Biggest Takeaways from the New York Giants' OTAs
With the first week of OTAs in the books, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin got his first look at his projected 90-man training camp roster, which saw each unit divided into first-, second-, third- and fourth-string slowly starting to take shape for the New York Giants.
It’s still early in the process, and remember: There is no contact in the OTAs or the upcoming minicamp. However, here is a look at a few takeaways that have emerged from the early OTAs that are worth noting.
Ereck Flowers Is the Projected Starting Left Tackle
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Ereck Flowers was drafted to be the Giants' left tackle of the future.
Due to an unfortunate pectoral injury suffered by incumbent Will Beatty, the future starts right now.
That’s right: The Giants coaching staff, in a rather bold move for a team that must find its way back to the playoffs, has decided to start Flowers on the left side rather than plug veteran Marshall Newhouse, who has played both the left and right tackle spots, in as quarterback Eli Manning’s blindside protector.
As new left guard Justin Pugh told the media, New York didn’t draft Flowers with the ninth overall pick to not play. However, the Giants are running a little bit of a risk with this offensive line configuration.
In addition to Flowers needing to smooth out some bumps in his technique, which head coach Tom Coughlin admitted was the case, Flowers will be lining up alongside Pugh, who told reporters that while he played a few snaps at guard throughout college, he hasn’t started at the position since he was a senior in high school.
If you also consider that the Giants are still searching for a consistently solid blocking tight end, the current offensive line situation is probably going to cause a few sleepless nights for the Giants coaches in the beginning.
The Safety Situation Is Slowly Resolving Itself
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Not too long ago, the Giants' safety position was a concern, largely because of the lack of experience.
That concern should start to alleviate as second-round draft pick Landon Collins continues to make progress in his transition from college to the NFL. Collins already looks like a man among boys.
In the first OTA, which was open to the media, Collins almost exclusively lined up on the same side as the tight end, and he was responsible for covering the tight end on a few pass plays.
When he was in run support, he did a nice job of diagnosing the run and coming up into the box to take away cutback lanes from the running backs and force them to the outside.
As far as the other safety spot is concerned, Nat Berhe is nursing a calf injury that is not believed to be serious. With him on the sideline, Cooper Taylor has run alongside Collins with the first-string unit. Taylor has impressive range and seemed to be moving around the field well in the first OTA.
Before he suffered a season-ending foot injury last summer, Taylor actually looked like a complete safety in both run support and in coverage.
Per Pro Football Focus, Taylor recorded 11 tackles (10 solo), four of which were stops for zero or negative yardage.
In coverage, he was targeted six times, allowing five completions for 33 yards—11 of which came after the catch.
Besides finishing with a respectable overall grade in the three preseason games in which he was active, Taylor was the only Giants safety to come up with an interception last summer.
Rounding out the depth at the position is veteran Josh Gordy and second-year man Bennett Jackson, a cornerback who is trying to convert to safety.
Jackson, who saw his rookie campaign cut short due to a knee injury, has been moving around well, but it might take a few more weeks before he fully grows into his new role as a safety.
Receiver Corey Washington Is Getting His Chances
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With Victor Cruz continuing his rehab from a torn patellar tendon—he looked good running and doing some cutting on an adjacent field under the watchful eye of a trainer—receiver Corey Washington is getting some opportunities to make his case for a bigger piece of the pie this year.
Washington, who last December griped about his lack of opportunity to Tom Rock of Newsday, was given some opportunities to work against the first-team defense, and he didn’t disappoint.
One play in particular that stood out was his touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone against cornerback Prince Amukamara. On the play, Washington did a nice job of shielding the ball with his body and going up at its high point to make the catch.
Although hope remains that Cruz will be ready to go for the start of training camp, if he’s not ready to go for the start of the season, the pecking order among the receiving corps will be shaken up.
Figure Odell Beckham Jr. will be the No. 1 guy and Rueben Randle will be the No. 2 receiver. The No. 3 receiver spot could be up for grabs from a field that will include Washington, Dwayne Harris, Preston Parker, Marcus Harris and rookie Geremy Davis.
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Odell Beckham Jr. Is Not Too Conerned About Possibly Being Double-Teamed
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With opposing defensive coordinators having had an entire offseason to study the Giants, and in particular, receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the focus has no doubt been trying to figure out how to minimize the damage that last year’s rookie sensation proved capable of doing.
One common theory is that opposing defenses will blanket Beckham with double coverage.
If that is the case, then that’s fine with Beckham, who told reporters he expects the extra attention, while adding, "It’s just not going to work.”
Before anyone thinks Beckham is full of himself—he did, after all, manage to remain productive late last season when teams started doubling him up thanks to offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s practice of moving him around in the formation—Beckham made a solid case about why it wouldn’t be a good idea to double him.
"You know you have [Victor Cruz] and Rueben [Randle], it's going to be hard to double or have a safety over the top with the stuff that we have going on," he said. "I don't think it's going to be beneficial for them."
While Beckham is theoretically correct, his theory would be more valid if Cruz can regain his pre-injury form and/or if Randle, who was inconsistent last season, plays as well as he did in the Giants' final two games of the 2014 season.
The Giants Are Very Thin at Offensive Tackle
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Not only has the pectoral injury suffered by left tackle Will Beatty created a ripple effect among the starting offensive line, it’s also put the Giants in a rather precarious state as far as their depth at the tackle position is concerned.
Head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters after the opening OTA practice that the team would be experimenting with different offensive line combinations throughout the rest of the spring and into the summer.
The initial combination saw Ereck Flowers at left tackle, Justin Pugh at left guard, Weston Richburg at center, John Jerry and Geoff Schwartz alternating at right guard and Marshall Newhouse at right tackle.
Still, the fact remains that if the offensive line suffers another injury and/or if Flowers doesn’t progress, this unit is in trouble.
Why? While Pugh and Schwartz can both play tackle if need be, the coaches will probably want to keep them both at guard, where they appear to be better fits.
Another reason why they might not move in the event of an injury is that the coaches would no doubt prefer to move as few pieces of that line around as possible.
Therein lies the problem. Right now, the only depth at tackle includes rookies Sean Donnelly and Bobby Hart, though Hart is projected as a guard.
Brandon Mosley played the position in college, but he has been strictly a guard since being drafted. Michael Bamiro is an unknown entity.
Overall, that’s not a very reassuring picture. According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, the Giants decided to see where former Rams offensive lineman Jake Long, who is trying to come back following consecutive ACL surgeries, is in his rehab.
Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo added that the Giants aren’t in a rush to work out a deal with Long at this moment, which likely means they want to see if some of these younger players can step up.
Depending on how Long’s knee checked out, he could be at best a temporary solution if the Giants find themselves having to scramble again.
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes, practice observations and other information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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