Another milestone in the NFL offseason program arrived this week with the beginning of Phase 3, during which the Giants (and 19 other teams) are ramping up with organized team activity days — OTAs for short.
It also means we are getting closer to real football.
An OTA essentially is a practice without live contact permitted, meaning there are no pads and no hitting. It kind of, sort of, looks like the real thing, though, when the 11-on-11 drills take place on the field with a complete offense going up against a complete defense, albeit with none of the ferocity up front that punctuates a fully padded training-camp session. There are also 7-on-7 and 9-on-7 drills, but they serve mostly to highlight the pitch-and-catch capabilities of the quarterback and his targets. There is no pass rush, and defensive backs are at a severe and recognized disadvantage with wide receivers running free without worry of getting crushed over the middle.
Lest we forget, OTAs are voluntary, meaning a player cannot be fined if he does not attend. Most players will participate in all of 10 of the OTA sessions, but there will be absences for personal reasons, which are not considered a big deal.
The Giants’ three-day mini-camp from June 13-15, however, is mandatory.
For the Giants, this should all look a whole lot more familiar and cohesive this time around. The offense is in its second year of Brian Daboll’s system and second year under offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. The defense, too, is in its second year in the same scheme, that of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
Generally, it is unwise to come up with declarative statements after watching a few OTA days, but there is plenty for a coaching staff to keep an eye on during this time.
Here are the most noteworthy trends to follow:
Does Daniel Jones look more franchise player-like?
It is unlikely Jones will be sporting a silver chain with a large, shiny dollar-sign ornament signifying the four-year, $160 million contract he signed in early March. But getting paid always adds to the expectation level for an athlete in the spotlight.
At this time last year, the plays, terminology and what the coaches wanted from him were all new challenges for Jones. He should look far more comfortable running the show and directing the traffic for his teammates now.
How have the injured guys progressed?
Towering wide receiver Collin Johnson had a great spring and summer last year, and was on his way to making the roster. Inside linebacker Darrian Beavers, a sixth-round draft pick from Cincinnati, not only was on his way to making the roster, but forging a place within the starting defense.
Neither player made it out of August. Johnson went down for the season with a torn Achilles, and Beavers spent his rookie year on injured reserve after suffering an ACL tear.
Both should be ready to return sooner, rather than later.
Veteran receiver Sterling Shepard tore his ACL in Week 3 of the 2022 season, and figures to need more time, as will receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who tore his ACL in Week 11, prematurely ending his rookie season. One more player to see: Cornerback Aaron Robinson, who played in only two games last season and is coming off a knee injury.
Where are the new weapons lining up?
Tight end Darren Waller needs no introduction to anyone who saw his pass-catching exploits for the Raiders. First and foremost, he must show he is healthy coming off two injury-filled years in Las Vegas. But on the field, it will be interesting to see what Daboll and Kafka have in mind for Waller, who presents the classic “matchup nightmare’’ scenario for cornerbacks and linebackers trying to cover him — when Waller is at full strength.
These OTAs also will bring the first look at Parris Campbell, a speed target in his four years with the Colts (when he wasn’t slowed by injuries). Mostly used in the slot, can Campbell be a threat on the outside?
It also will be worth watching how rookie Jalin Hyatt looks acclimating to the pro level.
How does the initial battle at cornerback shape up?
There is a starting spot open opposite veteran Adoree’ Jackson.
Deonte Banks was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft to fill that spot, but he will have to earn it.
Returning players Cor’Dale Flott and Nick McCloud will try to make a claim, as will Robinson, who is coming off an injury-depleted season. Amani Oruwariye, signed in free agency, started 36 games the past four seasons for the Lions, and should also be in the mix.
Is the offensive line shaping up?
With no live hitting, the work in the spring is about improving technique and the mental aspects of the position for the big guys up front. Offensive and defensive linemen always say the same thing — or close to it — when they note that their significant first tests do not happen until the first day in full pads in training camp.
