Here's What Happened at Practice 2 of Giants Training Camp

Malik Nabers dazzles, Daboll gets creative, and more from the Giants' second training camp practice.

Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants players gather in a huddle after training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll still hasn’t said what is blatantly obvious: that he’ll be the one calling the plays for the Giants offense this season.

It’s hard not to miss Daboll havingfun with the radio in his hand or how he’s enthusiastically calling in the plays to his quarterbacks. It’s also hard not to miss the creativity that the offense has shown through two practices.

For one, the Giants have been running a lot of pre-snap motion in two training camp practices thus far to give themselves an advantage over the opponent and help quarterback Daniel Jones get a better idea of what the defense might be planning to do.

On any given play, it’s not uncommon to see as many as three players shifting positions to give a different look.

Daboll also has been varying the tempo of the offense, at times having them come running up to the line of scrimmage, while at others having them go no-huddle, all to boos the quick passing game.

And he’s whipped out a few gadget plays, such as a direct snap to the running back, and end-arounds and jets sweeps involving the receivers.

“I'd say yes because it's the third year, so you can do a little bit more each year,” Daboll said when asked if he was at the point with the offense where he felt comfortable breaking out a few more embellishments that the Giants haven’t been able to run much in his first two seasons.

“If it's the first year, you're not going to throw as much at them. Each year you can add a little bit more. Some days you might see a lot of that, and some days, you might not see a lot of that. Just depends on how we want to attack the day.

The idea of using pre-snap motion not only confuses the defense and helps the quarterbacks, but it also helps to create space for the receivers. And if the Giants receivers–a very good group led by rookie Malik Nabers and veterans Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt, and Wan’Dale Robinson–can get a little extra space with which to work, one can only imagine, given their respective shiftiness, how their yards after-the-catches totals might grow in 2024.  

“We can be as good as we want to be, and I'm excited to be in it,” said offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor of the offense. “I think it can be a real explosive offense as long as we do what we need to do and the offensive line does their job and everyone else around them will do their jobs too.”

Here are the highlights from the practice.

CONTENTS

1. Exhale, Giants Fans
2. Daniel Jones Has a Day
3. Battle of the Ones
4. Play of the Day
5. Giants Injury Report
6. Practice Musings
7. Lineup Notes
8. Giants Training Camp Schedule
9. Quote of the Day
10. See Also

Exhale, Giants Fans

As has already been noted, Jermaine Eluemunor avoided a catastrophic rib injury following his accidental contact with defensive lineman Dexter Lawerence in Wednesday’s practice. Eluemunor told reporters that he was sore from the episode and that after he got whacked in the side, he had trouble breathing, but it was important to him to be out there doing something on the practice field. 

Why was it so important for the veteran to be out there when he could have had the day off? 

“In my, what, eight-year career, I haven’t missed a day of training camp, so I was going to come out here either way and try and do as much as I could,” he said.

 Elemunor explained what happened on the play in which he was injured.

“I was trying to cut off, and (defensive lineman) Dex thought he was being trapped, so he obviously lowered his shoulder and it just so happened that he lowered his shoulder into my rib cage. So it wasn’t the most fun pain I’ve had to deal with but I’m out here today, so that’s what really matters,” he said.

As for his new assignment to play right tackle, which he said he learned of the same time reporters did (which would have been Wednesday), Eluemunor is fine with doing whatever the team needs him to. 

“I’m really happy to be here, so I told (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) and (General Manager) Joe (Schoen), when I came here, wherever they need me is where I am going to play.”

East Rutherford, NJ -- July 24, 2024 -- Quarterback Daniel Jones during the first day of training camp for the 2024 New York Giants. / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA

Daniel Jones Has a Day

Quarterback Daniel Jones, who looked rusty in his first full practice back from an ACL injury, had a much better showing on Thursday both in terms of execution and decision-making. 

“Procedure was good. Did a lot of movement and things like that. Didn’t have any pre-snap penalties. Made good decisions,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Jones. 

