New York Giants OTA Standouts Worth Keeping an Eye on This Offseason
There’s still a lot of spring football left for the New York Giants, who as of Friday completed three OTAs.
While anything can still happen—hopefully injuries won’t be something that happens—head coach Tom Coughlin and his assistants are keeping a watchful eye on those players who are looking to step up at their respective position battles in order to earn additional snaps during summer training camp.
While it’s still early, there are a handful of young players who, for one reason or another, are worth keeping an eye on after standing out in the first week of OTAs.
Here’s a look at five of them.
DE Kerry Wynn
1 of 5
With the Giants' defensive end situation is one of many question marks on this team—Jason Pierre-Paul has yet to sign his franchise tender, and Robert Ayers is probably going to be sidelined for a few workouts while he recovers from knee and ankle tweaks suffered during the first OTA—this is a big opportunity for others to step forward.
One such player at this position who probably stands the most to gain if he continues to have a positive showing is Kerry Wynn.
Last year, the undrafted free agent out of the University of Richmond spent 10 games on the inactive list before injuries to the depth in front of him necessitated that he play.
He did not disappoint. According to Pro Football Focus, Wynn was the second-best run defender on the team last season, behind Pierre-Paul.
Also, while Wynn only played 45 run snaps (Damontre Moore played in 80), the fewest among the Giants’ defensive ends, he was the only one who did not miss a tackle.
So far, Wynn, who looks as though he’s added muscle to his 6’5”, 264-pound frame, hasn’t disappointed as he gears up to take advantage of the additional reps coming his way due to the Pierre-Paul absence and the Ayers injury.
While all eyes will probably be on third-year player Damontre Moore, Wynn might actually end up being the young veteran defensive end about whom everyone will soon be talking.
OT Michael Bamiro
2 of 5The Giants are apparently still reeling from the pectoral injury left tackle Will Beatty suffered two weeks ago.
How bad is it? Besides losing a key player on offense, the Giants’ already paper-thin depth at the offensive tackle position just suffered a major loss, so much so that, per various media reports, New York brought in former St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Jake Long, he of two ACL injuries to the same knee, for a visit last week.
While the move to meet with Long was likely due diligence to see where he was physically, in the meantime, the Giants’ initial offensive line combination of Ereck Flowers at left tackle, Justin Pugh at left guard, Weston Richburg at center, Geoff Schwartz/John Jerry at right guard and Marshall Newhouse at right tackle is far from being the final configuration of this key unit.
“Our plans are to continue to try to figure out how this line is going to fall out, who is going to be where," Coughlin said.
“We will probably try some different combinations to get there. Hopefully, it has to happen…if a team is going to make a move, perhaps somebody that we didn’t really count on originally, because of the number of reps they are going to get, will benefit from that.”
One player to watch is former Stony Brook offensive tackle Michael Bamiro, who at 6’8”, 340 pounds is the tallest member of the Giants’ 90-man summer roster.
Signed to the Giants practice squad on November 26, 2014, Bamiro took an unusual path to the NFL, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports.
Due to a mix-up regarding his remaining college eligibility, the NCAA declared Bamiro ineligible and also ruled him ineligible for the NFL's supplemental draft because he wasn’t an underclassman.
Now that he’s with the Giants after an initial stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, who worked him at guard, according to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com, Bamiro will have his opportunities at tackle for the Giants this summer.
There’s a lot to like about Bamiro as a tackle, starting with his size, his hand usage and his long wingspan, all of which should help him contain defensive ends.
With no pads and no contact allowed, the full picture regarding Bamiro as well as the other offensive linemen remains to be seen. However, with Bamiro getting some reps at left tackle with the second unit, he could be one of those players who sneaks up on people if he has a solid camp.
S Cooper Taylor
3 of 5
New defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been leaving no stone unturned.
The energetic coach has not only been installing pieces of his system during the OTAs, but he’s also been experimenting with playing some of his players in different spots in order to see firsthand if there is a combination or a piece to the puzzle that previously didn’t show up on tape.
