After their trade up for Dart in the first round of the draft, the Giants were left with just one Day 2 pick. They used the selection on Darius Alexander, an athletic defensive lineman out of Toledo who has already shown some flashes during training camp. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound lineman registered 7.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss over his final two collegiate seasons.

Between Carter, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence, the Giants already have a loaded defensive front. If Alexander eventually locks down the spot on the interior next to Lawrence, it could potentially take this defensive line to another level. At the very least, it provides the defense with another strong force up front, and could help the unit on plays that Lawrence needs a breather.

Alexander is more athletic than people give him credit for, evidenced by his interception return for a touchdown in his final season at Toledo. Saturday’s game will be the first chance the rookie gets to show off his athletic abilities for Giants fans, something we should all be excited for.

“There’s some flashes out there,” Daboll said about the rookie third round pick. “He’s got length and athleticism and he’s rushed from different areas in the pass-rush portion of things. He’s rushed inside, we’ve put him on the edge outside. (He’s a) big body guy who’s got sneaky athleticism for a big man. I know everybody sees the interception return that he had, but he’s got quick feet, he’s got long arms, he’s got good get off, he’s got a natural ability to rush, particularly on the interior side of the pocket, but then there’s double teams and down blocks and a bunch of things that you’re coaching off of that we have to work on.”

CB Deonte Banks/CB Cor’Dale Flott

Perhaps the biggest position competition to watch as the Giants go through the preseason is at CB2. Veteran Paulson Adebo was signed to be the team’s top cornerback, but which young corner lines up on the other side is still to be determined.

Third-year corner Deonte Banks and fourth-year corner Cor’Dale Flott have both had their moments dating back to the spring. Banks was the most recent of the two to come up with a big play at practice on Wednesday. The 24-year-old broke up a couple of passes during team drills before coming up with a big interception on a pass from Wilson.

There is still a lot of football to be played over the next few weeks. No decision on the CB2 spot will be made after one preseason game. However, Banks and Flott could certainly help their respective cases with a strong outing in Buffalo.

“I think they’re both doing a really good job,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said. “Obviously, Flott’s missed a little bit of time here the past couple days, but I think they’re doing a really good job. I like the growth of Tae. I think competition’s been good for both of them. I really do. But you’re seeing Tae battle and going up against Malik and finding ways to get PBUs and some other guys. He’s been able to get his hands on footballs more, I feel like, this early on in training camp, we’re ten days in, but early on, more so than what it was last year. He’s working. He’s working. He’s competing for the job. He’s trying to earn it, just like everybody else is trying to earn their play time.

“I thought Flott was doing a really good job. From the spring to now, he was probably one of the guys that had the most pass breakups. So just continue that competition. The versatility is no different than all these other positions. There’s going to be time and place where the numbers kind of shrink and we’ve got to figure out ways of how do we fit based on who’s available and who’s not. So some of the versatility stuff is going to come into play as well.”