The New York Giants and New York Jets will open their respective preseason slates on Thursday night at MetLife Stadium in a battle that is usually reserved for Week 3.
However, because the Giants and Jets will meet during the regular season this year, head coach Pat Shurmur requested the league make a scheduling change, which they obliged.
“I was involved in those conversations,” Shurmur told reporters. “I think it makes sense.
“This is more about the players and trying to decide who our best 53 are than actually the scheme and the matchups and all that. We’ll get to that later when we play the Jets. But to play them first instead of third, I think it makes sense this year.”
Although it’s just Week 1 and the projected starters are unlikely to play or may only see the field for a series or two, there’s still plenty to watch come Thursday night.
The Daniel Jones Show
Make no mistake about it, rookie quarterback Daniel Jones will be the center of attention on Thursday night against the Jets. That’s only compounded by the fact that he’ll be sharing a field with Sam Darnold, whom the Giants passed over in 2018 to take running back Saquon Barkley.
How much Jones plays remains to be seen, but fair or unfair, the entire weight of the offseason criticisms will rest firmly on his shoulders — he’ll either play well and quiet his detractors or play poorly and fuel them for at least one more week.
If any of the Giants’ offensive starters do play, it’d be nice to see Jones get a few snaps with them on the field.
New-look offensive line
Whether or not Nate Solder and Mike Remmers play is up in the air as of Thursday morning, but if they do, it will provide the first opportunity to see the Giants’ new starting five against non-teammates.
The obvious goal is to come away from the game healthy, but the Giants and their fans would also like to see a sign that these hog mollies are finally the answer and that a near-decade of futility as a unit has finally come to an end.
Beyond just the starters, it will also be worth keeping an eye on the reserves. Can Nick Gates better his odds to make the 53-man roster after impressing this summer? Can Spencer Pulley remain in contention with Jon Halapio for the start center job? How does Chad Wheeler look and will he be a suitable No. 2 at right tackle?
There are lots of questions to be answered.
All those young defensive backs
How exciting will it be to finally see Deandre Baker, Julian Love and Corey Ballentine go up against some live competition in a competitive environment?
Baker will likely get the green light as the No. 2 alongside Janoris Jenkins and how his physical style of play translates to the NFL will be worth watching. He’s very aggressive, very physical and can get into an opponents’ head.
Where Love plays will also be worth keeping an eye on. Will the Giants use him exclusively as a free safety or will they get him snaps at cornerback as well? How does he perform at each position and can he help define his future role?
Finally, there’s Corey Ballentine, who will be at his first NFL game ever. Imagine those nerves. For the very first time, he will also hit the field and compete on behalf of his fallen friend, Dwane Simmons. There will be a lot of emotions for Ballentine, understandably, but the game also provides him an opportunity to prove he deserves consideration as a starter. After all, he’s gotten progressively better throughout the spring and summer.
What’s happening behind Saquon?
In case you were unaware, Saquon Barkley is the starting running back of the New York Giants and that’s not going to change. However, the role to back him up may.
In 2018, during Barkley’s remarkable rookie season, he was primarily spelled by Wayne Gallman. And while Gallman remains very much in the picture, the Giants have some interesting depth preparing to battle with him for RB2.
Gallman will get his licks on Thursday night and we all know he has the potential to very good, but more eyes may fall to the returning Paul Perkins.
Once upon a time, Perkins was slated to be Big Blue’s starting running back, but injuries wipes out almost two fulls years of his career. And while many may be surprised to learn he’s still on the team, they may be more surprised to learn that he’s look impressive so far this summer and could realistically push Gallman for that No. 2 spot.
Behind Gallman and Perkins is veteran Rod Smith, who could find himself in an interesting position this season. His special teams prowess almost guarantees him a spot on the 53-man roster, but his use as a fullback this summer is what’s most interesting. The Giants like Eli Penny, but if they could save a roster spot with a multi-tool like Smith, they may lean in that direction.
And don’t count out Jonathan Hilliman. He’ll get plenty of chances to prove his worth on Thursday night.
UDFAs gallore
The Giants will run out a slew of undrafted rookie free agents on Thursday night — all of whom are worth watching — as they take on the uphill battle of earning an unlikely spot on the 53-man roster.
Tight end C.J. Conrad and do-it-all man Jake Carlock will be the two most intriguing undrafted players to keep an eye on. TE3 is basically Conrad’s position to lose, while Carlock is exploring various roles in his quest to make the roster. We could see him play safety, nickle cornerback, linebacker, EDGE and long-snapper all in the same night.
Beyond the two most obvious undrafted rookies, wide receiver Reggie White Jr., wearing No. 13, will have an opportunity to shine. As will the aforementioned Jonathan Hilliman, offensive linemen Paul Adams and James O’Hagan, linebacker Josiah Tauaefa and safety Tenny Adewusi.
The remaining rookies
Not to be outdone or overlooked, several other rookies will make their NFL debut on Thursday night, including the massive Dexter Lawrence, who will look to solidify his role as a three-down defensive lineman who not only stops the run, but rushes the passer.
Like Corey Ballentine, this will be Lawrence’s first ever NFL game, so he’ll be feeling those nerves a bit.
Edge rusher Oshane Ximines will also be an intriguing player to watch. He’s played well this summer and seems to consistently bat balls down at the line, so it will be interesting to see if that translates into game action. It will also be interesting to see what sort of pressure he can create in the likely absence of players such as Markus Golden.
Other rookies to watch (assuming they play): linebacker Ryan Connelly, who has caught eyes this summer, offensive tackle George Asafo-Adjei, defensive tackle Chris Slayton and, assuming he’s healthy enough to hit the field, wide receiver Darius Slayton.
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