{"id":134383,"date":"2025-06-16T13:04:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T13:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/134383\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T13:04:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T13:04:11","slug":"giants-minicamp-preview-about-those-spring-narratives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/134383\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants minicamp preview: About those spring narratives"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Giants<\/a> end their offseason program this week with mandatory minicamp practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. The team will then be off until training camp begins in late July.<\/p>\n

This is a good time to address some of the narratives and storylines that have surrounded the Giants this spring. So, let\u2019s do that.<\/p>\n

Quarterbacks, quarterbacks, quarterbacks<\/p>\n

There are all sorts of quarterback angles to dive into. Here are some:<\/p>\n

Russell Wilson is the leader the Giants need<\/p>\n

Maybe. The jury is out on that one.<\/p>\n

I have said previously that Wilson is the best quarterback the Giants have had since Eli Manning<\/a>. I won\u2019t take that back. Even though he isn\u2019t what he used to be, look at his numbers in recent years and it\u2019s hard to argue he hasn\u2019t been better than Daniel Jones.<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s experience and continued ability\/willingness to throw the ball down the field will help the Giants\u2019 offense. I think it remains to be seen whether Wilson\u2019s personality and leadership style will work for New York.<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s style wasn\u2019t appreciated in Denver. There has been talk that as the 2024 season went along teammates in Pittsburgh tuned him out.<\/p>\n

His teammates have thus far said all the right things, but with a rookie first-round pick everyone knows will eventually get a chance to be the franchise\u2019s future nipping at his heels, how long that lasts in an open question. It might depend simply on whether or not Wilson and the Giants are winning games.<\/p>\n

Jaxson Dart is a bust … or the obvious QB1<\/p>\n

There are two schools of thought on what the rookie quarterback has proven so far this spring:<\/p>\n

He\u2019s awful, and the Giants should have drafted Shedeur Sanders.
\nHe\u2019s phenomenal, and he should be the Week 1 starting quarterback.<\/p>\n

Truth is, he has proven neither of those things.<\/p>\n

What the 22-year-old has really proven is that he is a talented rookie with potential, but with a lot to learn before he is ready to try and carry a franchise. There have been some beautiful throws, and some boneheaded ones from the neophyte quarterback. As you would expect and, honestly, as it should be in his first professional practices.<\/p>\n

We have not learned anything about what Dart will be. Not even close. All we have learned is that he obviously has talent. He also has confidence and charisma. He appears to be unafraid of the market he has landed in, one that is all too happy to chew up and spit out struggling athletes who don\u2019t meet expectations.<\/p>\n

We will watch Dart closely during minicamp. We will report as many details as we can. By Wednesday afternoon, though, we won\u2019t be any closer to knowing what twists and turns his career will take.<\/p>\n

Jameis isn\u2019t going anywhere<\/p>\n

There are some stirring the pot and calling for Winston to be given a real chance to take the starting job from Wilson. I would not have had a huge issue if the Giants had simply signed Winston and given him the starting job as a placeholder, but with Wilson on board that isn\u2019t going to happen.<\/p>\n

Winston isn\u2019t getting traded to the New Orleans Saints<\/a>, either. The Giants didn\u2019t sign him to trade him (yes, I went there).<\/p>\n

Winston has a two-year contract. The Giants gave him that because he is an excellent backup quarterback, because of both his ability and his personality. The Giants will need a backup for Dart in 2026, and Winston is perfect for the role. Even Dart thinks so<\/a>, and that is important.<\/p>\n

Jalin Hyatt will \u2014 finally \u2014 be a real factor <\/p>\n

Hyatt was a training camp star as a rookie in 2023, and then mostly a non-factor that season as he caught 23 passes.<\/p>\n

In 2024, he was a starter all through the spring and summer. Then, when the real games began he was an afterthought. Hyatt caught just 8 passes in his second NFL season.<\/p>\n

There has been chatter that Hyatt had conflicts with the coaching staff and management over his lack of playing time. There has been some chatter that maybe Hyatt just hasn\u2019t made the progress the team hoped for when they selected him in Round 3 of the 2023 draft.<\/p>\n

Whatever.<\/p>\n

Hyatt is at it again. Wilson is signing his praises. Hyatt is making plays. There is talk of him having put 15-20 pounds on his rail-thin frame.<\/p>\n

Will we get fooled again by all the hype, and by the production when defenders can\u2019t get physical with him? <\/p>\n

We\u2019ll see, but I do think Wilson, Winston and Dart are quarterbacks who give Hyatt a chance to succeed. He doesn\u2019t have to catch 60-70 passes. He can catch 35, like Gabe Davis did playing for Brian Daboll with the Buffalo Bills<\/a>, and have a massive impact as a field stretcher. <\/p>\n

If Hyatt is ever going to be an impact NFL player, it will happen this season.<\/p>\n

Malik Nabers\u2019 toe \u2014 to worry or not to worry?<\/p>\n

The Giants\u2019 star wide receiver has not done anything more than walk-through periods this spring due to a toe issue. Is this something to worry about?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think so … yet.<\/p>\n

The Giants have said this is an injury Nabers has had to manage since college. I do admit to wondering if something happened earlier in Nabers\u2019 offseason training to exacerbate the issue.<\/p>\n

Tae Banks in a competition for starting job<\/p>\n

The 2023 first-round pick, who had a rocky 2024 season marked by poor play and occasional lapses in effort, has split some first-team reps this spring with Co\u2019Dale Flott. Does that mean Banks is in a competition for a starting job?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not buying it.<\/p>\n

The best way to challenge a player is by truly making him earn his spot. I think that is what the Giants are doing here with Banks, forcing him to come to work every day and prove that he belongs in the lineup. <\/p>\n

In the end, I think that is exactly what is going to happen. I believe the Giants intend to start Banks, and that they hope adding a little uncertainty will help bring the best out of the 24-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cStraight terrifying\u201d<\/p>\n

With Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter and Dexter Lawrence, the Giants\u2019 pass rush might be that. Let\u2019s not, though, anoint the group as something extraordinary just yet.<\/p>\n

The video above, with Burns, Carter and Thibodeaux reaching a helpless Wilson, has been making the rounds. It\u2019s exciting to see, but … let\u2019s recognize that James Hudson is at left tackle, an inexperienced Evan Neal at left guard, and Aaron Stinnie is at right guard. Also, of course, this is a non-contact practice where the offensive linemen can\u2019t really use any real physicality to protect the quarterback.<\/p>\n

The pass rush \u2014 the entire front seven \u2014 might be amazing. But, let\u2019s wait and see. Will Carter be what he is expected to be? Will Kayvon Thibodeaux take a step forward? Will defensive coordinator Shane Bowen find the right formula to maximize the group\u2019s potential?<\/p>\n

It is going to be fascinating to watch. The story, though, has just begun to be written.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Giants end their offseason program this week with mandatory minicamp practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2067],"tags":[1859,322,1205,7,29,519,3515,22480,1917,56,1870,1207,2321,2469,6,9408,3671,14822,1206],"class_list":{"0":"post-134383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-giants","8":"tag-about","9":"tag-big","10":"tag-blue","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-front-page","13":"tag-giants","14":"tag-minicamp","15":"tag-narratives","16":"tag-new-york","17":"tag-new-york-giants","18":"tag-new-york-giants-analysis","19":"tag-new-york-giants-news","20":"tag-newyork","21":"tag-newyorkgiants","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-preview","24":"tag-spring","25":"tag-those","26":"tag-view"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114693188142757229","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}