The New York Giants concluded their mandatory minicamp last week, and the next time we’ll see them on the field together again will be next month in West Virginia when they report to training camp.
Although the team has yet to practice with pads, head coach John Harbaugh was asked how he would assess what his team has done so far.
“I like the system we’re building. I think the system is really good. It continues to be built. The next step is going to be honing in a little bit in training camp about our identity and what we’re going to be really best at, especially the first three to five games, and really getting good at those things.”
There were some interesting developments during the Giants’ three-day mandatory minicamp practices that will be major storylines when training camp opens in six weeks.
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New veteran wideouts will make a strong push for final roster
NFL: New York Giants Minicamp
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Shortly before mandatory minicamp began, New York signed three free agent wideouts to the roster in Odell Beckham Jr, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Braxton Berrios. All three bring different skillsets that would help the case for making the final roster. OBJ has exceptional hands and is a crisp route runner; Smith-Schuster is physical and a tremendous blocker, and Berrios can be the team’s kick returner. Based on reports, the coaching staff was pleased with what they saw from the veteran wideouts in minicamp.
Currently, Big Blue has 14 receivers on the roster. The players who should be locks to make the team are Malik Nabers, Darnell Mooney, Calvin Austin III, and third-round pick Malachi Fields. With concerns over Nabers’ availability to start the season as he recovers from his second knee surgery, Big Blue may keep seven receivers on the roster.
With only a couple of roster spots up for grabs, the final spots will be earned by the players who show they can be trusted to make a play when their name is called. The wide receiver position battle will be the most competitive and intriguing to watch when training camp opens.
An undrafted rookie might be the team’s new placekicker
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Finding a reliable placekicker has plagued the Giants for the last several seasons. This is why they signed veteran Jason Sanders in free agency. Sanders spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and despite missing the 2025 season with a hip injury, New York was hopeful he could get back to his 2024 form when he converted 37 out of 41 field goal attempts.
But surprisingly, Sanders was cut earlier this spring, and this left the placekicker battle to Ben Sauls and undrafted rookie free agent Dominic Zvada.
Sauls appeared in three games for New York last season and converted on all of his eight field goal attempts. But according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, he missed 7 out of his 14 field goal attempts last week, while Zvada made all of his 13 attempts. This current coaching staff has no ties to Sauls, so based on what happened in minicamp, Zvada is the favorite to be the team’s kicker this year. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his accuracy over the summer.
Malik Nabers’ status for the start of the season is still up in the air
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As we mentioned, there’s a huge cloud of uncertainty surrounding the health of Malik Nabers and whether he’ll be ready for Week 1. On the final day of minicamp, Harbaugh was asked what he expects his star receiver to do over the next six weeks before the team reports to training camp.
“He said his plan is to be here most of the time, almost all the time he’ll be here, I believe. I don’t think he will be here all the time. He’s going to be here a lot working really hard. He’s making really good progress right now. I’m very hopeful that he’ll be back soon”.
Then, Harbaugh was asked if he’s more optimistic about Nabers being available to start the season.
“I wasn’t less optimistic before. Like I said, it’s a slog, it’s a grind. He’s still in the middle of it. He’s probably not in the middle of it now. He’s probably maybe 70 percent through. I don’t know, something like that. 80 percent through.”
Without Nabers, the team doesn’t have a true number-one wideout on the roster. His health will play a pivotal role in the team’s success this season.
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