Giants OTAs Takeaways: Lineup Shuffles, Standouts and More

It’s still very early in the process of identifying a depth chart, and it’s also challenging to do so when players are missing from practice, as was the case with the defensive line.

But more on that in a moment, as let’s look at the offensive line alignments.

Marcus Mbow stepped in for Thomas during team drills with the first team offensive line, joining LG Jon Runyan, C John Michael Schmitz, RG Francis Mauigoa, and RT Jermaine Eluemunor.

The second team offensive line featured LT JC Davis, LG Aaron Stinnie, C Lucas Patrick, RG Daniel Faalele, and RT Josh Ezeudu.

And the third team saw LT Reid Holskey, LG Jake Kubas, C Bryan Hudson, RG Evan Neal, and RT Ryan Schernecke.

We found it interesting that Neal, who did get one snap with the second team offensive line at left guard, got most of his work at right guard with the third team unit.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants alternated between having two downlinemen and three. Before he was injured, Roy Robertson-Harris was among the first-teamers, joined by Darius Alexander. Bobby Jamison-Travis worked with the second team at nose tackle.

What’s A Harbaugh Practice Like?

Harbaugh has done a good job of mixing up the tempo during the two media-access practices. The team goes through its plays at walk-through speed, then cranks it up a bit to do what they just finished.

Harbaugh also brought back the music, which was notably absent in the rookie camp. He would have the music play faster during the team's plays and turn it off during the walk-through.

“We want it to be fast, but it's them. They're doing it,” Harbaugh said of the tempo. “They are the ones who have done it. The players are out there doing it, right? They're practicing at a really high level, high pace practice, which is exciting.”

Other Practice Takeaways

Ar’Darius Washington split reps at safety with Tyler Nubin. Keep an eye on Washington this summer as he could end up playing a much bigger role than first thought.

Deonte Banks got reps with the first team at cornerback. He had a couple of pass breakups.

At times, the Giants' defense moved around before the snap to create the amoeba illusion, intended to fool the offense.

On offense, the reps were evenly split among Tyrone Tracy, Jr., Devin Singletary, and Damon Bankston, with the rookie appearing to run well on runs outside the tackle.

At receiver, Gunner Olszewski had himself a solid showing working in the front slot, catching two slant passes, which he took for long gains.

In the kicking competition, Ben Sauls and Jason Sanders each got turns. Sauls, the lefty, went 2-of-4, with one that he pulled far to the right. Sanders went 4-of-6, missing his last two attempts, both of which appeared to be from 40+ yards out.

We’d be surprised if the Giants brought Sauls, Sanders, and Dominic Zvada to camp this summer, and an early guess is that Sauls could be the odd man out, given how the kicking operation has to flip sides for a lefty.

That and, unlike having a left-footed punter, a left-footed kicker doesn’t offer much in the way of an advantage, according to Harbaugh.

“I wouldn't think too much,” he said. “You know, the ball might track a little bit differently than a right-footed kicker, but fielding kicks is pretty easy.

“Now, if he can get the ball on the ground and get it bouncing around with some of those hops, those squib kicks, that would be maybe different. But I don't think it gives you any advantage really.”

The Giants did a bit of pulling in the run game this practice, more so than I recall them doing in the past.

Receiver Calvin Austin came up with a huge reception in a hurry-up drill on a ball thrown from Brandon Allen. Xavier Gipson also had a stellar reception on a long ball for a touchdown, also thrown by Allen.

Rookie linebacker Arvell Reese spent time working on drills related to his drop in coverage.

Cornerback Greg Newsome II and safety Beau Brade both had interceptions.

Malachi Fields came up with a deep ball reception in stride, beating Nic Jones and Brade in coverage along the sideline.

Dante Miller burst up the gut for a touchdown run during red zone drills.

Good to see Francis Mauigoa walking off the field with Jermaine Eluemunor after practice. Eluemunor appeared to be explaining something to his young teammate, who nodded frequently.

The next OTA open to the media will be a week from Friday.

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