Football — at least a scaled-down version of it — returned to East Rutherford this weekend. On Friday and Saturday, the Giants held their rookie minicamp, which provided the first glimpse of their six draft picks. Here are some notes and observations from the rookie minicamp:
• Giants coach Joe Judge stressed that the minicamp was an “orientation weekend.”
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“This is all very new for these guys in terms of walking around the building,” Judge said. “These guys have as much on their plate in terms of finding out where their locker is, where to eat in the cafeteria, where they shower.”
Judge could have added wearing the proper cleats to his list of simple tasks that needed to be mastered. First-round pick Kadarius Toney had issues with his right cleat during Friday’s practice, running through drills wearing only his left cleat at one point.
Members of the equipment staff scrambled to solve the issue and, after multiple combinations of socks and cleats, Toney finally found a suitable pair.
“I think just the wrong size,” Toney said of the cleat mishap.
Toney returned to drills after missing about 10 minutes of the 75-minute session to get his footwear issues resolved. But he grimaced and hobbled through the rest of the drills and then was held out of conditioning as trainers checked his right calf at the end of practice.
“It was just a safer route to go, I guess you could say,” Toney said.
Toney arrived on Saturday with a different pair of cleats and appeared ready to fully participate. But he was shut down 30 minutes into the 75-minute session as trainers stretched his left calf.
“It’s not an injury situation with him,” Judge said. “I think every player out here is kind of on their own program in terms of what’s best for them.”
• It was tough to evaluate any player since there were no offense-versus-defense periods with limited participants in the minicamp. It was particularly difficult to evaluate Toney since his workload was so limited.
When he was on the field, Toney mostly lined up in the slot and ran shorter routes. He was clearly quicker than the other receivers, which was to be expected since 2020 undrafted free agent Derrick Dillon and tryout Nathan Rourke, a former college quarterback, were the only other wide receivers at the camp.
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Toney had a few drops while running routes against no defenders. He received extensive instruction on fundamentals from wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, who clearly is focused on refining Toney’s route-running.
The Giants didn’t have a player with Toney’s skill set on last season’s roster. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will need to get creative to get the ball in the explosive Toney’s hands.
“We are going to look to play him to his strengths and so there’s going to be some things you’ll see that may look similar to what he did in college, although it’s different systems,” Judge said. “So we are going to be looking to go ahead and make sure we create enough versatility in his game to play him in different spots to play him in our system, but also we’ll have to change our system like we do with everything to cater to our players.”
• The rookies were issued their jerseys for the minicamp, but hold off on buying Toney’s No. 89 jersey.
“Really wasn’t my choice, but I mean, at the end of the day, at least I got a jersey,” Toney said when asked why he chose No. 89.
Toney wore three different numbers at Florida: No. 17 as a freshman, No. 4 as a sophomore and No. 1 as a junior and senior. No. 1 (Ray Flaherty) and No. 4 (Tuffy Leemans) are retired by the Giants. No. 17 is currently worn by third-string quarterback Clayton Thorson. It wouldn’t be surprising if Toney switches to No. 17 if Thorson gets cut before the season.
• This was Judge’s first rookie minicamp since the event was canceled last year by COVID-19. The pandemic still limited this year’s minicamp because teams were only allowed to invite five tryout players.
There were only 22 participants in the rookie minicamp: six draft picks, three undrafted free agents, eight players with no credited seasons from the roster and five tryouts. For perspective, the Giants had 49 tryouts and a total of 76 players at their rookie minicamp in 2019.
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The Giants conducted seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 periods in the past when they had full rookie minicamp rosters. Judge said he would have run the minicamp the same way, with a focus on fundamentals instead of competition, even if 70 players were in attendance.
“This isn’t a situation where we are cutting down the team this weekend,” Judge said. “This is just get the guys out there moving on the grass, take a look at them and get a better idea where they are physically.”
• Another sign of the bizarre times: Judge met some of the team’s draft picks for the first time this weekend. In a typical year, Judge would have had exposure to draft prospects at the combine and visits to the facility before the draft. Both of those staples of the pre-draft process were scrapped this year.
Unless Judge met a prospect at the Senior Bowl (he only attended pro days at Miami and Penn State and the Giants didn’t draft a player from either school), his first meeting with the rookies came this weekend. Second-round pick Azeez Ojulari and sixth-round pick Rodarius Williams fit into that category.
“Your first experience is on the grass and they are wearing a helmet looking at you,” Judge said. “It’s different.”
Judge said he was walking off the field on Friday with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and they noted how some of the rookies were bigger than they expected, which was a welcome development.
