Giants Country

New York Giants Practice Report No. 7: Decent Day for Daniel Jones

And concerns continue about the offensive line rotation.

Michael Lee

Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) throws a pass during Quest Diagnostics Training Center training camp.
Jul 25, 2024; East Rutherford, NY, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) throws a pass during Quest Diagnostics Training Center training camp. / Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports
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If you don’t succeed at first, try, try, and try again. 

The mantra of the New York Giants passing offense this summer has been, “If you don’t succeed at first, try, try, and try again.” By that I mean that the Giants have been dead set on throwing the ball deeper this coming year, as we've seen probably more deep throws to start camp this year than we have in the first two camps under head coach Brian Daboll. 

And why not? Why would anyone expect anything different with receivers who can take the top off the defense?

Speaking of the passing game, today might have been quarterback Daniel Jones’s best day throwing overall. Unofficially, I had him 11-of-15 with two deep touchdowns, one to receiver Malik Nabers and the other to Jalin Hyatt. 

Before practice, assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was asked about the offense's struggles, specifically the deep ball, and he opined that the issue behind many of Daniel Jones's missed deep passes has been the timing.

Jones, remember, has only had seven practices with team drills. He didn’t get the opportunity to throw to his receivers in the spring as he was held out of the team drills while completing his recovery from a torn ACL. 

Arm strength has never been an issue for Jones, and although last season he only completed two of 11 deep pass attempts of 20+ yards before his season-ending knee injury, he put forth his best deep throwing season in 2020 when he went 20 of 43 with six touchdowns and no interceptions on the deep ball.

From what I can gauge, Jones's issue has been trusting what he sees and, more importantly, his protection. Hopefully, as both improve, he’ll connect more on those deep throws that the coaches apparently want to see become a main part of the offense.

Undrafted rookie free agent defensive back Alex Johnson, out of UCLA, had his day with two interceptions, both coming off tipped passes by linebacker Isaiah Simmons. Johnson played some of his snaps at safety, looking quite comfortable in the role. 

Another day, another amazing catch by receiver Malik Nabers. I'll just leave this right here (kudos to Madelyn Burke for capturing the best close-up view of the score).

Good showing forrookie tight end Theo Johnson, who doens't appear to have been affected by the time he missed by opening camp on PUP with a hip issue and then being ramped up. Johnson looks so smooth catching passes and I really like how he uses his large frame to shield the ball from defenders.

His athleticism is also sneaky good to where it's not unreasonable to think he might be good for some yards after the catch, a problem last year for the Giants tight ends.

The best of the three tight ends on the roster last year (Darren Waller, Daniel Bellinger, and Lawerence Cager) in terms of average yards after the catch was CAger (6.8 YAC), who is currently nursing a hamstring strain. Bellinger was second (5.6 YAC).

Johnson, at Penn State, averaged 5.0 YAC.

Other Takeaways

Left tackle Andrew Thomas may have met his match in Brian Burns. I’ve been attending camp now for a few years and usually Thomas gets the better of whoever is across from him, with very few hiccups. 

Not so much against Burns though, where thus far this summer, I think whenever these two have gone against each other, the outcome has been divided.

Joshua Ezeudu got some reps at left guard with the second team. He got a lot of work at both tackle spots in the spring, and it initially looked like he would be a candidate for the swing tackle role. But it’s good to see him getting some snaps at guard, even if it means the offensive line is still a ways off from being settled.

Speaking of the offensive line, with center John Michael Schmitz still sidelined with a shoulder issue (the same shoulder that cost him three games last year), the first-team offensive line was Thomas at left tackle, Jon Runyan, Jr. at left guard, Austin Schlottman/Greg Van Roten at center, Aaron Stinnie at right guard, and Jermaine Eluemunor at right tackle.

It’s unknow what Schmitz’s injury is, but between that same shoulder having acted up again and the continued missed practices and the rotation at backup center (which has also included undrafted rookie Jake Kubas, who got some looks at center earlier in camp), it’s probably safe to say that there is a concern there on a unit that already was a concern coming into camp.

The Giants had their media sessions outside of the field house, likely a result of them holding a workout inside the building. Let’s hope that the workout was for some interior offensive linemen who can play center so that the Giants don’t have to keep rotating the offensive line every day while Schmitz is out.

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Michael Lee

MICHAEL LEE

Michael Lee is an aspiring sports writer currently studying journalism and communications.