Things to Watch in Giants-Panthers Preseason Game

The New York Giants continue their search for answers to their offensive line and receiver depth chart Friday against the Carolina Panthers.

Another friendly reminder is that the outcome score-wise of the preseason games doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme.

But that said, this week, when the New York Giants host the Carolina Panthers in preseason game number two, there will be other things to watch that ultimately will impact the upcoming season.

Will We See the Starters?

Head coach Brian Daboll purposely avoids (we think) sharing any plans for the personnel deployment until after the full slate of practices is complete, at which time the staff evaluates each player's workload to arrive at a plan for preseason snaps.

But still, it would be hard to imagine that at some point, the starters, who had last week's game against the Lions off, won't get some preseason snaps, even if it's just a series or two. And that could happen as soon as this week.

On offense, the thing to watch for is quarterback Daniel Jones testing his new receiving weapons like Parris Campbell and tight end Darren Waller in game conditions. And on defense, Wink Martindale could use the opportunity to look at the two rookie cornerbacks (Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins III) playing on the outside with Adoree' Jackson in the slot.

It probably makes the most sense for the Giants to get their starters a healthy amount of work this week, as in the following week, they'll see the Jets, a team they'll also see in the regular season. But again, DAboll, as of Wednesday, the last time he spoke to the media before the preseason game, said that no decisions had been made.

The Offensive Line Shuffle

At some point, the Giants must decide on their starting five offensive linemen, right?

You'd certainly think so with less than a month to go before the September 10 regular-season opener. However, Daboll and company are either still legitimately trying to figure out who their best five are, or they have everyone fooled in that this shuffling they've been doing is just to get certain guys more experience at various positions in the event of an injury.

Let's assume it's the latter scenario. We know that Andrew Thomas is locked in at left tackle. And we can probably say that John Michael Schmitz has won the starting center job and that Evan Neal, despite his recent injury woes, will be the starting right tackle.

As for the rest of the line, the coaches continue to rotate different guys in at left and right guard, including Ben Bredeson, Joshua Ezeudu, Jack Anderson, Mark Glowinski, and Shane Lemieux, to name a few.

Again, this could be just to get guys experience and that the coaches know what they're going to do and are keeping it under wraps so that the Cowboys can't get a jumpstart on who to prepare for.

Then again, it might not.

Perhaps no starting offensive lineman is as firmly under the magnifying glass as Neal. Neal has been cleared from the league protocol after getting dinged on August 4 and is on track to play. That would be a good thing, as after having a rocky rookie season, the Giants are hoping that Neal takes a quantum leap similar to Andrew Thomas's in his second season.

The 12 days Neal lost while in the protocol are a concern as he was still trying to get comfortable with his new stance, but hopefully, a large dose of playing time will be in what's left of his preseason.

The Receivers

Parris Campbell, Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, and Jalin Hyatt are all locked in to make the team at receiver, barring injury. Sterling Shepard and Cole Beasley are both projected to make the roster, which leaves at least one spot open at most if these six projections work out.

Who will that last spot go to? If Wan'Dale Robinson comes off PUP before training camp ends, he would be the guy. If not, might it be Collin Johnson if his knee issue clears up in time? That question is still debatable, as injuries will no doubt sway the final numbers kept at each position.

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