• Judge’s expanded coaching staff outnumbered the players at rookie minicamp 25-22. There were three coaches (O-line coach Rob Sale, assistant O-line coach Ben Wilkerson and consultant Pat Flaherty) working with two offensive lineman (undrafted free agents Brett Heggie and Jake Burton).
• Heggie, Burton and defensive lineman Raymond Johnson III were the only undrafted free agents signed by the Giants. None of the five tryout players were in the 2021 draft class.
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This year’s draft class was much thinner than usual because many prospects elected to return to school because the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. Instead of waiting to fill out the roster after the draft (the Giants signed 15 undrafted free agents last year), the Giants signed 20 players to futures contracts after the season.
Players who weren’t on active rosters at the end of the previous season are eligible for futures contracts. The Giants signed most of the members of their practice squad, plus players from other teams’ practice squads to fill out their 90-man roster.
• The five tryout players included three NFL veterans: Running backs Corey Clement and Ito Smith, and wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.
Clement, who spent the past four seasons with the Eagles, posted on Instagram that he signed with the Giants after Saturday’s practice. The 26-year-old has 163 carries for 655 yards and seven touchdowns in his four-year NFL career. He also has extensive special-teams experience. Most notably, Clement had four catches for 100 yards and one touchdown in Philadelphia’s win over Judge’s Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Bringing a pair of veteran running backs in for a tryout was a clear sign that the Giants wanted more experience and competition in their backfield. Saquon Barkley and Devontae Booker had been the only running backs on the roster with legitimate NFL experience. Sixth-round pick Gary Brightwell projects as more of a special-teamer if he makes the roster.
Benjamin, who was a first-round pick by Giants general manager Dave Gettleman with the Panthers in 2014, hasn’t played in the NFL since 2018. Listed at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds on the minicamp roster, Benjamin is trying to make the conversion from wide receiver to tight end.
The 30-year-old Benjamin looked like a player who has been out of the league for two years trying to transition to a new position. Judge coached Benjamin hard on ball security both days.
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• Thorson was the lone quarterback at the minicamp since the 6-foot-1, 209-pound Rourke, who played quarterback at Ohio, worked at receiver. Thorson has ties to Garrett, having spent the 2019 season on Dallas’ practice squad and then most of last season on the Giants’ practice squad.
If the Giants only carry two quarterbacks — Daniel Jones and Mike Glennon — on the active roster again, then Thorson will likely head back to the practice squad.
• The rookie minicamp concludes on Sunday with meetings. On Monday, the rookies will join the veterans in the voluntary offseason program.
The four-week first phase of the modified offseason program, which consisted exclusively of virtual meetings, is over. Phase 2 of the offseason program begins on Monday with continued virtual meetings and the introduction of 90 minutes per day of on-field work with coaches.
The third and final phase of the offseason program begins on May 24. That four-week phase features Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and a three-day mandatory minicamp. Teams are allowed to hold 10 OTAs, but the Giants only have eight scheduled currently.
Giants players announced through the NFLPA on April 15 that they would not attend in-person voluntary workouts. But some players have been working out at the facility and more will arrive over the next week. It’s not known how many players plan to skip all of the voluntary activities.
“Obviously, it’s a voluntary period so we are going to work with every player we can whether it’s virtual or in person,” Judge said. “So, obviously, whoever is here we’ll coach in person, whoever is virtual for the meetings we’ll work with them virtually. Some guys will be doing both.”
Safety Logan Ryan, who is one of the Giants’ NFLPA representatives, has been training in Florida at former NFL wide receiver Yo Murphy’s facility. Ryan was joined this weekend by Giants defensive backs James Bradberry, Adoree’ Jackson, Xavier McKinney, Julian Love, Isaac Yiadom, Madre Harper, Jarren Williams and Chris Milton.
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Quarterback Daniel Jones has been traveling all over the country to train with teammates. Jones organized a passing camp in Arizona for many of his offensive teammates in early April, he was in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C., with receivers Darius Slayton and David Sills recently, and he has trained with Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard and others in New Jersey.
• One veteran who won’t participate in the offseason program but is expected back this season is Nate Ebner. The veteran special-teamer is a free agent and he hasn’t re-signed with the Giants while he pursues a spot on the U.S. Olympic rugby team.
“Technically, Nate is a free agent right now, but we fully intend for him to be a member of the Giants,” Judge said. “He’s a very important part of this team and we look forward to getting him back.”
(Top photo of Kadarius Toney: Bill Kostroun / AP)
