Football is back! The New York Giants officially reported to training camp on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the 2020 NFL season. Veterans reported to training camp today as the team does its first wave of COVID-19 testing. This will be a crucial season for the Giants as they enter the year with a brand new coaching staff and a revamped roster.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no preseason this year, making training camp that much more important. Many of those players who standout in the preseason to earn their roster spots will not be afforded such an opportunity this year. Instead, the Giants’ new coaching staff will have to gauge their players’ talents in training camp alone.
With that being the case, who are the top players, or what are the top positions to watch during training camp in 2020?
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Undrafted Free Agent Wide Receivers
The undrafted free agent wide receivers are a group to keep an eye on at training camp. The Giants signed three notable undrafted wide receivers: Austin Mack, Derrick Dillon, and Binjimen Victor.
The Giants’ starting receivers in 2020 will be Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, and Golden Tate. But the fourth wide receiver slot is wide open. Corey Coleman is the favorite to earn that spot on the depth chart, but Giants fans should know better than anyone that an undrafted free agent could quickly impress and rise up a team’s depth chart, see Victor Cruz.
Binjimen Victor
Benjamin Victor is arguably the most exciting receiver in the undrafted group. He is 6’5â€, played at Ohio State for four years. According to Pro Football Focus, Victor is “NFL-ready from a technical standpoint, but he’s still underdeveloped physically.” They also state that the playing strength of NFL corners is going to be a problem for Victor.
Binjimen totaled 1,276 yards in his final three collegiate seasons along with 17 touchdowns. Victor was a big-play threat, averaging at least 15 yards per reception in every season he played. What we have seen of Victor is limited, though. He had only 83 total touches in his collegiate career, so it is very unlikely he’d be prepared for a full workload as a rookie in the NFL.
Austin Mack
Binjimen Victor is not the only undrafted wide receiver that the Giants signed from Ohio State. They also signed Austin Mack, who had an even smaller role in the Buckeyes’ offense over the past four years. Mack had 79 career receptions at Ohio State and totaled 1,050 yards and 6 touchdowns.
According to Pro Football Focus, Mack was targeted an average of 13.52 yards downfield but managed just 1.56 yards per route run in his college career. Mack was considered to be an excellent route runner in college. He also has arm length in the 91st percentile and 10†hands. He’s not the fastest or most athletic guy, but his precision route running and ideal body type could get him a roster spot. Mack also has the ability to make some pretty spectacular contested catches.
Derrick Dillon
Derrick Dillon is the third notable undrafted free agent wide receiver that the Giants signed. Dillon ran a 4.29 time in the 40-yard dash at LSU’s pro day. He’s a speedy, athletic receiver that could contribute at least on special teams if he is not able to win a roster spot as a receiver. His speed makes him a viable kick-return option. In 30 games with the LSU Tigers, Dillon caught 51 passes and totaled 634 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Kicker
The next position I’m keeping a close eye on as training camp begins is the kicker position. The Giants cut Aldrick Rosas this week due to his ugly legal situation. As a result, the team signed kicker Chandler Catanzaro to fill the position for training camp.
Catanzaro has a career 83.8% field goal percentage and spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay buccaneers in 2018. He was with the Arizona Cardinals from 2014 to 2016 and spent 2017 with the New York Jets.
Catanzaro has a career-long field goal of 60 yards. He can certainly hit field goals from deep, but consistency has been an issue with Chandler. In 2018, Catanzaro was 0/3 on field goal attempts between 40-49 yards and 3/3 on attempts of 50+ yards. Catanzaro is the only kicker on the Giants’ roster currently, but it is more than a strong possibility that the Giants will add another kicker to the competition by the end of training camp.
The Second Primary Cornerback
The next key position to watch during training camp is the second primary cornerback. DeAndre Baker has been officially placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. He is still a member of the Giants and will be paid as such, but he will not count against the 53-man roster. The Giants are also not granting Baker permission to report to training camp.
This make training camp for the rest of the defensive backs even more important. Players such as Sam Beal, Corey Ballentine, Julian Love, and Darnay Holmes will all compete and have a chance to earn the second starting outside cornerback position. The Giants’ secondary is a young and inexperienced bunch, so it will be important to see development out of these second-to-third-year players as well as the rookies.