Giants training camp takeaways: Daniel Jones looks locked in; Deonte Banks, not so much

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The second week of Giants training camp kicks off Monday. The pads come on for the first time Tuesday, so that’s when evaluations of the trenches can begin. For now, here are notes and observations from the first four practices of camp:

• Training camp stats can be misleading, but they are useful in confirming the eye test. A perfect example is how much more comfortable quarterback Daniel Jones looks now compared to a year ago.

Jones was swimming at the start of camp last year as he tried to digest a new offense and gain chemistry with a hodgepodge group of wide receivers. The stats through the first four practices last year illustrated how much Jones was struggling: 36-for-69 (52.2 percent) with three interceptions in 11-on-11 drills.

Coach Brian Daboll didn’t do Jones any favors, putting the offense in unfavorable situations and allowing defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to dig into his bag of exotic blitzes. The result was a disjointed mess, with Jones and his receivers often not on the same page and balls thrown away due to unblocked rushers.

Through four practices this year, Jones has completed 33-of-42 passes (78.6 percent) with no interceptions in 11-on-11 drills. Part of the success is due to the addition of game-changing tight end Darren Waller (team-high nine catches) and Daboll dialing back the adverse situations to an extent. But it’s also obvious Jones has far greater command of the offense in the second year of this system.

“I think it’s nice not to be learning completely new at this point,” Jones said. “We’re picking up from things we started with in the spring, and we’ll continue to build off of it.”

Time will tell if this hot start to camp means anything. Jones was much better in the regular season than in camp last year, playing his best down the stretch and in the Wild Card win over the Vikings.

The hope has always been that Jones would build on that strong finish. The early returns are promising.

• NFL players are the cream of the crop athletically, so it’s rare to find one so gifted that peers are awed by his talent. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Waller is in that category, with teammates marveling daily at his combination of size and speed.

This is my eighth season covering the Giants. There are only three offensive players who simply moved differently on the field in a way that made teammates take notice: Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., running back Saquon Barkley and Waller.

If the Giants have anyone on their defense who can cover Waller, they haven’t identified him yet. Waller torched safety Bobby McCain during a 1-on-1 drill during Sunday’s practice, so Daboll pulled the tight end over to the adjacent field where wide receivers and cornerbacks were squaring off. After one solid coverage rep by corner/safety Nick McCloud, Waller effortlessly blew past rookie cornerback Deonte Banks for an easy catch.

Waller opens up so much for Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. There have been times during camp when the Giants have been in a 3×1 formation, with three wide receivers on one side and Waller as the lone receiver on the other side. That puts pressure on the defense, which must declare if a corner or safety will cover him in man coverage. He has advantages in either matchup.

How defenses react to Waller — lengthy corner James Bradberry drew the matchup often when the Giants faced the Raiders in 2021 — will be one of the most intriguing chess moves each week.

• Waller isn’t the only versatile piece Daboll and Kafka are moving around in camp. Barkley has seen time in the slot in two running back packages with Matt Breida in the backfield.

The Giants toyed with that deployment last spring, but mostly scrapped it during the season. Barkley lined up in the slot on four percent of his snaps last season, which is one percent lower than in 2021.

Barkley memorably made a 41-yard catch-and-run on a crossing route after lining up in the slot in the Giants’ Week 5 win over the Packers last season, but otherwise he was a non-factor in his limited reps from that alignment. This is the time of year when Daboll experiments, so we’ll see if he’ll commit to using Barkley out of the slot more this season.

• Rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt is known for his speed, so perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising how quickly he’s moved up the depth chart during camp. After toiling mostly with the third-team offense during the spring, Hyatt has gotten work with all three units in camp.

Hyatt has done his best work with the second-team offense, flashing his speed on a long touchdown pass from backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor during Sunday’s practice. It still seems likely Hyatt will start his rookie season primarily as a deep threat, but that will provide immediate value.

The Giants used speedy journeyman Marcus Johnson on clear-out routes last season. Defenses will have to show more respect to Hyatt’s speed, or he could burn them for big plays.

