Giants minicamp preview: About those spring narratives

What should we believe, and what is just noise?

The New York Giants end their offseason program this week with mandatory minicamp practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. The team will then be off until training camp begins in late July.

This is a good time to address some of the narratives and storylines that have surrounded the Giants this spring. So, let’s do that.

Quarterbacks, quarterbacks, quarterbacks

There are all sorts of quarterback angles to dive into. Here are some:

Russell Wilson is the leader the Giants need

Maybe. The jury is out on that one.

I have said previously that Wilson is the best quarterback the Giants have had since Eli Manning. I won’t take that back. Even though he isn’t what he used to be, look at his numbers in recent years and it’s hard to argue he hasn’t been better than Daniel Jones.

Wilson’s experience and continued ability/willingness to throw the ball down the field will help the Giants’ offense. I think it remains to be seen whether Wilson’s personality and leadership style will work for New York.

Wilson’s style wasn’t appreciated in Denver. There has been talk that as the 2024 season went along teammates in Pittsburgh tuned him out.

His teammates have thus far said all the right things, but with a rookie first-round pick everyone knows will eventually get a chance to be the franchise’s future nipping at his heels, how long that lasts in an open question. It might depend simply on whether or not Wilson and the Giants are winning games.

Jaxson Dart is a bust … or the obvious QB1

There are two schools of thought on what the rookie quarterback has proven so far this spring:

1. He’s awful, and the Giants should have drafted Shedeur Sanders.
2. He’s phenomenal, and he should be the Week 1 starting quarterback.

Truth is, he has proven neither of those things.

What the 22-year-old has really proven is that he is a talented rookie with potential, but with a lot to learn before he is ready to try and carry a franchise. There have been some beautiful throws, and some boneheaded ones from the neophyte quarterback. As you would expect and, honestly, as it should be in his first professional practices.

We have not learned anything about what Dart will be. Not even close. All we have learned is that he obviously has talent. He also has confidence and charisma. He appears to be unafraid of the market he has landed in, one that is all too happy to chew up and spit out struggling athletes who don’t meet expectations.

We will watch Dart closely during minicamp. We will report as many details as we can. By Wednesday afternoon, though, we won’t be any closer to knowing what twists and turns his career will take.

Jameis isn’t going anywhere

There are some stirring the pot and calling for Winston to be given a real chance to take the starting job from Wilson. I would not have had a huge issue if the Giants had simply signed Winston and given him the starting job as a placeholder, but with Wilson on board that isn’t going to happen.

Winston isn’t getting traded to the New Orleans Saints, either. The Giants didn’t sign him to trade him (yes, I went there).

Winston has a two-year contract. The Giants gave him that because he is an excellent backup quarterback, because of both his ability and his personality. The Giants will need a backup for Dart in 2026, and Winston is perfect for the role. Even Dart thinks so, and that is important.

Jalin Hyatt will — finally — be a real factor

Hyatt was a training camp star as a rookie in 2023, and then mostly a non-factor that season as he caught 23 passes.

In 2024, he was a starter all through the spring and summer. Then, when the real games began he was an afterthought. Hyatt caught just 8 passes in his second NFL season.

There has been chatter that Hyatt had conflicts with the coaching staff and management over his lack of playing time. There has been some chatter that maybe Hyatt just hasn’t made the progress the team hoped for when they selected him in Round 3 of the 2023 draft.

Whatever.

Hyatt is at it again. Wilson is signing his praises. Hyatt is making plays. There is talk of him having put 15-20 pounds on his rail-thin frame.

Will we get fooled again by all the hype, and by the production when defenders can’t get physical with him?

We’ll see, but I do think Wilson, Winston and Dart are quarterbacks who give Hyatt a chance to succeed. He doesn’t have to catch 60-70 passes. He can catch 35, like Gabe Davis did playing for Brian Daboll with the Buffalo Bills, and have a massive impact as a field stretcher.

If Hyatt is ever going to be an impact NFL player, it will happen this season.

Malik Nabers’ toe — to worry or not to worry?

The Giants’ star wide receiver has not done anything more than walk-through periods this spring due to a toe issue. Is this something to worry about?

I don’t think so … yet.

The Giants have said this is an injury Nabers has had to manage since college. I do admit to wondering if something happened earlier in Nabers’ offseason training to exacerbate the issue.

Tae Banks in a competition for starting job

The 2023 first-round pick, who had a rocky 2024 season marked by poor play and occasional lapses in effort, has split some first-team reps this spring with Co’Dale Flott. Does that mean Banks is in a competition for a starting job?

I’m not buying it.

The best way to challenge a player is by truly making him earn his spot. I think that is what the Giants are doing here with Banks, forcing him to come to work every day and prove that he belongs in the lineup.

In the end, I think that is exactly what is going to happen. I believe the Giants intend to start Banks, and that they hope adding a little uncertainty will help bring the best out of the 24-year-old.

“Straight terrifying”

With Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter and Dexter Lawrence, the Giants’ pass rush might be that. Let’s not, though, anoint the group as something extraordinary just yet.

The video above, with Burns, Carter and Thibodeaux reaching a helpless Wilson, has been making the rounds. It’s exciting to see, but … let’s recognize that James Hudson is at left tackle, an inexperienced Evan Neal at left guard, and Aaron Stinnie is at right guard. Also, of course, this is a non-contact practice where the offensive linemen can’t really use any real physicality to protect the quarterback.

The pass rush — the entire front seven — might be amazing. But, let’s wait and see. Will Carter be what he is expected to be? Will Kayvon Thibodeaux take a step forward? Will defensive coordinator Shane Bowen find the right formula to maximize the group’s potential?

It is going to be fascinating to watch. The story, though, has just begun to be written.