One such player who has been moving around a bit and who looked promising doing so is third-year safety Cooper Taylor, who has been getting extra reps with the starters thanks to Nat Berhe’s injured calf.
Taylor, who has lined up with Landon Collins as the other safety, has been brought down in the box, where his 6’4”, 228-pound size makes him an intriguing option against a downhill running back. He’s also dropped into coverage, looking quick and fluid in his movement.
Although Taylor missed all of last season with a foot injury, in looking at his preseason production, there is more than enough reason to think that if he stays healthy, the Giants might just have a solid option in him.
Per Pro Football Focus, Taylor was the second-best run-stopper among the safeties, behind now ex-Giant roster hopeful Thomas Gordon. Taylor made 11.8 percent of his run-game tackles within eight yards of the line of scrimmage, playing his angles well and showing patience.
In coverage, Taylor was targeted the most in the 2014 preseason (six times), hence allowing 33 yards (11 after the catch), though he was the only one of the Giants safeties to come up with an interception last summer.
Based on that small body of work, Taylor would appear to be a better box safety, but again, right now Spagnuolo isn’t relying solely on tape from last year’s much different defensive system.
If Berhe continues to be sidelined this spring, Taylor could quietly sneak up there on the depth chart as a potential starter alongside second-round pick Landon Collins.
WR Corey Washington
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After a strong preseason showing last summer, receiver Corey Washington disappeared from the landscape for what seemed to be reasons unknown to all but the coaching staff.
In retrospect, the clues were there. Despite sharing the lead with the Oakland Raiders' Brice Butler for the most preseason touchdown receptions (four), Washington rarely received snaps against the opposing team’s second- and first-string players, the very same level of competition he would have faced in the regular season.
In December, head coach Tom Coughlin, when asked about Washington, hinted that the young receiver needed to contribute more on special teams, which of course is nothing new as far as the coaching staff’s expectations of its fourth and fifth receivers—where Washington happened to fall on the depth chart.
It also probably didn’t help matters that Washington vented his frustrations to Tom Rock of Newsday, a move that the coaching staff might view in a less than favorable light.
The good news is that last year is over with, and so far this spring, the 23-year-old has received some chances with the first-team offense, this thanks in part to Victor Cruz being sidelined.
In the opening OTA, Washington made a beautiful reception in the corner of the end zone against cornerback Prince Amukamara, using his body to shield the ball from the cornerback’s vision.
In the other two OTAs, which were not open to the media, Washington continued to shine, according to Dan Salomone of Giants.com.
On a highlight video accompanying Salomone’s article, Washington is seen leaping to catch a pass despite having a defender draped all over his back.
When Cruz returns to the lineup, Washington will likely be no higher than a fourth receiver on the depth chart, which means he’s going to have to embrace special teams.
If he doesn’t, then don’t be surprised if he rides the pine, especially with the addition of Geremy Davis, who has expressed a thirst for playing special teams, and Dwayne Harris.
DB Mykkele Thompson
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2015 Giants fifth-round pick Mykkele Thompson, a defensive back out of safety, easily took home the honors of being the Giants' annual head-scratcher draft pick—the pick no one would have seen coming and the pick which had people asking why.
In the opening OTA, Thompson began to demonstrate why he received such high consideration. Working primarily at free safety, Thompson made a nice read on a pass quarterback Ryan Nassib threw.
The defensive back adjusted to the flight of the ball, which Nassib intended for receiver Preston Parker, and came up with the interception in the end zone.
Besides showing good ball skills on that pass as well as others, another thing Thompson has done well at the college level is tackle, though this is something we won’t see until August, when the pads go on in training camp.
While Thompson isn’t a thumper, he does at least wrap up ball-carriers well enough until help arrives, which is half the battle.
While Thompson likely needs to improve his strength moving forward, which is why he’s unlikely to have a big role in the defense, he does seem to have a solid skill set that might just help clarify why the Giants spent a draft pick on a player projected to be a priority undrafted free agent.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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