The New York Giants faced off an intra-squad scrimmage on Friday evening after two weeks of padded practices. Two familiar faces were absent from the scrimmage — Xavier McKinney and David Mayo. Starting tight end, Evan Engram also sat out due to a workload decision from head coach Joe Judge. However, starting linebacker, Blake Martinez also was out with an undisclosed injury.
Aside from the absentees, Judge stated that the scrimmage was decent and that everything they did was intentional to check every box. They even held halftime interviews and a post-game interview. An adequate job of getting in sync throughout the scrimmage was the goal.
However, several players played above their weight class, and others fell. It is important to note that the team has plenty of time to develop and progress before the regular season starts. Ironing out the kinks in their new schemes will be essential, and it won’t be a perfect science until the middle of the season, if not next year. With the Giants still in a rebuild, growth is the ultimate goal.
Stock up and stock down for the New York Giants:
Stock Up: Lorenzo Carter
After a tumultuous sophomore campaign, Lorenzo Carter had four sacks in the first half of Friday’s scrimmage. He recorded two on rookie tackle Andrew Thomas, one on Cameron Fleming, and one on Levine Toilolo. After earning double the defensive snaps in 2019, he barely replicated his rookie season performance, gaining just 0.5 sacks more and two combined tackles.
After a dominant performance for the Giants against the starting offense, the hopes are that Carter can take a significant step forward and be an elite pass rusher moving forward. If he can finally grow into himself and adapt to his outside linebacker role, the Giants might be able to save themselves a bit of money down the line.
Stock Down: Andrew Thomas
It is important to realize that Thomas is simply a rookie and will have struggles in 2020. After giving up two sacks to Lorenzo Carter, it was clear that the Georgia stand out would need more time to refine his technique and adapt to NFL level talent. Considering Carter has been playing out of his mind, it is fair to give Thomas some credit.
However, his inability to contain the left tackle spot is problematic, and it could force him over to the right side to start the 2020 season.
Cameron Fleming has experience at left tackle and is considered an average player. Putting Thomas in a tough spot with dangerous defensive matchups to start the year may stunt his growth. He has been cross-training at both left and right tackle, which might be the reason he is struggling to really hold down the left side. Nonetheless, this was essential experience for him that he can learn from, and the entire purpose of the scrimmage was to create game film to utilize in class.
Stock Up: Wayne Gallman
The former Clemson stand out had a fantastic outing, scoring two touchdowns, one on the ground and one in the air. Showing his elusive traits and slippery movements, Gallman proved that he deserves a roster spot on the New York Giants. After being put on the back burner on a Pat Shurmur lead team, he is leaving his mark early on and might even claim the number two running back spot after such a great performance.
Having a solid back up for Saquon Barkley is essential, and with Dion Lewis, a more refined scat-back, keeping him in that role and allowing Gallman to take over lead duties if Barkley misses any time would be the ideal scenario. Nonetheless, Wayne made his voice heard on Friday night and will look to keep the momentum going.
Stock Down: Cam Fleming
After Andrew Thomas was destroyed at left tackle by Lorenzo Carter, the Giants moved Cam Fleming over to try and hold down the spot. Ultimately, he was unable to do a great job allowing a sack.
Fleming is a decent run blocker and an average pass blocker, sometimes failing to hold his ground and recover on initial moves. Considering he has been a career back up, for the most part, I don’t feel overly optimistic that he will be a strong point on the offensive line. The Giants desperately need Andrew Thomas to develop into his role quickly and lock down the left side.