QB Daniel Jones Ignores Outside Chatter; Takeaways from Giants' Third OTA

Plus who stood out and who struggled in the pad-less, no-contact practice.

A general view of the New York Giants helmet with footballs. / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is right where he should be as far as his rehab from a torn ACL is concerned, and that’s all that matters for the six-year veteran.

“We've done a good job adjusting the schedule based on what I'm able to do,” Jones said following the team’s third OTA practice of the spring. 

“Every week, I'm able to do a little bit more. The schedule can change or progress as I progress, which I think has been the right way to do it. I feel good. I think I'm in a good spot.”

Jones is cleared to do individual drills, 7-on-7s, and work against air. He’s not yet ready for 11-on-11s, which head coach Brian Daboll admitted there was a little bit more of a risk because, even though there is no contract, there are more bodies flying around on any given play.

But Jones is optimistic that he’ll gain that clearance by the start of training camp in late July.

“Yeah, I do,” he said when the question was asked.

Jones has done his best to stay focused on what he needs to do to get back on the field and to block out the noise that has come with questions about his stability as the team’s quarterback moving forward. Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen have said that Jones will be the starter once he’s healthy.

Still, that hasn’t stopped people from questioning the wisdom of the decision or trying to gauge how Jones felt when, during the draft, the Giants were heavily reported to be seeking a trade-up in the first round to land former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

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“I wasn't sure what was going to happen or how it was going to play out,” Jones said when asked if he thought the Giants might pick a quarterback. “I was just watching and waiting to see like everybody else.”

Jones also denied being bothered by Schoen and Daboll's extensive off-season work on quarterbacks, which both men have said was part of their due diligence process.

“I'm focused on what I need to do,” Jones said. “I'm focused on playing the best football I can play.”

Does that mean he enters 2024 with a chip on his shoulder?

“I'm always motivated. I consider myself a driven guy,” Jones said. “I'm always going to work as hard as I possibly can. It's part of it, but I'm fired up that we got (receiver) Malik (Naber) and am looking forward to getting to work.”

 Jones, who said he “feels good about where we’re going” as far as the team’s commitment to him for the long term, conceded that while he still has a lot to prove, any reports about the Giants trying to move up to draft a quarterback have pretty much rolled off his back.

“I don't think you can take anything personally at this level. How exactly it happened and what happened, I'm not sure I know--and I'm not sure you know,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I'm focused on playing good football.”

Case closed.

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Slayton & Waller Remain Absent

No surprise here, but receiver Darius Slayton and tight end Darren Waller were not present.

Slayton, who is said to want a new contract extension (which he’s unlikely to get), isn’t required to be present for the OTAs since they’re voluntary. He is, however, required to show up for the mandatory minicamp next month, and if he skips that, he’ll be fined.

Meanwhile, Waller continues to weigh his options for the future, and the Giants seem in no rush to push him toward a decision or make that decision for him.

“When Darren makes his decision, that's what we'll go with,” Daboll said.

Waller said in interviews promoting IcyHot last month that he expected to decide before training camp. If he sticks to the June timeline and does retire, the Giants will save $11+ million on the cap, which is why the team isn’t pushing him to decide anytime soon.

Head coach Brian Daboll / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA

Daboll Calls the Plays

Daboll left the door open for him to take over the play calling this year. We saw that in the rookie minicamp, and that continued in the open OTA.

Daboll was sporting the walkie-talkie and the play sheet during the 11-on-11 drills. Although he wasn’t asked about it, he probably wouldn’t confirm what the eyes are confirming: he intends to take the job this year and leave offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to handle whatever new gameday responsibilities his new assistant head coach title carries.

Daboll’s taking on the play-calling is zero surprise. With this being a critical year, he might as well, as if this ship is going to sink, it might as well be with him at the helm. 

More importantly, as the Giants look to salvage what they can of Jones’s career, it makes complete sense to let Daboll, who worked to design the bulk of the offensive system tailored to Jones’s strengths, be the voice in his ear on game day.

Flott is CB2 for Now

Defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson confirmed that if the season were to start tomorrow, the starting cornerbacks would be Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott. Flott, who at first glance lacks bulk, said he’s up to 177 pounds to get to 180.