“It’s good to get him out there and feel some of the rush. Dexter (Lawrence II) was in the middle of the pocket a couple of times, and he’s got to move and use his legs and I thought he did well.”

By the way, Daboll has had the team doing more 11-on-11s so far this summer, all but eliminating the 7-on-7s that were abundant last year. The idea is to get the team up to speed so they can hit the ground running, but we also suspect that it’s to help Jones hit the ground running after almost nine months of full football inactivity.

Jones, in Thursday’s practice, continued to move well, showing no signs of hesitating when running on a couple of designed runs and when forced to abandon the pocket. 

Battle of the Ones

 In one of the more entertaining matchups of camp, the Giants have rookie receiver Malik Nabers going against last year’s first-round pick, cornerback Deonte Banks, and it’s been a spirited competition so far.

Nabers, in one-on-one drills got the better of Banks such as this pretty-looking play.

Nabers 😮‍💨🔥 pic.twitter.com/WkQMJDvuZG

— New York Giants (@Giants) July 25, 2024

Banks, to his credit, said he is having fun with the competition, 

“He’s good. He’s really explosive. Real quick. I like him,” Banks said. 

Banks is also enjoying the jawing going on between the two after every play.

“We are just competing. We talk to each other, and it’s really fun,” he said. “I already knew he was a talker. (And)  I’m always talking back. Every time.”

In all seriousness, Banks is thankful to be going against one of the best because it helps to make him better. 

 “It’s just a good matchup; I like it,” he said. “We’re both competing. We have the same body type. Quickness. We are both quick and fast. It’s fun.”

Play of the Day

How about this beauty from second-year receiver Jalin Hyatt, who beat cornerback Cor'Dale Flott on a deep ball?

DJ DEEP TO HYATT pic.twitter.com/NOG0ObzRFA

— New York Giants (@Giants) July 25, 2024

Giants Injury Report

Tyler Nubin (undisclosed) was working on the side with trainers during the team drills.

TE Theo Johnson (hip), RT Evan Neal (ankle), and CB Aaron Robinson (knee) remain on PUP. Neal spent the first hour or so of practice inside, presumably getting treatment.

He then walked from the locker room all the way across to where the team was practicing on the backfield, showing the slightest of a limp.

Lineup Notes

Disclaimer: While we can tell quite a bit from how the players line up on any given team drill, one thing we’ve learned is that sometimes the coaching staff will mix and match guys who are otherwise third or lower on the depth chart just to see how they function with the first-team offense.

In other words, it’s probably too soon to get overly excited about how some guys are lining up. So, with that said, here are some lineups of note.

Nick McCloud continued to get most of the first-team reps at nickel cornerback. On offense, Tyrone Tracy got a fair amount of reps as RB2 with the offense. TE Daniel Bellinger took some snaps with the third-team offense. 

Linebacker Dyonte Johnson continues to earn more reps and gets some snaps with the first team. Again, it’s early, but it looks as though Micah McFadden’s starting job next to Bobby Okereke isn’t a sure thing.

Giants Training Camp Schedule

The Giants will practice on Friday beginning at 10 a.m. Both will be open to the public (weather permitting) who hold a free training camp admission ticket. The practice will run until approximately 12 noon.

The Giants will be off on Saturday.

Quote of the Day

"It’s not the most fun thing I’ve had to deal with." -- Offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor on his collision with Dexter Lawrence that resulted in bruised ribs.

---

See Also

Training camp previews: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Receivers | Tight ends | Offensive line | Defensive line | Inside Linebackers | Outside Linebackers | Cornerbacks | Safeties

"Good, Great, and Ugly" Film Reviews: TE Daniel Bellinger | WR Wan'Dale Robinson | OC John Michael Schmitz | QB Tommy DeVito | LT Andrew Thomas | QB Daniel Jones | ILB Micah McFadden | ILB Bobby Okereke | CB Deonte Banks | OT Evan Neal

---

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow on Instagram.
• Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.