New York Giants Preseason Game 1 Preview

The New York Giants and Detroit Lions take their week-long meeting to the playing field Thursday night for their respective preseason openers. 

As a friendly reminder, the final score in preseason doesn’t matter, as it’s all about the coaches evaluating what they have on the roster. 

As such, in this preseason opener, expect many starters on both sides of the ball to sit this one out, especially those who have taken most of the snaps during training camp without a break (though my guess is that many, if not all, of them, will be back next week against the Texans).  

Here are the position battles to watch in this preseason opener.

Before training camp started, Giants defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson said that third-year man Cor’Dale Flott was penciled in as the starting cornerback opposite Deonte Banks, last year’s first-round pick.

This comes after reports of the Giants trying to sign more experienced cornerbacks such as Darious Williams, Tre’Davious White, and Stephen Nelson, and also after general manager Joe Schoen, in the offseason edition of Hard Knocks, cracked a joke during the combine that if they spent for edge rusher Brian Burns in a trade, “then I’ll (Schoen) play corner.”

Thus far in camp, Flott has had an inconsistent showing, yielding some first-team reps to Nick McCloud, who at times has looked more the part, and to second-year man Tre Hawkins III. 

One preseason game probably won’t solve the question, but it’s one that the Giants need to determine if they have the right talent on the roster or if they have to make some sort of move when the rosters get trimmed to 53.   

What’s a summer without offensive line questions? But there is some good news regarding this unit: they appear to be set at tackle with Jermaine Eluemunor and Andrew Thomas, who aren’t expected to play in the preseason opener. 

They are also set at one of the guard spots with Jon Runyan Jr., also not expected to play in the preseason opener, and there will be a spot for veteran Greg Van Roten, who was brought in to play left guard but who has been filling in at center while John Michael Schitz nurses a shoulder issue.

After that, it’s a tossup. Austin Schlottman was signed to a two-year, $2.795 million contract presumably to be the backup center, but again, Van Roten and, before him, Runyan were drawing most of the first-team reps at center once Schmitz went down. 

Schlottman figures to get the start against the Lions, where he can take hold of that backup center role with a solid showing that allows Van Roten to go to left guard. But keep an eye on undrafted rookie Jake Kubas, who has worked at both guard spots and has taken some snaps at center with the second-team offense.  

The Giants also still need to settle on their swing tackle. Third-year man Joshua Ezeudu, who can also play guard, has the inside track for that spot thanks to his versatility. Matt Nelson and Marcus McKethan also figure in the mix.

Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson should be locks at this position, though Johnson looked so impressive in camp, and Bellinger got a lot of reps with the second and third teams. One wonders if there is a surprise in store for the depth chart order.  

After Bellinger and Johnson, there is a question mark. Initially, it looked like Lawrence Cager had the inside track on the job, but he’s been nursing a hamstring. Chris Manhertz received some first-team reps earlier in camp, but he’s thought to be more of a blocking tight end. Jack Stoll has been slowed down by an injury these last few days.

The Giants still need to figure out who the 3-tech will be on this defensive line next to Dexter Lawrence. Veteran Rakeem Nunez-Roches has quietly had a solid camp, but historically, he hasn’t given much as a pass rusher. Ryder Anderson and Boogie Basham have also been in the mix, as defensive coordinator Shane Bowen revealed during a Hard Knocks episode (also seen during the practices). 

Elijah Chatman is another name to watch here. The 6-0, 291-pound Chatman, out of SMU, has everything except prototypical size for an interior position. But–and this is not to compare the rookie with a future Hall of Famer–the same was said of now-retired Rams star Aaron Donald, who, at 6-1 and 281 pounds, never let his lack of “ideal” size get in the way of making a nice living in the league.