New York Giants: 3 players standing out at training camp

The New York Giants have enjoyed a full week of training camp practices, making great progress with every passing day. After a tumultuous 2021 season that saw the Giants boast one of the worst offenses in football, it is nice to see individual players standing out and having dominant practices, indicating development.

Three players standing out at camp for the New York Giants:

1.) Andrew Thomas

There wasn’t a more dominant player for the Giants over the past week than Andrew Thomas, who has won the majority of his 1v1 battles against rookie pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and a myriad of other defenders.

Last season, Thomas was one of the few bright spots on offense, earning a 78.9 overall grade, per PFF. He allowed two sacks and 18 total pressures over 800 snaps, completely turning around his career after a tough rookie season.

At the very least, Thomas will serve Daniel Jones valiantly on his blindside, but he is confident the entire line is going to perform better in 2022.

“Honestly, I think our whole offensive line — we have some talented guys. It’s just day one, so right now we’re trying to build that unity because that’s being an offensive line. But Evan’s a very talented kid — physical freak, you know what I’m saying — so once he gets it down, he’s going to be pretty good,” Thomas told reporters.

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2.) Wan’Dale Robinson

The Giants utilized their second-round pick to draft Kentucky receiver, Wan’Dale Robinson. Robinson is an electric playmaker that led the SEC in receiving yards. He recorded 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season after transferring to Kentucky from Nebraska, where he primarily served as a running back.

With Sterling Shepard expected to miss the first few weeks of the regular season due to a torn Achilles, Robinson should have an expanded role. Considering Robinson was drafted by new management, we should expect to see him heavily involved in the offensive system moving forward, even when Shepard returns.

New head coach Brian Daboll and coordinator Mike Kafka have already begun extrapolating on their creativity, putting Robinson in the backfield frequently, even in the wildcat formation with Kadarius Toney at quarterback. Robinson indicated how exciting their system will be.

“I think it can be pretty exciting,” Robinson said, via the NY Post. “We’ll see the stuff that they come up with and whenever game time comes, I’m sure you all will be happy to see it.”

One of the more notable quotes from Wan’Dale is regarding the team’s focus on the receiver position.

“This is the type of offense that you would want to be in as a receiver,” Robinson said. “They give you a lot of flexibility on running your routes, just allowing you to make plays and get open.”

3.) Darnay Holmes

One of the team’s stand-out performers in camp so far has been Darnay Holmes, who’s projected to win the starting nickel spot. At 24 years old, Holmes has been disregarded over the past two seasons under the leadership of Joe Judge and Patrick Graham.

However, Holmes has taken a significant step forward with his growth this year after playing just 282 snaps last season. He showed development in pass coverage, but he still needed a bit of refinement playing in the slot.

“I’m at a place now where I feel that I’m back, and my mind is at ease. I’m grounded as a player, and we’re grounded as a team, and we’re ready to take these steps forward as needed, ready for what’s next,” Holmes told NorthJersey.com this week.

Holmes started training camp with an interception in three consecutive practices, showing his vision and instincts around the line of scrimmage. He took one of his three picks to the house.

If Darnay can keep up this pace, he will get the first crack at the starting nickel job, but he doesn’t have much competition.