
The New York Giants have completed the first week of padded practice, taking the day off on Saturday to recuperate and treat bumps and bruises. A physical and intense week has led to plenty of development for the younger players on the roster, which constitutes a large portion of the team. A live scrimmage on Friday gave the Giants’ players a chance to execute on their scheme and check out some of their late-round draft picks and undrafted free agents.
Plenty of players have stood out, but several really left their mark this week and showed they can be a part of the team moving forward.
Three New York Giants who are standing out:
1.) Kaden Smith
In 2019, the San Francisco 49er’s draft tight end Kaden Smith in the sixth round. He was subsequently released and landed on the Giants roster. After Evan Engram went down in week eight, Smith saw a bump in action. Over six-games started and nine appearances, he hauled in 31 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his scores came against Washington, in which the Giants won in overtime.
So far during camp, he has displayed an adequate ability to block pass rushers and is a solid option in the receiving game. Check out the video below of his work against Carter Coughlin in 1v1 drills. He also brought in a touchdown from Daniel Jones during Friday’s scrimmage.
This is an awesome clip of tight ends trying to block pass rushers!
-Kaden Smith V Carter Coughlin
-Evan Engram V Oshane Ximines x2
-Rysen John (?) V Cam Brown (?)
-Levine Toilolo V Markus GoldenGREAT ACTION #nyg pic.twitter.com/9ATy9a1a3z
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) August 21, 2020
2.) Tae Crowder
Crowder is “Mr. Irrelevant” from the 2020 NFL draft, as the last pick. However, he was a starting linebacker for one of the best defenses in college football.
The seventh-round pick stands at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds but contains the room to develop and become a productive player on defense. Despite spending most of his high school career as a running back, he made the transition to linebacker in and in 2016.
In the last two years, Crowder became an everyday starter, racking up 115 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, six quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also scored one defensive touchdown. It will be difficult for the Giants to see what players like Crowder have without preseason games to utilize, but he has undoubtedly been standing out after a tackle for a loss on Wayne Gallman during Friday’s scrimmage.
3.) Xavier McKinney
When the Giants selected McKinney with their second-round pick, nobody knew exactly what they were getting in the Alabama defender. As a strong cover-1 safety, McKinney can move into the box as a run stopper and even rush the passer. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will have a field day with Mckinney’s attributes and abilities. He’s already begun to display them during padded practices.
“McKinney has shown this week why many considered him a steal in the second round,â€Â noted Salamone. “Today, the rookie broke up two passes to kick off the day during 1-on-1 drills. It followed up a Tuesday outing – yesterday was not a full-speed practice – in which he had an interception.â€