Breaking down which Giants saw stock rise, fall after preseason opener

There were wild swings on Wall Street this week. 

Elsewhere in New York, the stocks of a few Giants rose and dipped, too, as is the case in every NFL preseason game, when backups are fighting to survive the cut from 90 to 53 players before the regular season. 

Here is a closer look at those who either helped or hurt their own causes Thursday during the Giants’ 14-3 victory against the Lions: 

Stock Up

MLB Dyontae Johnson

Somehow, despite all of the Giants’ injuries during a lost 2023 season, the undrafted rookie sat on the practice squad without ever getting activated.

Well, Johnson took advantage of his opportunity to run the defense Thursday, with four tackles, two for a loss, and a sack.

Daboll wants toughness, right?

Johnson went into the locker room to get his ankle checked by trainers but re-emerged, put his helmet on and was lobbying to get back into the game until the fourth quarter. 

Rookie defensive backs

Two of the most impressive plays by the defense were made by second-round pick Tyler Nubin (18 snaps) and third-round pick Dru Phillips (seven).

Nubin, who missed the first week of training camp with a calf injury and is playing catch-up behind safety Dane Belton, crashed the line of scrimmage on a third-and-2 and knocked 295-pound offensive lineman Michael Niese on his butt to allow Johnson to get a run stop.

Phillips shot through a gap for a tackle for loss on running back Jermar Jefferson. 

EDGE Boogie Basham

Acquired in a late-round draft pick swap before last season, Basham was a non-factor in his first year with the Giants.

With Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux expected to play at least 80 percent of the snaps, there isn’t a lot of opportunity.

But could Basham, a former second-round pick who might have some interior rush ability, challenge Azeez Ojulari to be the top backup?

Could he play well enough in his contract year that the Giants are confident trading Ojulari to fill a different need?

He had four tackles, a sack and two pass deflections. 

Coaching staff

Daboll made a not-so-subtle point about the “great” communication among coaches and from coordinator to player in all three phases.

The Giants have six new coordinators/position coaches this season.

One year ago, in the preseason opener, Daboll gave then-special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey a televised death stare after a punt return touchdown. And Daboll’s season-long ice-out with then-defensive coordinator Wink Martindale (which spilled over to the gameday headsets) clearly isn’t forgotten. 

Running backs

In the first post-Saquon Barkley game, Eric Gray had 98 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage, Dante Miller ran 12 times for 63 yards and Tyrone Tracy (five carries for 26 yards) showed sharp backfield cuts and broken-tackle ability on a 12-yard scamper.

Will the Giants try to sneak one of those three onto the practice squad with Devin Singletary expected to be the workhorse? 

Stock Down

QB Drew Lock

Remember those offseason rumors that Lock had a chance to beat out starter Daniel Jones?

Lock hasn’t taken a single first-team snap all camp.

And his preseason debut was ugly — 4-of-10 passing for 17 yards with an interception and a hesitance to throw the ball to an open Malik Nabers — even before he left with an oblique strain and hip pointer that could leave his availability week-to-week.

Third-stringer Tommy DeVito is a fan favorite who went 3-3 as a rookie starter, but Lock’s guaranteed $5 million contract assures he is safe as the top backup. 

LT Josh Ezeudu

Is the swing tackle going to be Ezeudu?

Or the benched first-round pick Evan Neal, if and when he comes off the physically unable-to-perform list? Someone not yet on the roster?

Ezeudu, who played guard as a rookie in 2022, performed poorly and lost all confidence playing left tackle (and allowing the sack that led to Jones’ neck injury) last season. Yet he was back in that spot against the Lions.

Ezeudu allowed three pressures on 23 pass-blocking snaps, gave up a sack — Lock could’ve gotten rid of the ball quicker — and was beaten with a spin move by Nate Lynn, who delivered the hit that forced Lock out of the game. 

RG Aaron Stinnie

Who is the odd man out on the interior offensive line once John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) returns? It looks like Stinnie, who started the game at right guard alongside other backups.

Stinnie has been a starter for most of camp while in-camp addition Greg Van Roten has been at center for most of the eight straight practices missed by Schmitz.

Stinnie starting while Van Roten sat is an indication that Van Roten will slide into that spot when the line is intact. 

CB Tre Herndon

The Giants held out two of their top three cornerbacks and Herndon still didn’t start.

When he got his chance, he had an interception … but lost a fumble at the end of his 35-yard return rather than stepping out of bounds after his open space dried up.

A six-year veteran with 34 career starts should know better. 

Wide receivers

Even with Nabers and Jalin Hyatt playing three series together, the group combined for three catches for 15 yards.

Former starter Isaiah Hodgins, who has added special teams to his resume in a bid to make the team, committed a holding penalty on a kickoff return.