It’s not as if New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh hasn’t been through this drill before. You go through the entire offseason trying to figure out a winning blueprint for your team and then finally get a chance to see them try to execute once the preseason starts.

However, Saturday’s preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium will be a bit different. Harbaugh is now the coach of the New York Giants after 18 years, 12 postseason appearances, and a Super Bowl title with the Baltimore Ravens.

The expectations are high right out of the gate after Big Blue has scuffled along for most of the past decade. And Harbaugh isn’t pulling back on his desire to turn around the team’s fortunes quickly and get it into playoff contention in January.

To get there, he stressed that this was an important time for his team to prepare for the next step in its development.

“Well, I think we got a lot better,” Harbaugh said as the team headed home after 12 days at camp in West Virginia. 

“We improved tremendously. We’re much further along than we were when we started. I think we can look back and say that we’ve come a long way. I mean, the competition is really tough in this league, and every team is doing the same thing.

“So, you’re in a race every single day to be at least the best you can be. And everybody’s trying to do the same thing in the NFL, so that’s why it’s so tough, but I thought our guys did a good job. I’m happy with where we’re at. It’s just a matter of keeping your head down and staying after it every day. Never taking a breath in terms of your mindset and determination to get better.”

Harbaugh has declined to reveal how he will use his lineup against Minnesota, other than to admit that veteran receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who has not seen any game reps since he was with the Miami Dolphins in 2024, will play.

“I probably want to see him play enough, but you got to play other guys, too,” Harbaugh explained. “I think he could play the whole game and he’d be fine. He’s in shape to do it, but we’re not going to play anybody really the whole game just because we’ve got 90 guys.”

Clearly, the wide receiver position will be one in the spotlight during this game. What are the other key units? Check out the latest edition of the Big Blue Breakdown podcast for this week’s “3 Things to Watch” in the video above.

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