Predicting New York Giants' Training Camp Standouts

Now that we’re inside of one week until the New York Giants report to training camp—they open on July 30 at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey—the questions that have been lingering for months about personnel groupings, studs and duds and schemes will soon start to be answered.

The first order of business for the coaching staff is to figure out just which players are going to make the initial 53-man roster coming out of training camp.

Ideally, the coaches want to have a difficult decision to make at every position because that means that everyone who competed stood out in some way.

However, the likelihood of that happening just isn’t very high, so instead, let’s look at some players who, for a variety of reasons that will be explained in the subsequent slides, have the best chance of standing out this summer.

TE Matt LaCosse

Uncredited/Associated Press

The Giants tight end situation is at a bit of a crossroads entering camp, so much so that this position could in fact have the greatest turnover because of the training camp battles that are still to come.

The 2014 trio of Larry Donnell, Adrien Robinson and Daniel Fells are all back again this year. However, each comes with a lingering question mark.

Donnell, remember, missed most of the spring with Achilles tendinitis. The last time Donnell was sidelined for the entire spring was in 2013 when he was recovering from a broken foot.

The ensuing season, Donnell went on to be used sparingly, this despite the shortcomings shown by then starting tight end Brandon Myers as a blocker.

Both Robinson and Fells are signed through the end of this season. Fells has been perhaps the steadiest of the three tight ends, and certainly the best run blocker, according to Pro Football Focus.

Although he re-signed on a veteran minimum deal, the fact that he will be 32 years old by the time the season ends probably doesn’t bode well for him being in the long-term plans.

Robinson is also probably down to his last chance. The team’s fourth-round pick in 2012 has received just 80 snaps on offense over three seasons, one of which was lost to nagging injuries.

That leads to one of the young tight ends, Matt LaCosse, who could potentially earn some reps with the starting offense if he lives up to his reputation as a solid college blocking tight end.  

LaCosse will probably be the fifth tight end on the roster, behind the returning trio and Jerome Cunningham.

With a strong enough camp that should be there if he stays healthy, LaCosse certainly has the skill to push for a roster spot.

S Landon Collins

Uncredited/Associated Press

There is a lot to like about rookie Landon Collins not just on the field, but off it as well.

Although he is a rookie and hence is somewhat subdued in his interactions with his teammates and the media, it’s hard not to notice the leader in this former Alabama safety who is yearning to be set free.

Collins, remember, is following the blueprint of the late Sean Taylor, who during his career was one of the best safeties in the game. 

In the spring OTAs and minicamp alone, teammates praised the Giants’ second-round draft pick for how he conducted his business, and Collins himself has some sky-high expectations for how he’d like his rookie campaign to progress.

"Defensive Rookie of the Year. That's my expectation,"  Collins said during a Play 60 Event that was part of the annual NFL Rookie Symposium (h/t Kevin Patra, NFL.com).

Collins hasn’t yet had a chance to show his tackling abilities, this due to the no-contact nature of practices, but according to Patra, the rookie has been pleased with how his NFL career has begun.

"The coaches love the range that I have. I get to go showcase it at practice ... the more I work on it, the better I can get at it and the more I can help my corners if I need to help over the top," he said.

The range shown and the ability to diagnose plays has apparently been the opening act for what might very well be to come from this 21-year-old rookie.

OT Ereck Flowers

Uncredited/Associated Press

Eventually, Giants first-round draft pick Ereck Flowers was destined to move to left tackle.

The pectoral injury suffered by incumbent Will Beatty in May has made Flowers’ move to the all-important blindside protector a “sooner” proposition.

However, Flowers isn’t necessarily a lock for that key position, though it’s probably safe to say that if he remains healthy, he will be starting somewhere on that offensive line and thus will have a chance to shine.

The original plan, remember, was to start Flowers at right tackle, which would enable him to get his feet wet at this level, as well as address any technique issues that are probably more noticeable playing left tackle than they are right tackle.

Former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, now a NFL Network analyst, is among those who have concerns about Flowers' readiness to play left tackle at the NFL level right now.

“Quite honestly, I’m not sure that he’s ready technique-wise to play [left tackle],’’ Gilbride said during a NFL Network spot (h/t Paul Schwartz, New York Post).  

Because the current starting offensive line isn’t yet set in stone—Flowers could end up being moved to right tackle if he struggles—the thing to watch in terms of his progress is whether he avoids repeating the same mistakes and if his footwork, hand-punch and pad level get better with each practice.

He has the pedigree to get it done; learning the playbook and actually doing it is up to him.

OLB Devon Kennard

Uncredited/Associated Press

With concerns about how the Giants are going to replace the pass-rushing productivity they have lost thanks to the expected absence of Jason Pierre-Paul, it would not be surprising if second-year linebacker Devon Kennard, who last year finished fourth on the team in sacks with 4.5, picks up some of that slack.

Remember, Kennard (6’3”, 251 lbs) came from a 3-4 system in college where he was involved in rushing the passer.

Per SportsReference.com, Kennard finished with 13.0 sacks, including nine in 2013, his fourth and final season at USC.

He also was a solid source against the run, logging 26 tackles for a loss over his four-year college career. 

Given Kennard’s quickness and football IQ, it would probably be difficult to justify limiting him to being a two-down linebacker in this scheme.

Of course, the big thing with Kennard is keeping him on the field. Last year he missed four games due to hamstring and toe issues.

This spring, he missed some team drills due to ankle and hamstring issues.

If Kennard can stay on the field, he has the potential to be a significant difference-maker who right now is probably flying under the radar. 

QB Eli Manning

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

In years past when it has come to training camp and the preseason, quarterback Eli Manning’s showing has unfortunately been on par with what one might expect from Bad Comedian Eli.

Let’s look at his last two preseasons and what he produced with his limited number of snaps in each.

In 2013, the final year of the Kevin Gilbride offense, Manning completed 47.1 percent of his pass attempts for 321 yards and two touchdowns for an average of 13.3 yards per pass completion.

Last year in the first season of the Ben McAdoo offense, Manning completed 48.8 percent of his passes for 188 yards and one touchdown, an average of 9.4 yards per pass attempt.

While the difference in average yards per pass attempt could be due to the shorter passes that McAdoo’s offense emphasizes, everyone seems to agree that Manning had his best spring throwing the ball this year and that he is poised to do some great things as the Giants continue to add new wrinkles to this offense.

“I feel like I’m throwing it well. I feel like I got good juice on it and have a better feel for the offense coming in this spring than last year, so just keep getting better and keep trying to learn more concepts and get more familiar with some of the newer concepts we are doing and kind of expand within the offense,” Manning told reporters during the minicamp.

“It is hard to play fast, whether it is running a route for a receiver or a lineman blocking or a quarterback throwing the football, there is a lot that is going through mentally and then there is some injuries that he had where he couldn’t really push off his feet,” added quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan.

“I think he is a lot more comfortable having that year under his belt and we went through... it’s one thing when you review cut-ups and you are seeing yourself—it’s as if you are learning a system and it is another team.”

If Manning continues throwing the ball well and directing that offense the way it was drawn up, it all bodes well for the regular season when the stats and all the plays start to count for something.

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.