Jeff Jenkins asks: I noticed on your latest 53-man projection Joshua Ezeudu did not make the roster. Did all the moving him to tackle screw him up, or was he never a good player to begin with? Does he have any shot to make the roster, or is he just another in a long line of unproductive Giants’ 3rd round picks?
Ed says: Jeff, I don’t know for certain that the moving around screwed him up. Let’s remember that in his first and second seasons — before he was moved to tackle — he had opportunities to win a starting guard job and failed to do so.
Ezeudu is a pretty sensitive guy, and what I think happened is that his failure at tackle and the criticism he received for it destroyed his confidence. I think he would have been better served to stay at guard and try to hone his craft there.
Does he have a chance to make the roster? Sure he does. He is still a third-round pick on an inexpensive rookie contract, and he will only be 26 this season. There is still time for him to become a capable guard.
Rob Doherty asks: Ed, a question that’s been burning in me for years: Kudos and Wet Willies. Wet Willies and Kudos. How did it occur to you to pair these two particular terms? Is it something you Valentines have been saying for generations? Or did it just pop into your head one day? First time I saw it on the site (many Giant moons ago), it sounded so odd to me. Now it’s as natural a pairing as peanut butter and jelly.
Ed says: Rob, when I first started Big Blue View I recognized that there were many different places where people could get Giants information. There are even more now. Standing out from the crowd isn’t easy. Everybody does “winners and losers” or some form of that. I was just looking for a way to write something along those lines, but with a twist I hoped would get noticed. In terms of ‘Wet Willies,’ I was just looking for something a player or coach would not want to receive.
When I first had the ‘K&WW’ idea and started doing it, some thought it was a gimmick that would never really be accepted. Now, it’s become what I consider the signature post at BBV. I’m the ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ guy.
I’ve even gone so far as to do K&WW quizzes with players in the locker room if they were willing to play along.
Chesapeake Blue asks: Two years ago, a lot of the pre-draft scouting reports listed, as one of Jalin Hyatt’s strengths, that he was good at tracking the long ball in the air, could find it and run under it.
Obviously, the last two years didn’t give him much of an opportunity to show that skill.
But now, with Russ Wilson and his “moon ball” throws, Hyatt sounds like a natural fit. Nobody is talking about that part of his game, though, just about how much weight he added and how it will affect him.
It’s year three for Hyatt, he has to step up this season or face a talented rookie after his roster slot in ‘26. It’s not too late, but we have to see it. It just seems to me that the coaching staff should be looking to use his downfield skills, with this year’s QBs all having the arm and the will.
Ed says: Chesapeake, what do you mean no one has been talking about Hyatt’s fit as a deep threat with Russell Wilson? It’s been a topic of conversation for months.
Hyatt had a nice spring. Wilson has been hyping him up, probably hoping to get something from him other Giants quarterbacks have not been able to get. Whether it happens remains to be seen.
Bob Donnelly asks: Under what scenarios do you see Jameis Winston starting under center in 2025?
Ed says: Bob, I think the basic scenario is an early-season injury to Russell Wilson where the Giants make the determination that it isn’t quite time yet for Jaxson Dart to take over.
Jeff Marx asks: A follow-up question to an answer from last week. Why does the league think having three weeks between the end of pre-season and the start of the regular season is a good idea? It doesn’t or certainly shouldn’t take that long to finalize the final 53, and implement a game plan. And as far as player safety is concerned, I would think having that much time between games would be more conducive to injuries occurring in the early part of the year, not less. Your thoughts?
Ed says: Jeff, the league doesn’t think a three-week gap is a good idea. What I said was that it is a three-week gap in playing competitively for players who play in the second preseason game and sit out the final one. It is a two-week gap from the preseason finale to the Week 1 games.
One of the reasons for the gap is that there is now only one roster cutdown. Teams make one cut from 90 to 53 players at the end of the preseason, rather than what used to be three cutdowns, trimming the roster incrementally.
It allows for roster moves, acclimation of new players, and time to get any injured players as healthy as possible.
The last Giants preseason game is Aug. 21. I wouldn’t have an issue with starting the regular season on Sunday, Aug. 31, but I don’t think the league wants to do that.
David Silver asks: From last season to the offseason, Malik Nabers has at times spoken in ways that the Giants certainly can’t love. Criticizing QB play, demanding the ball be thrown to him more, and criticizing coaching where check downs become the best option, we wondered whether these were rookie mistakes or he has the makings of a diva who might one day force his way out of New York. Where do you draw the line between a team attitude and a diva one, and has Nabers been crossing it, in your mind?
Ed says: David, I’d be lying if I said I did not think there is some diva in Nabers. There is some diva in most great modern-day wide receivers.
