Cover 3: A look back (and look ahead) at the Giants

Matt Citak: The biggest thing I’m looking for as the Giants head into the second half of the season is the continued development of the rookie class. While they are only 10 games into their first NFL season, the Giants’ rookies have shown a lot of promise to start their NFL careers. Heading into last week’s matchup in Munich, the rookie class had accounted for 17.9 percent of the team’s defensive snaps, the second-highest mark in the league, and 18.4 percent of the offensive snaps, the fifth-highest rate. With Malik Nabers (88 percent of snaps), Tyrone Tracy (80 percent) and Theo Johnson (92 percent) barely leaving the field against the Panthers, along with Tyler Nubin (100 percent) and Dru Phillips (83 percent), the Giants might have moved up even further in those rookie playing time rankings.

“I think it’s important for veterans to have leadership presence, but I’d say our rookies have a lot of leadership in them too,” coach Brian Daboll told the media last week. “Again, they’re playing a lot of football. They’re learning as we go, but they all have the right mindset. I’m pleased with how they act outside the building, inside the building, the work they put in and their skill set. I really enjoy working with these young guys. They’re made of the right kind of stuff.”

Not only have the rookies been playing a lot, but they’ve also been performing well. Nabers leads the Giants with 61 receptions for 607 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks third in the NFL in receptions, he sits just five catches behind Ja’Marr Chase for the league-lead, and he is tied with Brian Thomas Jr. as the league’s leading rookie receiver. He has accomplished all of this despite missing two games with a concussion.

Tracy is the team’s leading rusher with 107 attempts for 545 yards (5.1 avg.) and three touchdowns. He has totaled 100+ yards of offense in four of the last six games, he ranks eighth in the NFL in average yards per carry, and he leads all rookies in rushing yards. Tracy has done all of this despite playing limited snaps in each of the first four games.

Then you have Johnson, who ranks third among rookie tight ends and 12^th among all rookies with his 238 receiving yards.

Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, Nubin ranks second on the team with his 69 total tackles and has missed a mere two snaps all season. Phillips was just named Pro Football Focus’ Rookie of the Week for his performance against the Panthers, and finds himself inside the top 5 of PFF’s list of the season’s top rookies.

Meanwhile, undrafted rookie Elijah Chatman has generated a quarterback pressure on 8.3 percent of his pass rushes, the sixth-highest QB pressure rate among all rookies, according to Next Gen Stats. The continued growth and development of these players, along with the other young players on the roster, should be one of the top priorities for the Giants heading into the final seven games of the season.