Still, the Giants are trying to break in a new starting center, John Michael Schmitz, the second-round pick from Minnesota. He needs to develop chemistry with Jones on the center-quarterback exchange and start figuring out how to identify NFL defenses to make the calls for the rest of the offensive linemen. This is the best time to make inroads in those areas.
What are the early indications for what this defense will look like?
Martindale, just awarded a lifetime achievement honor for his work as an NFL assistant coach by the Pro Football Writers of America, will experiment all spring and summer until he learns what works best for his unit.
He might use fewer safeties on the field at one time with the departure of versatile Julian Love to the Seahawks and the arrival of Bobby Okereke from the Colts as the team’s only big-ticket free agent acquisition. Okereke should be a three-down inside linebacker, and it will be revealing to see how he drops in coverage in the 7-on-7 and 9-on-7 work.
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Ratings game
The Giants feel good about the enhancements they made to their roster, but those improvements do not exist in a vacuum. Other teams — we’re looking at you, Eagles — also addressed weaknesses and fortified strengths.
This is why rising in the NFC East presents such a challenge for the Giants, coming off their successful (9-7-1) regular season in 2022 and their first playoff victory since after the 2011 season.
The 33rd Team, a respected website/think tank employing former NFL coaches, players and general managers, recently asked its experts to rank the top five offenses and defenses in the league now that the bulk of free agency and the NFL Draft is behind us.
Not surprisingly, the Giants did not make the cut on either side of the ball. Their competition in the division, though, was well-represented.
The top offenses were chosen by Mike Martz, the former NFL head coach who was the offensive coordinator for the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf’’ attack in 1999, a unit that led the franchise to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Martz’s list: the 49ers, Chiefs, Lions, Eagles and Bills.
That Martz is so high on the 49ers, despite their uncertainty at quarterback, with injuries to Trey Lance and Brock Purdy, speaks to what Martz thinks of head coach Kyle Shanahan. Even the prospect that Sam Darnold starts the season at quarterback, as Martz expects, did not alter the ranking.
“Coach Kyle Shanahan is the best offensive mind in the NFL,” Martz reasoned. “When you look at what they do with the quarterbacks, how ahead of the curve they are with their formations and how they run the ball, there is no question about it.’’
Martz also named his five most improved offenses: Jets, Cowboys, Patriots, Chargers and Rams. Again, no mention of the Giants.
For the top five defenses, The 33rd Team asked Chuck Pagano, who won back-to-back AFC North titles as the head coach of the Colts, to make the call.
Pagano’s top five defenses: the 49ers, Eagles, Jets, Cowboys and Dolphins.
These are all opinions, of course, but they are at least educated opinions and they lead to a sobering warning for the Giants: It is going to be exceedingly difficult to rise in their own division.
Asked and answered
Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:
How involved, and invested, is the coaching staff in who gets drafted by the Giants, considering it is the job of the scouts to find and evaluate the players?
Every coaching staff in the NFL takes part in the pre-draft process, but some are more involved than others. Daboll believes in getting himself and his coordinators and assistants out there for the NFL scouting combine, Pro Day workouts and even the Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Ala.
The more observations and opinions, the better, is the Giants’ way of thinking.
Schoen believes the guys who get paid to coach the players should have input in who those players are, though he retains final say on who is selected.
It was revealing, but not surprising, when Martindale greeted Banks, the team’s first-round pick, at the Giants’ facility with a bear hug. “I thought you were going to Baltimore,’’ Martindale exclaimed. “Thank God they signed Lamar [Jackson] and they wanted to get him weapons.’’
Will Saquon Barkley show up for the workout program this week?
Why should he? His franchise tag tender remains unsigned and the workouts remain voluntary. Barkley has been working out in Arizona, staying away from the Giants since they put the franchise tag on him. This is standard operating procedure for players unhappy with the tag and looking for a long-term commitment. There is no doubt Barkley is staying in shape and no doubt he would like to be at the team facility with his teammates. There also is no doubt he cannot participate as long as the tender is unsigned.
