Things to look for at OTAs

Not too much can be gleaned from voluntary practices in shorts with no pads or contact, but there are still some things to look for during OTAs which start Monday. Here are the dates:

-May 20-21
-May 23
-May 28-29
-May 31
-June 3-4
-June 6-7

Things we may get some clarity on:

-Darius Slayton: starting with off the field topics, the pressure will now start getting applied little by little to his hold out situation. It will surely be brought up by the beats during the press conferences.

-Aaron Robinson: this will be the first time we get a real sense of how his health is. He was on the PUP list the entire year, so we will see if he is still with trainers to start or if he participates in practice for the first time since 2022.

-Slot CB and CB2: probably not day 1, but we will see 7 v 7s at some point to get a feel for where guys are lining up. Rookie Andru Phillips and Cor'Dale Flott are two to watch. Andru Phillips has already made comments that he prefers the slot. Cor'Dale of course was the starting slot CB all last year. Both also have outside experience, if Phillips gets a long look at slot we may see Flott get more reps outside than we have seen in the past. Also in the mix for slot are Darnay Holmes, Nick McCloud, and possibly Aaron Robinson. Tre Hawkins and David Long Jr. will also be names for CB2 with McCloud/Flott/Robinson/Phillips. McCloud is going to have a tough time winning the job, but probably going to need to if he wants to keep that $3M contract. This is pretty much the same situation we saw last year with Holmes - he was set to make $3M but Flott won the starting job so Holmes was forced to take a paycut down to the minimum, but that didn't happen until the last second before cutdown day August 29th. McCloud has not guaranteed money and insurance was brought in for his ST role if he doesn't win the starting job and won't take a paycut (Miles Boykin).

-Punt and Kick Returners: OTAs are the first chance to look at who is competing for the return jobs. There are two clear names for punt returner - Gunner Olszewski was brought back after stepping in midseason and turning the unit around and Isaiah McKenzie who Daboll and Schoen know from his years in Buffalo. McKenzie is a bit better as an actual receiver (not great or anything) and has more kick return experience. Gunner is a bit better as a punt returner though, and the new assistant ST coach was his ST coordinator in New England and he was handling kicks for him then too. Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. is probably the favorite to win the kick return job, but they'll need two returners out there with the new rule. Eric Gray did it part of the year last year but was completely ineffective. Gary Brightwell did it the year before and was okay, and is also part of several other ST units. Rookie Free Agent (really weird situation where he wasn't draft eligible) RB Dante Miller (AKA "Turbo") will also be in the mix for kick returns which could help his case to make the roster as RB4.

-QB3 Battle: Nathan Rourke became the Giants first waiver claim of the year when the Patriots released him a couple weeks ago. It was expected that the Giants add a third healthy QB for the offseason with Jones expected back August at the earliest. Rourke had a great CFL season in 2022 and was on pace for MVP in just his second, but missed time from an injury. He made the jump to the NFL the next year and spent most of the year on the Jags practice squad. Near the end of the year they moved him to the 53 and then when they tried to move him back to the practice squad the Patriots claimed him off waivers. The new staff hit the reset button on the QB room - first moving Mac Jones, then signing Brissett, then drafting Maye. Finally they ended up also drafting Joe Milton late just based on value which sealed Rourke's fate. He figures to come in and battle DeVito for the chance to make the 53 as the third QB with them likely bringing Jones along carefully and Lock next man up. We get the first look at how the two compare at OTAs, albeit with no real pressure in their face yet.

-Getting the TEs sorted: Waller will not be at OTAs but there is a lot to look at with the others in the receiving department. We will get our first look at Theo Robinson who would get a lot of early looks if Waller is gone. We know what we have with Bellinger. Chris Manhertz is a known commodity, which is just a blocker, so this doesn't apply to him. Jack Stoll was never asked to be a receiver in Philly, they had Goedert who handled all of that. While his primary job is presumably just blocking, we'll see if they try to develop the other part of his game. Lawrence Cager is in a tough spot after being re-signed. Theo Robinson is a more complete TE, they definitely appear to want a blocking specialist, and Cager did not show signs of progress last year - he needs a miracle to be kept around, the no contact practices are a good way to show he can still be an effective pass catcher. Last is Tyree Jackson who they moved to the 53 the last couple games to make sure he was back. He's a project as he continues to learn TE after being a QB his whole life. But he's got prototypical TE measurables and athleticism so he'll be a name to keep track of; likely more of a practice squad guy but you never know.