Daniel Jones Sharp, Darren Waller a Headache and More from Giants Training Camp Day 1

The fans in attendance were excited to see running back Saquon Barkley on the field for practice, often calling his name. But for Barkley, he just went about his business whenever his number was called and made plays.

There was a nice acrobatic catch along the side of the end zone, a play in which it looked like BAkrley might have been out of bounds, but which was impressive nonetheless. And there were some receptions over the middle that he easily hauled in.

Offense Wins the Day

I know what you're thinking. How can the offense have won the day working in a padless environment, didn't feature any 11-on-11 team drills, and was devoid of any semblance of a puss rush?

The answer is in play recognition and the results. To my eye, at least, the offensive players mostly won their battles against the defense, slipping behind defenders and making plays.

Although the Giants focused solely on the red zone in this practice, the offense made far more plays against the defense, often with the receiving targets getting enough separation to maneuver.

Darren Waller continues to be everything the Giants hoped he'd be. Waller was no match for the linebackers who tried to cover him, putting his 6-foot-6 height to good use in reaching the high point of his catch radius. Waller just does a good job putting his body between the defender and the ball, and he rarely drops a pass. He's going to be a headache to cover.

Daniel Jones Had a Day

Quarterback Daniel Jones was in mid-season form, all things considered--and yes, it was in 7-on-7 scenarios and without a pass rush. As they did last year, the Giants started training camp with red zone work, and he connected with Darren Waller, Isaiah Hodgins, Cole Beasley, Parris Campbell, and Daniel Belligner for touchdowns during different team periods. Jones also ran one in himself and seemed more decisive and comfortable in Year 2 of this offense.

"I think it's nice not to be learning completely new at this point," Jones said after practice. "We’re picking up from things we started with in the spring, and we'll continue to build off of it, but we're always learning and growing and kind of evolving the offense in whatever way will make us better."

Jones did have one bad miss on a swing pass to running back Matt Breida that was way too high. But overall, it's hard to miss how much Jones has taken to this offense and how much more comfortable he is. But the good news is there were no turnovers by the offense.

Quote to Note

"Yeah, I'm extremely happy for him--and happy for myself also."

-- QB Daniel Jones, when asked his thoughts on left tackle Andrew Thomas's contract extension

Injury Updates

Defensive lineman Rakeen Nunez-Roches is currently in the league's concussion protocol after getting into a car accident leaving the team's facility Tuesday; this is per a report by The Athletic, which also reports that Nunez-Roches didn't suffer any other injuries other than the concussion.

Rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt was spotted leaving the practice field late in the session with Senior Vice President of Medical Services Ronnie Barnes. It's unclear what was wrong with Hyatt, but the good news is that he was spotted returning to the field toward the end of practice, leaving one to believe his issue may have been heat-related.

Seeing Double

With only so many jersey numbers to go around, thanks to having 14 jersey numbers retired, there is usually a case or two (or three) where Giants players have to "share" a jersey number at the start of camp.

Those sharing a jersey number include quarterback Tommy DeVito and outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeau (5); receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton and punter Jamie Gillan (6); receiver Cole Beasley and kicker Graham Gano (9); running back Eric Gray and cornerback Amani Orruwariye (20); running back Gary Brightwell and defensive back Alex Cook (23); safety Dane Belton and running back James Robinson (24); running back Jashaun Corbin and defensive back Rodarius Williams (25); running back Matt Breida and defensive back Gervarrius Owes (31); and outside linebacker Tomon Fox and tight end Ryan Jones (49).

Miscellaneous Takeaways

• Darrian Beavers and Jason Pinnock lined up with the first-team defense at inside linebacker and safety, respectively. The Giants have openings at inside linebacker next to Bobby Okereke and at safety next to Xavier McKinney. Hence, Beavers, coming off a torn ACL, and Pinnock appear to be the first up on the depth chart at those spots.

• Defensive backs Grrvarrius Owens and TRe Hawkins III ran into each other while trying to defend a pass thrown by Tommy DeVito. Both shook it off, however, and continued practicing.

• I must have jinxed kicker Graham Gano, as after tweeting out how "Mr. Automatic" was doing his thing on field goals, he missed what looked like a 40-yarder wide left.

• Solid showing today from rookie receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton, who put his big catch radius on display to haul in a high pass in the back of the end zone thrown by DeVito while still managing to keep his feet in bounds. Ford-Wheaton also did a nice job of shaking free of coverage, finding the end zone, and catching another touchdown throw by DeVito.

• Jalin Hyatt ran a jet sweep which was nearly blown up when, in trying to avoid a defender from crashing in, he ran backward instead of trying to beat the defender around the edge. Fortunately, Hyatt was able to recover and pick up positive yardage.

• Linebacker Bobby Okereke worked with inside linebackers coach John Egorugwu on covering backs out of the backfield. Egorugwu had a staff member simulate a running back and instruct him to juke his way out of the backfield, all the while providing Okereke with instruction on what to watch for as far as clues to read the direction of the play

Up Next

The Giants continue their padless acclimation period with practices on Thursday and Friday, both of which will be open to the public. Thursday's practice will be from 10 a.m. until 11:45 and Friday's from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. The team has off on Saturday, July 29.

For those planning to attend practice, a ticket is required. Also, in inclement weather, the practice will be moved inside the field house, at which point there will be no public viewing.

For the most up-to-date information on training camp practices, call 201.935.8111 ext. 1070.