New York Giants Twitter Mailbag: The OTA Edition

The New York Giants completed the first week of their annual OTAs, a week that saw them complete three workouts in which offense vs. defense was permitted, though, with no contact.

How close are the Giants to answering some of the big questions about their team? The answers might not come for another few weeks, but in the meantime, let’s see what’s on the mind of Giants fans who contributed questions for this special Giants OTA Twitter mailbag.

Interesting question, Chris. Every player is different—some will use any struggles they encounter as motivation, while others use it as an excuse to pick up their ball and to go home, especially when they have a nice contract to fall back on.

I don’t know Flowers well enough to say how he might react if he encounters hiccups in his learning process, but there does seem to be optimism that he’ll take to the coaching well.

He did acknowledge to me when I asked about the learning curve he was facing that the day a player stops thinking he needs to improve is the day he probably needs to look for another job, so that was certainly a feather in his cap as far as having the right attitude.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

As I said on the podcast with Ed Valentine of Big Blue View, I firmly believe the Giants are going to put a solid support system around Flowers so that if he does struggle, he won’t get too down on himself. And if he succeeds, he uses that progress as a foundation rather than becoming content.

I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops through the OTAs and minicamps. Once the pads go on for training camp, hopefully we see an even more polished Flowers out there. 

Thanks for the question, Antwuan. I’d say I have a man-crush on Landon Collins, but I’m not a man. With that said, I don’t think there’s any question that Collins has been one of the most impressive-looking rookies on the field.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

When I watch him, he looks like he’s been playing at this level forever. Sure there are going to be mistakes made, but this is a confident young man with a chip on his shoulder, and he’s playing as such.

He’s also not running his mouth, which is good, yet you can see that he’s a future leader in the making. I’m excited to see more from him when the pads go on—I think Giants fans are going to be happy with this draft pick.

Thanks for the question. I spoke to Jones recently for an article that appeared here on Bleacher Report. He’s been seeing snaps at center and guard, and he knows he’s going to have to learn guard in order to increase his chances of sticking on an NFL roster.

The good news is that Jones doesn’t have an ego and is willing to roll up his sleeves and get to work. In many ways, he reminds me of Richie Seubert—Jones is unassuming, modest and hard-nosed.

Based on what I saw at the rookie minicamp, he took to the coaching well and made sure not to be called out for having made the same mistake twice.

It might be too soon to project him as a starter for the offensive line, but certainly, if he can provide them with depth and be the first man off the bench at guard and center, that would be a plus.

Thanks for the question, Ken. Right now, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is in his honeymoon period with the players. From all accounts, it’s going well.

He told the media at the rookie camp how he showed the defensive players videos of past Giants defenses and how he’s challenged them to take ownership of this year’s edition and to create their own identity.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

So right there, that’s a plus, as it seems that many of the players are responding enthusiastically toward creating and being a part of something special.

If you’re talking scheme-wise, right now it’s too early to say. Spagnuolo is having different guys play multiple roles because he’s trying to gauge who might be the best fit for what he wants to do.

It’s a systematic way of approaching building a defense, but if it works to where when they show up for training camp they can hit the ground running, it will have been worth it.

Thanks for the question, Tim. You’re probably talking about two different positions here with Kenrick Ellis, who’s a plugger and Jay Bromley, a penetrator. If Johnathan Hankins, a penetrator, is starting, the logical assumption is that Ellis will flank him on the starting lineup.

With that said, all of the defensive linemen are working at multiple spots as Spagnuolo tries to get a handle on what he has.

So it’s possible we might see Bromley do some of the plugger role in the summer, but based on what’s known right now, I think of those two, Ellis gets the starting nod.

Thanks for the question, Michael. The Giants currently have 12 receivers listed on their roster, so no way will they keep all of them—just not happening.

It’s going to come down to how far along Victor Cruz is. I think regardless if he’s ready to go, the most they’ll keep on the roster is six receivers. They could also keep one of the younger kids eligible for the practice squad on the practice squad if there are any lingering questions about Cruz as well.

There is a lot of optimism Cruz will be ready to go at the start of the season. I can tell you from having seen with my own eyes how well he was moving the other day on the field that he does indeed look like he is on track.

The bottom line is that I think they will keep six receivers. Odell Beckham Jr., Rueben Randle, Dwayne Harris and Cruz are locks. I think Geremy Davis will also stick if he performs on special teams, which would bring the count to five receivers.

The sixth spot is going to come down to Marcus Harris, Corey Washington and Ben Edwards, and I could see Harris winning that competition right now unless Washington better embraces special teams.

Thanks for the question, Wes. This is a tough one because obviously injuries will obviously dictate how things go.

Right now, though, my best guess is we could see one of the veteran tight ends losing out to either Matt LaCosse or Will Tye if either of those two young men have a strong summer. If I had to guess which tight end loses out, that would be Daniel Fells.

Yes, Fells was the most consistent of the Giants tight ends, according to Pro Football Focus.

However, he’s also going to be 32 years old by the end of the upcoming season, so if the Giants’ goal is to get younger, then I could see how, if one of those two kids has a strong showing, Fells’ roster spot would be in jeopardy.

Thanks for the question, Nathan. I’m not quite sure what you meant exactly—if you were talking about snap distribution (which will vary from game to game) or personnel. (Barring injury, Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams and Shane Vereen are locks, as is Henry Hynoski at fullback.)

The competition comes down to Orleans Darkwa, now entering his second season and undrafted free agent Akeem Hunt out of Purdue.

As always, that last spot will come down to whoever performs better on special teams, something that still needs to play out over the course of the summer.

I think as of right now, Darkwa has the edge; if he can hold on and if Hunt performs well, I could see Hunt landing on the practice squad. Still, a lot of football and practices to be played yet before those decisions have to be made.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise sourced.

Follow @Patricia_Traina