EAST RUTHERFORD A few thoughts from the Giants’ second joint practice with the Lions
Malik Nabers is absurd. I covered the NFL since 2014 and — among the players I’ve covered — Ive never once seen a rookie make such a seamless transition. That includes Odell Beckham Jr., who missed the majority of his first summer with a hamstring injury. Guys like Justin Jefferson (Vikings), Beckham and Mike Evans are anomalies. The college-NFL transition for wideouts isnt supposed to be easy. Yet heres Nabers, open seemingly every play and catching everything thrown his way. Thats not hyperbole. A quarterback targeting a receiver three or four times a practice is noteworthy. The Giants threw to Nabers eight times on Monday. They threw to him nine times on Tuesday. Nabers caught 16 of those 17 targets! That is ridiculous. Its not like theyre all slants and screens, either. Two of the catches were contested, toe-tapping, sideline grabs for scores.
Its one thing for Nabers to do this to the Giants’ secondary, which figures to endure growing pains throughout the season. The fact he dominated the Lions just the same should lead to immense hype entering 2024.
Daniel Jones was solid on Tuesday. He finished 7 of 10 passing with the Nabers touchdown. He did get sacked twice (both in the first team period), and struggled on the offenses lone red zone drive (two incompletions as they failed to score). Still: He was decisive and played with controlled aggression. The underthrowing that plagued Jones early in camp is starting to work its way out, too. Aside from the two long passes to Nabers on Tuesday and Wednesday, he also hit Jalin Hyatt for a big gain. That one came in 7-on-7 drills, but it was still good to see Jones hit him in stride.
Eric Gray and Devin Singletary figured to get first crack at replacing Saquon Barkley in the backfield. That still might be the case come Week 1, but dont ignore Tyrone Tracy. The rookie receives a chunk of the first-team reps each practice and was the first back out there Tuesday.
I watched the Giants offense, not defense, for the majority of the day. The two sides did come together for a red zone period to end practice, as they did they day before. Just like Monday, Detroits Jared Goff began the period with a touchdown. He found David Montgomery for a touchdown on the wheel route. Also like Monday, the Giants tightened up after that.
The Giants are off on Wednesday. Theyll face the Lions in their preseason opener Thursday night at MetLife Stadium. Head coach Brian Daboll hasnt announced if he plans on playing his starters, but it would be a surprise if he did. Jones did say he wants to play.