and Wan'Dale Robinson are still working their way back from injury, but the hope is they can be ready for the start of the season. With Shepard in particular, he's a fan favorite and people were heartbroken when he tore his ACL last fall. Everyone is hoping for him to get back to 100 percent ASAP.
4. Someone needs to step up at ILB next to Bobby Okereke
Unfortunately for Daboll, the news recently came in that veteran inside linebacker Jarrad Davis is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery. He injured himself during OTAs. Davis was expected to compete for a starting job. Now, though, it looks like the ILB2 battle will be between Micah McFadden and Darrian Beavers.
Okereke has a job locked up, as he inked a four-year, $40 million deal with the Giants during free agency. Okereke is a tackle machine and people can't wait to see him do his thing for this team. Moving forward, though, McFadden or Beavers will have to step their game up tremendously to help out this defense. Both are second-year players.
However, we also can't rule out the Giants potentially signing someone else to come in and compete for the starting role. Several names have been mentioned as possibilities, but it looks like fans are keeping their fingers crossed that Schoen will sign former second-round pick Myles Jack. Jack is a quality LB and he'd definitely be an impact signing for the Giants if they go down this road.
3. Will there be a surprise cut for the Giants in the coming weeks?
Another thing to keep in mind here is that there may be a surprise cut made by Schoen. Last summer, people were completely shocked when news broke that the team was parting ways with Blake Marintez. Recently, it has been revealed that Martinez actually asked to be cut, opening the door for him to sign with the Raiders. He ended up retiring soon after.
Taking a look at this roster, there will be some tough decisions for Schoen and Co. as they look to trim things down to 53. One guy in particular who could have his Giants days numbered is cornerback Darnay Holmes. For a while now, Holmes has been mentioned as a guy who the Giants could let go in order to create some cap space.
If the Giants were to release Holmes, it would provide Schoen with an extra $2.7 million to work with. Might this help the G-Men go after a veteran inside linebacker for Martindale? That's up in the air. If Holmes struggles during camp, then the calls will only get louder from the fanbase for him to get cut.
2. Eric Gray will suddenly have a lot of attention on him
With Barkley set to be away from the team for camp, other running backs are going to have to step up to fill the void. Veteran RB Matt Breida is back on a one-year deal and he should be getting the first looks with the 1s, but fifth-round pick Eric Gray is going to be featured quite a bit as well. What can we expect from the rookie?
Only a few weeks ago, the main focus around Gray was if he'd be able to win the RB2 job. However, that all has changed now that Barkley is leaving the door open to miss NY's season-opener against the Cowboys. Out of nowhere, fans are now pushing for Gray to make the leap to RB1 and get himself ready to be a problem for the Dallas defense.
Last season for Oklahoma, the 5-9, 205-pounder rushed for 1,366 yards and 11 touchdowns. He's a talented RB who isn't afraid of some contact. No one is expecting him to be a Pro Bowler this year, but Gray will have a great chance to make noise at camp with an increased workload. He and Breida should be ready to help this offense out throughout camp.
1. Can the offensive line gel together at a high level?
It goes without saying, but one of the biggest weaknesses for the Giants last year was the offensive line play. Left tackle Andrew Thomas took home Second Team All-Pro honors, but outside of AT, the group as a whole looked rough. Evan Neal, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, was far too inconsistent.
The same thing could be said for the others up front, expect for Thomas, of course. Entering camp, the starting five is expected to be: left tackle Thomas, left guard Ben Bredeson, center Schmitz, right guard Mark Glowinski and right tackle Neal. For Neal, he's going to hope to silence everyone doubting him.
His debut campaign in the NFC East was not what people were hoping to see. However, he has been working around the clock this offseason. Neal displayed a great body transformation, while he made changes to his technique as well. If Neal can play to his potential, then it's only going to make Jones' life easier in '23.
READ MORE: 5 significant questions for the NY Giants cornerbacks this season