Big Blue View
The offseason ramps up with on-field practices starting this week
The New York Giants take the field this week for Phase 3 of the offseason program, commonly known as OTAs. This is the spring fun stuff — actual on-field practices.
There will be 10 practices over a three-week period, beginning on Tuesday. Media will have access to watch three of those practices and talk to players and coaches. Our first access is Wednesday.
Here are 10 things to watch.
Wilson is the starting quarterback, but he won’t be the one anyone is most interested in. That will rookie first-round pick Jaxson Dart. How will Wilson handle the dynamic of having the player who will take his job — this year or next — already in place? Wilson, by many accounts, can be an acquired taste. There were reports out of Pittsburgh that some Steelers teammates weren’t buying his leadership efforts. How does the dynamic between Wilson and his teammates look, and feel?
Oh, and how does the passing game look with Wilson at the controls?
Like rookie minicamp, there will probably be an over the top interest in everything Dart does. How do he and Wilson interact How much time does head coach Brian Daboll spend focused on the rookie? What does Dart do while Wilson is taking reps? How does he look when Dart does take reps?
This will be our first chance to see the 2022 No. 7 overall pick at guard after three injury-plagued, unsatisfactory seasons at right tackle. Neal is expected to compete with Greg Van Roten and others for the right guard job.
With practice being held in shorts it isn’t easy to get a read on offensive line play. Still, we will get a look at how well Neal is moving around. Does he look comfortable? Is he taking reps with the first team? The third team?
If Neal can adapt to guard and have a Mekhi Becton-like transition, or even a modestly successful one like Ereck Flowers did after leaving the Giants, that could be a boost to the offensive line.
The No. 3 overall pick is an edge defender. He was drafted to play there, and edge is where he will make his mark in the NFL. Still, with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux in place, Carter’s versatility will give defensive coordinator Shane Bowen options in terms of how to get his best players on the field as often as possible.
Will we see Carter lined up a bit at off-ball linebacker? Might we see him with his hand in the ground as a pass-rushing end? Watching that evolve is going to be interesting.
Getting a first glimpse of the rookies mixing in with the veterans on the practice field is always interesting. How comfortable are they? Can you see signs that the skills they were drafted for...
