The ABCs of New York Giants mandatory mini-camp

The New York Giants hit the field for mandatory mini-camp this week, Tuesday through Thursday. Let’s go through the ABCs of this week’s action.

A is for Adoree: This will be our first look at new Giants’ cornerback Adoree Jackson. The Giants raised plenty of eyebrows by giving him a three-year, $39 million contract ($24.5M guaranteed). Will he be worth it?

B is for Beal: What the heck is going on with Sam Beal? He’s played in six games since the Giants took him in the 2018 Supplemental Draft. He opted out last season. If anyone needs reps to show the coaching staff he belongs on the 53-man roster, Beal does. Yet, he did not attend the voluntary OTAs. Beal is anything but a lock to make the roster and — voluntary or not — skipping OTAs is not going to score him any points.

C is for Coughlin: The Giants wanted to move Carter Coughlin from edge to inside linebacker last season. That move got sidetracked when injuries made it necessary for the 2020 seventh-round pick to play on the outside. The Giants appear to have moved Coughlin inside for good now. We’ll see if Coughlin can challenge Tae Crowder and Reggie Ragland for playing time.

D is for Defensive Backs: Most of the Giants’ primary defensive backs stayed away from OTAs. We should see James Bradberry, Logan Ryan, Jabrill Peppers and the rest of the DBs over the next few days.

E is for Engram: I’m quite certain that any passes dropped by Evan Engram over the three days of mini-camp will cause a Twitter uproar wondering why he is still a Giant.

F is for Final: Mini-camp will be the final time the Giants are together as a team until training camp begins at the end of July.

G is for Golladay: Some folks freaked out when Kenny Golladay muffed a couple of simple throws during an OTA on Friday. I’m sure Giants Twitter will be in an utter panic about a terrible free agent signing if he doesn’t catch everything thrown within 10 yards of him during mini-camp.

H is for Hotel: I’ll be stuck in one for a couple of days covering mini-camp. Fun!

I is for Injury: Let’s hope there aren’t any serious ones.

J is for Jones: You didn’t think Daniel Jones was going to be left off this list, did you? Let’s be brutally honest — Jones is going to get a ton of attention the next three days. He isn’t, though, going to show us a thing we don’t already know about the young man. How he looks practicing in shorts isn’t the point — it’s how well he plays and how well the offense functions once the games start in September.

K is for Kadarius: Now that Kadarius Toney has signed his rookie contract, we should see him at mini-camp. Then again, he did not practice at Friday’s OTA — after reports that he his contract was done. Let’s hope he keeps both shoes on if he does practice. We won’t uncover all of the secrets of how the Giants plan to use him in 2021. What is always interesting in watching draft picks mix in with veterans early on is that sometimes you can absolutely tell quickly who belongs, who feels comfortable and who looks like a fish out of water. Which will Toney be?

L is for Long Shot: There is always a long shot player who ends up making the roster. Mini-camp might provide us with our first hint who that might be.

M is for Mandatory: OTAs are voluntary. This part of the offseason program is not.

N is for Non-Contact: these will be practices in shorts and t-shirts with no hitting, no press coverage, no real blocking or physical play of any kind. Here are some of the rules:

• No pads except protective knee and elbow pads, helmets are permitted
• No live contact
• 7 on 7, 9 on 7 and 11 on 11 drills will be permitted provided no live contact takes place

O is for Offense: This is still mini-camp, even though it is mandatory. The season remains three months away. We will look for hints as to how the Giants’ offense might change. Jason Garrett and Co. probably aren’t going to show us many, if any at all.

P is for Profiles: If you haven’t been keeping up with our 90-man roster player profiles, shame on you. Hurry up and get caught up!

Q is for Quiet: After mini-camp, that’s what you want. Any news made by players between the end of mini-camp and the beginning of training camp is generally not the good kind of news.

R is for Rob: Rob Sale, a first-time NFL coach, has the critical job of getting the most out of the Giants’ young offensive line. Since yours truly did not attend OTAs (after all, they were voluntary) this will be my first chance to see his on-field style.

S is for Saquon: I know, you’re dying for Saquon Barkley sightings. Or, any Saquon tidbits of info on his recovery from the torn ACL that harpooned his 2020 season. I’ll get you what I can.

T is for Tackles: There is a lot riding on the play of Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart this season. We get a three-day look at the development of the two second-year offensive tackles.

U is for Undrafted: The Giants only signed three undrafted free agents — offensive linemen Brett Heggie and Jake Burton and edge defender Raymond Johnson III. Will any of the three stand out during mini-camp, perhaps adding momentum to their long-shot roster bids for training camp.

V is for Vaccine: Joe Judge doesn’t want to get involved in how many players will or will not be vaccinated against COVID-19. Evan Engram says players don’t talk about it much. Still, with COVID still an issue and relaxed protocols for vaccinated players, it has to be somewhat of an issue. Doesn’t it?

W is for Will: Guard Will Hernandez will be one of the most interesting stories not only of mandatory mini-camp, but training camp and the regular season, as well. In the final year of his rookie contract and coming off a season in which he dealt with COVID-19 and barely playing in the second half of the year, it appears the Giants will ask Hernandez to move to right guard. He has never played on the right side at any level, so this will be a difficult transition for Hernandez.

X is for X-man: Will we see Oshane Ximines on the field as he returns from a season-ending shoulder injury? Ximines, in my view, needs all the reps he can get to secure a spot on the roster considering the additions of Azeez Ojulari, Elerson Smith, Ifeadi Odenigbo and Ryan Anderson at his position.

Y is for Why Did I Do This?: I haven’t got anything for this one. Maybe one of you guys can come up with something.

Z is for ‘Zo: It was nothing short of amazing to learn that Lorenzo Carter was taking part in OTAs roughly seven months after having surgery for a torn Achilles tendon. I will keep an eye on Carter to see how well he’s moving around.