• All of the caveats apply about it being early and unfair to make judgments, but it would be negligent not to document first-round pick Deonte Banks’ struggles. Banks has been picked on daily, giving up a ton of completions in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods. He’s also endured some rough moments in 1-on-1 drills, including the Waller rep on Sunday and a similar whiff on a jam that led to a Collin Johnson catch last Thursday.

There’s no shame in giving up completions in practice, especially in 1-on-1 drills and 7-on-7 periods that are slanted toward the offense. But it’s been alarming how baldy Banks has been beaten on some reps.

Considering all of his athletic gifts, it seems like Banks is overthinking. Jerome Henderson is an excellent defensive backs coach, so he’ll be tasked with getting Banks to settle in.

• There are a handful of starting jobs up for grabs, and players have been rotating at those positions each day.

At center, Ben Bredeson and John Michael Schmitz have alternated days with the starters. When not at center, Bredeson has been involved in the left guard battle, which also includes Josh Ezeudu and Tyre Phillips.

Phillips has been the surprise of camp, getting reps at both guard spots and right tackle. The first-team reps at left guard on Sunday were unexpected, but it shows how highly regarded the 2020 third-round pick is by the coaching staff.

Darnay Holmes and Cor’Dale Flott have alternated at slot cornerback each day. At the safety spot next to Xavier McKinney, Jason Pinnock, Dane Belton and Bobby McCain have rotated each day. Pinnock was first in line and flashed the athleticism that makes him the favorite to win the job with an incredible one-handed interception of a Jones pass on the last play of Sunday’s practice. The play already had been blown dead for a would-be Dexter Lawrence sack, but that doesn’t diminish Pinnock’s highlight-worthy pick.

Darrian Beavers has occupied the inside linebacker spot next to Bobby Okereke at the start of every practice, but Micah McFadden has rotated in with the starters. The Giants are keeping Beavers on a pitch count, Daboll said, as he returns from the torn ACL he suffered last August.

Here’s my early call on each position battle: C Schmitz, LG Ezeudu, Slot CB Flott, S Pinnock, ILB Beavers (with a possible veteran addition before the opener).

• Hot yoga enthusiasts in the East Rutherford and Atlanta areas had to be surprised to see linebacker Azeez Ojulari enter their studios this offseason. But the muscle-bound Ojulari rolled out a mat and humbly got to work on improving his flexibility after a nightmare season that featured injuries to both calves, an ankle, a hamstring and a quad.

“It was different,” Ojulari said. “It was kind of harder than you think. It’s a workout. But I’m like, if it’s going to benefit me, why not take it serious and try to help myself?”

When Ojulari returned to the Atlanta area for offseason training, he no longer lifted weights with teammate Andrew Thomas and other linemen. Instead, he worked with tight ends, including former Giant Evan Engram, as well as linebackers.

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Adding strength wasn’t a priority for Ojulari, who said he weighs in the 250-55 pound range as he did last year. There was more of a focus on mobility and core strength in sessions with his lighter training partners.

Ojulari tallied 5.5 sacks last season despite appearing in just seven games. He’s eager to see what he can do over a 17-game schedule and he’s hoping the change to his offseason regimen will eliminate the injury woes from last year.

• The Giants opened camp with seven players on the physically unable to perform (PUP) and non-football injury (NFI) lists. That group is down to five after wide receivers Sterling Shepard (knee) and Jamison Crowder (calf) were activated Sunday off the PUP and NFI lists, respectively.

Shepard immediately got work in team periods, but said he’ll be “smarter” about not pushing himself too much as he returns from a torn ACL. Even with Shepard’s injury history, don’t count him out for a roster spot. All he does is produce when he’s on the field.

Of the five players still sidelined — WR Wan’Dale Robinson (knee), OL Marcus McKethan (knee), DL A’Shawn Robinson (knee), DL DJ Davidson (knee) and CB Aaron Robinson (knee) — only A’Shawn Robinson appears close to being activated based on his work on the side with trainers.

(Top photo of Daniel Jones: Rich Schultz / Getty Images)

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