The Giants.com breaks down the biggest takeaways from rookie minicamp.
John Schmeelk: Reacting to rookie minicamp is an exercise we do every year, and I understand why. It is the first time we them in uniform and helmets with the "ny" on it while playing something that looks like football. It's fun, but that's where we should draw the line. There isn't anything truly meaningful to take away from what happened on the field over the weekend. Sure, Jaxson Dart threw some nice passes in 7-on-7, but it was against no pass rush. This is also a reminder that no one was wearing any pads either. It was not real football.
What I'll do here instead is reflect on what some of the players said at the podium, where you could get a feel for their demeanor. It was a chance to see the type of person we will be covering over the course of the next few months. As has been in the case for most of the players taken during Joe Schoen's tenure, all the drafted players seem like put-together, intelligent, and mature people.
Abdul Carter's answers get to the point quickly and he continues to be all business. I don't think there's going to be any drama around him, besides whatever he causes for opposing offenses. Fellow defender Darius Alexander seems like a very grounded and mature person that's anxious to prove himself.
Jaxson Dart is Captain Charisma. You sensed a bit of it when he spoke at the podium at the NFL Combine, but it was such a large group with a national feel to it that it didn't completely come through. With a smaller group and a more focused conversation about him joining the Giants, it was easy to see why he was able to hit it off with the Giants (and the rest of the NFL) in his pre-draft meetings. You could also sense how he can get buy-in from not only his fellow offensive players, but also his teammates on the defensive side of the ball. He definitely has a way about him that will play in a locker room.
Cam Skattebo has the same blue-collar aspect to his personality that he has in his play style. It should not come as a surprise Skattebo, who had to earn his way from Sacramento State to Arizona State, feels like he has just as much to prove in order to get on the field in the NFL. Marcus Mbow, Thomas Fidone II, and Korie Black all represented themselves well too, though I know way more about Fidone's thoughts about tattoos than I thought I would before minicamp started.
Now these draftees, along with the team's undrafted free agents, will have to integrate with the team and begin to truly learn what it is like to be in the National Football League. The firehose is going to be turned on and these guys are going to have to try to drink out of it. We'll see how they do.