The most pressing concern for the New York Giants going into training camp is the starting quality and depth on the cornerbacks unit. Big Blue retained Janoris Jenkins, but beyond him it’s a sea of optimism and insecurity.
No. 2 corner, Eli Apple, will return from an abysmal 2017 in which he threw temper tantrums and tore apart the locker room at the seams. He played a big part in creating turmoil between players and recording losses on game-day. Luckily for him, the Giants’ new regime has given him a second-chance. One that he surely doesn’t deserve but has been offered. So far, he’s proven to rise to the occasion with his maturity and development.
How did Apple perform in practice for the New York Giants?
Day 1 of full-team training camp showed good things, especially from the third-year corner. Apple made several plays on one-on-one drills, despite getting beat a few times. Fortunately, Apple managed to recover and did a nice job of getting his head turned around to swat away the pass. He struggled in past seasons with hand grabbing and drawing pass interference penalties due to his inability to locate the ball. This seems to be changing for the young corner.
Jenkins had a stellar day, bottling up Cody Latimer consistently and even interception a deep ball from Eli Manning.
Donte Deayon has an active day, playing nickle with the second-team. He was flying around the field, giving every ounce of heart from his 5-foot-9 frame. Although he doesn’t acquire the required NFL size, his tenacity and vision could earn him some playing time this season.
Chris Lewis-Harris having a really nice practice. Already has 2-3 pass breakups in full-team drills. #Giants
— Matt Lombardo ? (@MattLombardoNFL) July 26, 2018
Chris Lewis-Harris also had a solid practice. He had a nice pass breakup against Jawill Davis.
Overall, it was a good day for the secondary, despite concerns being voiced by the fan-base. The corners seemed to step up and show some solid action, but we shouldn’t be too optimistic. There’s a lot of room for improvement and it was only the first day of full-team activity.