Brian Daboll’s second training camp with the New York Giants is just two days away from beginning. An important no-show, new pieces on offense, and a quarterback on a lucrative extension are all things to look forward to as eyes begin to turn to East Rutherford.
Like any team, the Giants have plenty of questions they’ll need to answer throughout the first few weeks of practices.
But unlike the other franchises that have their success not based on practice results, Big Blue needs to make sure most, if not all of these concerns are solved by the time they open the season against Dallas in over a month.
Will Saquon Barkley miss the season?
It’s arguably one of the biggest questions surrounding any team in the entire NFL. It’s unlikely the Giants will see their top running back on the practice field to start camp. Will that mean he could potentially miss NFL games? Le’Veon Bell did it, and several running backs threatened to do it throughout the last few years.
This offense isn’t fully ready to take the next step in their group development without a top weapon like Barkley so if he ends up missing games this year, it could be disastrous for the 2023 season.
How long will it take the Giants’ secondary to become a good unit?
Jordan Love is gone, and New York has a first-round corner to try and even the playing field against the top receiver rooms from the rest of the division. While Deonte Banks and Adoree Jackson are pretty much penciled in as the top two corners on the roster, New York has a massive hole at safety they need to figure out.
Xavier McKinney is healthy going into this season and should be in a good spot to have another top year. His counterpart is up in the air though. Is Jason Pinnock going to start this season? Will a corner be moved to safety? Could the team bring in Budda Baker?
These are all questions the team will need to answer throughout training camp. We have seen what a weak secondary could look like for New York over the years and it’ll be a few weeks before they can fully gel together.
Will there be a big second-year jump from Evan Neal?
Many eyes will be on the continued development of Andrew Thomas, or the rookie at center in John Michael Schmitz. The biggest question on the Giants’ offensive line though revolves around right tackle Evan Neal. Neal got better as the season went along but was not as dominant as the team could have hoped for when they selected him seventh overall in last year’s draft.
If the Giants are going to take a big step this season as a team and organization, Neal will need to be a big reason why. The rest of the NFC East has dynamic pass rushers at all phases and if New York isn’t able to pick them all up, it could be a very hard season for them.
Who emerges as New York’s top receiver?
Parris Campbell and Darren Waller are the two new pieces at receiver for New York to help take their quarterback into the conversation of the elite.
Is there a true number one receiver though on the roster?
Campell and Waller both have their injury history, while Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson showed spurts at times late in the year. The fact New York was able to win a playoff game with their cast of characters at receiver last year was an impressive feat. That doesn’t mean they’ll be able to do that again though.
Someone will need to step up during camp this year to show the team is ready to take the next step.
What does Daniel Jones look like in camp?
Arguably the biggest surprise from New York last season was how they got Daniel Jones to move from a poor training camp to have a career season. Jones’ running ability, coupled with improved decision-making, helped the former first-round pick secure a massive extension during the offseason. There are no longer any doubts that he is the team’s franchise quarterback.
With that though comes a massive increase in expectations.
Will we see a similar Jones in camp this season? Without Barkley, the team cannot win games without Jones being the main reason for them at this point. If he has a good camp with the plethora of new receiving weapons Jones was given, the Giants should be very confident heading into 2023.