The big concern with him is whether he can hold up to the physical part of the position.

Flott is trying to get ahead of that. “Just taking care of the body more. Adding more massages, acupuncture, compression boots,” he said when asked what he’s doing to ensure he stays out of the trainer’s room.

 “Just staying on top of it, keeping the routine going weekly and daily, and finding more time to take care of your body and stuff. I continue to work on it.”

Other Observations & Takeaways

Here are a few things of note from the Giants’ third OTA, a pad-less, no-contact practice held inside the team’s field house.

It was not a good day for Drew Lock, who is now believed to be QB2 on the depth chart. Lock was all over the place with his throws, with some of his earlier attempts failing to come near a receiver.

One of Lock’s better throws of the day was a deep touchdown pass to Malik Nabers, in which the rookie split the coverage by safety Jason Pinnock and cornerback Cor’Dale Flott. Nabers is just so smooth in running his route, making the catch, and then taking it upfield for additional yardage.

Tommy DeVito had a solid showing. His accuracy was on point, and he wasn’t holding onto the ball as much as I remember him doing last year. He made a perfect throw to rookie tight end Theo Johnson, threading the needle over the middle.

Johnson got a lot of reps with Waller and Daniel Bellinger not at practice.

Projected starting offensive tackles Andrew Tomas and Evan Neal didn’t take part in the 11-on-11s. Those first-team reps went to Joshua Ezeudu and Yodney Cajuste. Neal is recovering from ankle surgery.

Thomas is not believed to have had any sort of surgery in the off-season, so the look at Ezeudu, who first started seeing snaps at left tackle for the Giants last year only to struggle, may have been the coaches wanting to take a look at him (plus veteran swing tackle candidate Matt Nelson didn’t participate in the team drills either).

Speaking of Neal, Daboll was asked, on the final question permitted during his media session, if he sees the third-year player exclusively taking right tackle reps once he gets out there.

Daboll said, “Yeah, we'll start him at right tackle.”

Take that whichever way you want, but don’t be shocked if Neal gets some snaps at guard at some point in the summer.

Jon Runyan and Jermaine Eluemunor worked at guard, Eluemunor on the left and Runyan on the right, a position Daboll said Runyan had been pretty much playing since he got here.

Daboll did give the impression that they’re flipping guys around to see what works best.

This is the same approach they took last year—not a bad one, except the Giants, kept playing around with combinations until Week 1 when they should have had the starting five set so they could jell.

Daboll didn’t seem willing to put a hard deadline on when he anticipated setting the line. 

“We got a long time between now and August, and once we go through training camp, we get through phase three, and we'll teach them the stuff we're doing," he said.

“There are certain changes we're doing. They will have a chance with pads on to compete, and then when we figure out what we think is the right combination, whenever that is, that's when it is. Whether it's at the beginning of August or however it sorts out,”

If they don’t set the line at least ten days before the start of the season, this team will be in trouble.

Tight end Tyree Jackson left practice early with a trainer for an undisclosed reason.

Graham Gano was back to kicking in this OTA. His surgically repaired left knee seemed to hold up well, but I also noticed that he kept that left leg as straight as possible in his kicking motion. Gano wasn’t kicking for power; his field goals were short attempts.

But he is still apparently strengthening his leg, which is why Jude McAtamney is in camp. I anticipate McAtamney will handle kickoffs and longer field goals this summer to allow Gano as much time as possible before the season.

I got a look at defensive lineman Elijah Chatman, and I liked what I saw. He’s the shortest of the rostered defensive linemen, but he went through the drills with good pad level and showed smooth feet, violent hands, and a quick first step, all of which I thought only Dexter Lawrence topped.

I wonder if the Giants might try Chatman at fullback (he played a bit in college) this summer. He’s got the build for it, and with that quick first step and ability to square up, it might make for an interesting experiment.

Brian Burns seemed to be spending a lot of time in the offensive backfield, but as he said afterward in his post-practice media session, it doesn’t mean much. There are no pads and no contact, and in situations like these, they favor the defender. That said, Burns will give opposing linemen headaches once the pads go on—bank on that.

Up Next

The Giants resume OTAs on May 28, after the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The next OTA open to the media will be May 30. 

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