Every year in the NFL, position battles in training camp occur to determine the best players at each spot. The New York Giants have a few enticing battles themselves come training camp. Here are a few positions with attractive battles come training camp.
Four New York Giants Training Camp Battles to Watch
Right Tackle
For the past few seasons, the New York Giants offensive line has been a turnstile train wreck. With another restructure last year, the only remaining starter from the Pat Shurmur era was Will Hernandez. However, the Giants have to make a careful choice at the right tackle position.
The two most competent competitors started only one combined game in the past season. 2020 third round pick Matt Peart started one game at left tackle last year when Joe Judge disciplined Andrew Thomas for being late to a meeting. Veteran Nate Solder opted out of 2020 due to his son’s health issues. Cameron Fleming started all 16 games at right tackle last year. However, he is now competing for a spot on the Denver Broncos roster.
Peart showed impressive stuff in limited snaps last year, as he run-blocked well and only allowed nine pressures in 84 pass-blocking snaps. His performance was pretty good for a raw third round pick. The Giants started giving Peart game snaps in Week 6 against the Washington Football Team.
Coming into this year’s training camp, Nate Solder is getting the short end of the stick. The veteran tackle opted out last year and played terribly in 2019. He allowed 11 sacks and 57 pressures, affecting the play of Eli Manning and then-rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
The New York Giants need to focus on their future rather than the short-term. Matt Peart turned out well in his rookie year for a raw third-round tackle. The same can’t be said about Nate Solder, unfortunately. He has not played in nearly two seasons and the last full season he played, he was a turnstile. Not to mention, he has not lived up to his multi-million dollar deal from 2018.
Being that these players are coming from two different situations, the right tackle spot should be intriguing to watch throughout the summer.
Right and Left Guard
The Giants have some question marks at the guard position. Shane Lemieux and Will Hernandez are coming back for another season in Giants blue, while the team picked up veteran guard Zach Fulton in March.
The Giants drafted Shane Lemieux in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Lemieux started earning snaps in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams as a fullback. When Hernandez tested positive for COVID-19, the Giants slipped Lemieux in at left guard for the next two games. After Hernandez came back, the pair started rotating at the left guard spot. Despite Hernandez playing better in pass protection, Lemieux started the remainder of the 2020 season at left guard.
Chemistry played a big factor in the coaches’ decision to remain with Lemieux. Rookie Andrew Thomas struggled to start the 2020 season with Will Hernadez alongside him. In seven games, the pair allowed four sacks and 36 pressures. When Lemieux stepped in for the remainder of the season, the Thomas-Lemieux pair allowed four sacks and 20 pressures in nine games.
Though it seems like Will Hernandez is on his way out, it may not be that cut clear and dry. Zach Fulton played to the tone of the Houston Texans awful offensive line last year as he allowed a career-worst 10 sacks and 31 pressures at right guard.
For the last week in OTA’s, the starting offensive line was set up as follows:
LT Thomas
LG Lemieux
C Gates
RG Hernandez
RT Peart
Though it is very early, Lemieux and Hernandez seem to be the front runners for the left and right guard spots. Lemieux’s chemistry with Thomas plays a huge role in this offense’s success. To note, Will Hernandez has been working out with Matt Peart during the offseason. This could be a big factor in their chemistry on and off the field.
Outside Linebacker
There are eight outside linebackers that are on the New York Giants’ roster at the moment: Ryan Anderson, Oshane Ximines, Trent Harris, Niko Lalos, Lorenzo Carter, Azeez Ojulari, Cam Brown, and Elerson Smith.
Two players are coming off season-ending injuries and one did not play college football last year. As of right now, the 16-man practice squads are not returning for a second year. So if some of these pass-rushers are on the roster bubble for this year, they better show out in camp.
The Giants drafted Azeez Ojulari and Elerson Smith in April’s draft. The team also signed Ryan Anderson to a one-year deal from the Washington Football Team.
One of the players who could be on the chopping block is Oshane Ximines. Many point to his injury last year as the reason for the lack of snaps. However, pre-injury, the most snaps he played was in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers, where the Giants were out of the game by the third quarter. Clearly, this coaching staff values Lorenzo Carter’s skillset over Ximines’.
Carter is coming off an Achilles injury. Before his injury, he played a tremendous amount of snaps and produced well, to the coaching staff’s likeness. In five games, he pressured the quarterback seven times, with one sack, 15 tackles, and two tackles for a loss.
Ryan Anderson is a dark-horse candidate to make the New York Giants roster. Anderson never received a fair chance in the nation’s capital, playing under 20% of the snaps in three of the four years he was there. In 2019, his biggest year, Anderson played 49% of the defensive snaps, recording 44 tackles, four tackles for a loss, four sacks, 19 pressures, and nine quarterback hits. If the Giants keep a veteran on the 53-man roster after training camp, Anderson could emerge as this year’s Kyler Fackrell.
Trent Harris needs to show out in training camp this year as he is no longer eligible for the practice squad. If Niko Lalos and Cam Brown don’t make the final 53, they are still eligible for the practice squad.
The Giants need production out of their outside linebackers, in terms of rushing the passer, stopping the run, and occasionally covering tight ends or running backs. Having eight outside backers on the roster will definitely be an intriguing competition in training camp.
Backup Running Back
Saquon Barkley is the number one running back for sure. However, he is not taking the full load the first few weeks so the Giants will need to choose wisely who is behind him.
The Giants signed former Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos running back Devontae Booker in March. As the backup to Josh Jacobs, Booker rushed for 423 yards on 93 touches, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and scoring three times.
The team also drafted Arizona running back Gary Brightwell in the 6th round of April’s draft. They are holding over Taquan Mizzell and Sandro Plutzgummer from last year, while signing Corey Clement and Ryquell Armstead after the draft.
The backfield behind Saquon Barkley will need to be able to do three things: catch out of the backfield, cover the load when Barkley is on the bench, and pass protect on third down. Booker is an early favorite, while the third running back role seems wide open. The Giants will likely carry either Cullen Gillaspia or Elijhaa Penny as a fullback. It likely comes down to Armstead, Clement, Mizzell and Plutzgummer for the third running back role.
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