New York Giants: Defensive line dominates in second padded practice

The New York Giants held their second padded practice of training camp today, 7/28.

Players who stood out:

Cody Latimer has been a pleasant surprise in the last couple of days, has been catching nearly everything thrown his way from Eli Manning. He actually looks like better competition for cornerbacks like Deandre Baker and Janoris Jenkins than Golden Tate.

Dexter Lawrence has quickly shown the Giants he is more than just a 1st and 2nd down defensive tackle. The Giants have yet to field a center that can handle him without help from a guard, even with double-teams they haven’t neutralized the young defensive linemen.

Reggie White Jr. made a couple of big plays for touchdowns today while there is open competition for a starting receiver role in camp. Both were thrown by Daniel Jones.

Saquon Barkley hasn’t been mentioned a ton but until pads come on there isn’t a ton worth mentioning. Now that we’re a couple padded practices in we’ve seen his explosiveness. Today he bounced out a run in the red zone for an easy touchdown, normal Saquon Barkley kind of stuff.

CJ Conrad made a couple of nice grabs today, one going for a score from Kyle Lauletta. The other was down the field along the sideline.

Julian Love looked smooth as safety for a rookie who primarily plays nickel back. He had another nice day in the nickel as well with very tight coverage.

Oshane Ximines beat Nate Solder pretty badly in a drill today. He also had the awareness to bail on his rush and leap for a nice pass deflection later in practice.

Eli Manning had a decent practice, most of his completions were in the intermediate range to Cody Latimer. Dalvin

Tomlinson has had a strong start with plenty of grit for the nose tackle position. He’s looked like an issue for the centers.

Camp Battles:

Oshane Ximines had some first-team reps today, he won’t have a shot at being a 1st and 2nd down edge defender but he could become a primary pass rusher if he outperforms Markus Golden.

The center position has not looked great, neither Jon Halapio or Spencer Pulley has created much of a lead so far.

The competition remains close between Tae Davis and BJ Goodson but so far Davis has looked better overall.

Alonzo Russell and Reggie White Jr. haven’t played ahead of Bennie Fowler much but both look like they’re gaining ground on him. Fowler could easily end up on the roster bubble.

Corey Ballentine continued to play well against the third-team and was fielding kickoffs today. It looks like they plan on promoting him to the second-team defense soon or letting him have his place on the roster as a core special-teamer.

Michael Thomas worked as a first-team safety today while Peppers had a light day, he seems to be entrenched into a second-team safety role and a safe bet to make the team.

CJ Conrad looks like a real danger to Scott Simonson’s roster spot unless the Giants plan on rostering 4 tight ends. The rookie tight end looked decent as a blocker along with some splash plays in the passing game.

Paul Perkins has a clear lead on Wayne Gallman at this point, he’s looked like a more complete back than Gallman so far.

Bumps and Bruises:

Sterling Shepard continues to catch one-handed passes on the side from Eli Manning.

Cody Latimer gave everyone a scare but he just needed some additional stretching before returning to the field. Nate Solder and Mike Remmers continue to take snaps off but they have not suffered any setbacks.

They are being worked back slowly to play it safe. Sam Beal missed practice again with his groin/hamstring injury. Brittan Golden remained sidelined with his groin injury.

Significant injuries:

Mark McLaurin has a fracture in his foot and is out indefinitely.

Big George also missed practice while he’s in the concussion protocol.

Final Thoughts:

The offensive line pulled a little closer today but the defensive line still got the best of them. While some reserves are being fielded with Eli Manning like Cody Latimer and Rhett Ellison both have helped Eli make an impact against the first-team defense. The New York Giants will take a day off from fieldwork tomorrow to rest and get ready for another padded practice on Tuesday, 7/29 at 2:45 pm.