Nabers is still a young kid. He turns 22 on July 28. Rightly or wrongly, the Giants have empowered him to be himself and to speak his mind. Along with that will come some things he probably should not say, and after listening to him for a while some things that he just doesn’t say exactly the way he would like to.
I didn’t like it last year when Nabers went to the concert at MetLife Stadium while in concussion protocol. Medically, he didn’t set himself back. Optically, it didn’t look good. I didn’t like it last year when he threw Daniel Jones under the bus after a loss by saying he was open so it wasn’t his fault. I also didn’t like the fact that Brian Daboll more or less shrugged and admitted Nabers was right.
I think Nabers wants to win. I think he’s young, and I’m not sure the Giants are guiding him properly in what should and should not be said.
As for Nabers forcing his way out of New York, what do you think is going to happen if they keep fielding lousy teams and if Jaxson Dart isn’t the long-term answer? There’s virtually no shot, in my mind, that Nabers signs a second contract with the Giants in that scenario. I think there’s a decent chance in that scenario, especially if Daboll and Joe Schoen are fired, that he forces his way out the door.
Rich Ferrer asks: I have a question about the Physically Unable to Perform List (i.e. PUP). In your article about Andrew Thomas being put on PUP, you wrote “Players on PUP to begin training camp count against the 90-man roster, but cannot practice until they are removed from the list.” I’m wondering, then, what is the advantage to putting them on PUP rather than just leaving them on the roster, since they still count against the 90 players either way?
Ed says: Rich, I see it as a way to protect the player. It generally means the player has not been medically cleared to practice, but is expected to at some point. Without that mechanism, perhaps the player is on the field before he should be.
One advantage is if a player has an injury entering training camp that might keep him sidelined into the season he can be placed on Reserve/PUP. He then does not have to go on IR and be designated to return. Rather, he is eligible to return if healthy after four games.
Jeff Jacobs asks: With training camp getting underway, I have a question about Brian Daboll. We all know that he comes from the Belichick coaching tree, and that one of the primary characteristics of those who worked under Belichick is to dissemble, avoid, and in general be as disingenuous as possible when dealing with the media and giving out information.
This tendency has not really worked for anyone other than Belichick, which is one of the reasons I think his coaching tree has really not borne the fruit that others, such as Walsh, or Shanahan, or even Parcells have experienced. My question is – in the time you’ve been following him, have you seen Daboll modify that behavior and become any less disingenuous with the media? Do you think he’s even capable of that type of growth?
Ed says: Jeff, I happen to think Brian Daboll is a people person, a friendly guy. He looks at the media for what it is, an adversary. Away from the podium, he’s easy to chat with. At least for me.
Coaches rarely give more information than they are required to, unless a question or topic comes up that they really want to discuss. It’s part of the job, and part of what they are supposed to do. Some have a smoother way of doing it, of tossing out some word salad we can use as a quote without really telling us anything, than others.
Daboll was more than willing to go on and on about Josh Allen before last year’s Buffalo game. I sometimes think Daboll takes it too far, but I can also tell you there are a handful of reporters who ask him questions every day who are just salivating for him to say something they can use to blast him.
So, I actually don’t blame him.
Norm Weiss asks: I have been a faithful follower of Big Blue View, since your early days and a long time Giants fan (first game 1963 Championship Game vs. the Bears- bloodied YA Title game). I think a lot of people are missing the point when they are concerned about insufficient snaps being available for edge rushers. Last year I felt Burns and Thibodeaux played a ridiculously high percentage of defensive snaps when available. I think this led them to being worn down late in games and prone to injuries, large and small. Additionally, Gholston’s ability to play at tackle and Carter’s versatility, makes this a false concern, let alone the inevitable injuries that will occur during an NFL season. What are your thoughts?
Ed says: Norm, this is something I believe strongly. Depth is NEVER a bad thing. How many games did Kayvon Thibodeaux miss last year? How many games did Brian Burns play on one leg? How many games did Azeez Ojulari miss?
It’s football. Players get hurt. Depth is a good thing. It wears down offensive lines, and it means you don’t hurt as much when players inevitably miss games.
I have seen enough early in training camp to know that Abdul Carter, Thibodeaux and Burns will all play a lot.
Bob Donnelly asks: Outside the K,P, LS positions who do you view as best players to fill the remaining ST positions?
Ed says: Bob, that’s incredibly difficult to answer. Few players make the roster as special teams-first guys.
Backup linebacker Chris Board will probably be one of those guys. Ihmir Smith-Marsette should be the primary return man. Can Bryce Ford-Wheaton hold off Zach Pascal and maybe rookie Dalen Cambre?
Reality is, a lot of these spots are going to be filled by guys who make the roster as backup receivers, linemen, linebackers and defensive backs.
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