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The New York Giants host the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 of the preseason and these seven players are worth keeping an eye on.
The New York Giants will host the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 of the 2023 NFL preseason on Friday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Starters are expected to see some time, although it’s unclear just how much. Each player will likely be on an individualized snap count.
Here are seven players to watch in this game, provided they play.
The New York Giants have released their unofficial depth chart ahead of the Carolina Panthers preseason game and here are five takeaways.
The New York Giants have released their second unofficial depth chart, this time in advance of their Week 2 preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.
The depth chart was released prior to several of the team’s Tuesday transactions and includes no changes from a week ago. Everything remains exactly the same.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few notable takeaways, however. Here are five.
New York Giants DC Wink Martindale says Micah McFadden is leading Darrian Beavers in the battle for a starting spot next to Bobby Okereke.
Many of the position battles this summer at New York Giants training camp are still to be decided.
On defense, the secondary is still in flux, with new faces abound and the linebacker jobs are pretty much spoken for except for one inside position, which is still in play.
On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale updated the media on the intense battle between two second-year players — Darrian Beavers and Micah McFadden.
“I thought Micah played really well in the game and did a lot of good things,” Martindale said. “This is truly Beavers’ rookie year because of the ACL and he’s missed so many practices. Micah has got a year under his belt. It’s a good competition but Micah is definitely leading right now. But we’ll see where that goes and where this takes us.”
McFadden, speaking with reporters after practice, said he takes the compliments with a “grain of salt” and aims to get better on a daily basis. He also said he is communicating better and playing faster in his second season in Martindale’s defense.
McFadden added that he is down about five pounds from last season (from 235 to 230) and has learned from free agent veteran Booby Okereke, who brings leadership to the defense.
Martindale added that he welcomes more players at inside linebacker as Daboll and Schoen deem it necessary. And the Giants did hold workouts after practice. However, is currently unknown if linebacker was one of the positions they were holding tryouts for. That information will come later in the day.
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The New York Giants fell to the Lions, 21-16, on Friday and here’s a look at our winners and losers (and those in between) from the game.
Editor’s note: Upon reviewing the game, we changed the entry for Deonte Banks, adding detail on what was a bang-bang play and difficult to read in real-time. Giants Wire writers disagreed (and still disagree) on what transpired.
The New York Giants opened the 2023 preseason on Friday night against the Detroit Lions and neither team played their key starters. There were a few spot starters on both sides but predominantly, the game featured depth players.
Accordingly, it was a rather ugly performance for each team. There was more bad than good, and neither coach is going to be particularly happy on Saturday morning.
Here are some winners, losers, and in-betweens from Fright night’s Giants’ victory/defeat.
The New York Giants open the preseason on Friday night against the Lions and these eight players are worth keeping an eye on (if they play).
The New York Giants will face the Lions in Detroit on Friday night in their 2023 preseason opener.
This is the beginning of the road for some players on their roster but at the same time, will be the beginning of the end for others.
Here is a list of eight players to keep an eye on Friday night, depending on whether or not they appear in the game, that is.
New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is happy with his linebacker unit but notes that Micah McFadden has “really improved.”
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The New York Giants have beefed up their linebacker corps this offseason, adding a top off-ball guy in free agent Bobby Okereke and re-signing Jarrad Davis.
Last year, the Giants were very thin at inside linebacker with the injury to rookie Darrian Beavers and the underperformance of players such as Tae Crowder (who was released), leaving them to start players such as journeyman Jaylon Smith, Austin Calitro and rookie Micah McFadden before bringing in Davis near the end of the season.
McFadden played in all 17 regular season games, starting seven, playing 38.5 percent of the defensive snaps. He shone at times but his inexperience was evident.
This summer, with a year of NFL experience under his belt and the competition at inside linebacker ramping up with the new additions (including UDFAs Troy Brown and Dyontae Johnson), McFadden must take that Year 2 leap to secure a roster spot.
Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is excited in general about the unit but told reporters this week that McFadden is making strides.
“It’s all a competition right now with he and J.D. (Jarrad Davis), and I’ll tell you, Micah has really improved,” he said.
The main off-ball linebacker this season will likely be Okereke who the Giants inked to a four-year, $40 million deal in March.
“It’s fun to watch him play because of his size, his strength, but most of all, he’s a good guy,” Martindale said of the former Stanford and Indianapolis Colts star. “He’s a really intelligent kid that knows football, and it’s not hard to talk football with him. So, all those things have been great, and we’ve just got to get ready to take the next step. Which for me is vacation.”
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New York Giants LB Bobby Okereke says he’s impressed with some of the younger players, including Micah McFadden and Darrian Beavers.
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Bobby Okereke, the free agent inside linebacker the New York Giants signed to a four-year, $40 million deal this offseason, is all about doing whatever it is asked of him to help the defense improve.
If that means wearing the ‘green dot’ on his helmet the season, he’ll do it. The ‘green dot’ is assigned to the player who wears the radio headset and calls the defensive signals.
Last year, under first-year defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, several players wore the green dot, including safeties. That might continue this season, but for now, in OTAs, Okereke is one of the players bearing the responsibility.
“I don’t expect to,” Okereke told reporters on Thursday at the team’s OTA session when asked if he expects to wear the green do this season.
“Whatever is best for the team. I don’t have an ego about it. I know a couple of different guys are wearing it throughout this process… I’ve worn it a couple games in the past.”
Okereke was signed to fortify a very thin group of inside linebackers, but he doesn’t see things that way.
“I love Micah McFadden. I think he’s a technician, great player, smart guy. Obviously, Jarrad Davis is a great leader. And Darrian Beavers is a guy who has a lot of potential,” he said.
Okereke said his strength is pass coverage and is seen as the off-ball linebacker the team has been lacking. He explained why he is seen as a top player in pass coverage.
“I think just my athleticism,” he said. “I’m big, I’m fast and long. But then just from a mental processing standpoint, understanding how offenses are trying to attack you and where I fit in coverage with my teammates. Just kind of putting it all together.”
The Giants hope they got in on the bottom floor with Okereke. If they did, their defense will be much more successful in 2023.
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CBS Sports recently ranked the New York Giants’ 2022 NFL draft class in the bottom half of the league largely due to injuries.
The New York Giants and general manager Joe Schoen made 11 picks in the 2022 NFL draft knowing that all of those players would likely see significant roles.
Unfortunately for Schoen & Co., they got bit by the notorious East Rutherford injury bug. 10 of the 11 draftees missed time due to injury with five of them closing out the season on IR.
Linebacker Micah McFadden was the only rookie to see action in all 17 games.
Despite those issues, there was some notable upside. Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux appears to be lightyears ahead of where most rookies are, while offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu and tight end Daniel Bellinger showed enough to be optimistic about their future.
Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was also flashing before he went down with a torn ACL.
But because of all those injuries, it was hard to properly grade the Giants’ rookie class. And that ultimately led Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports to rank them in the bottom half of the NFL.
Thibodeaux hit the ground running after an injury delayed the start to his pro career. Bellinger, who many thought was a project, caught 30 passes in Year 1. (Cor’Dale) Flott was a part-time cornerback and chipped in with two pass breakups and a big one in the playoff win.
Over time, Schoen’s first draft class will likely look much better. They need right tackle Evan Neal to have an Andrew Thomas-like rebound and for the others to stay healthy. If that happens, there’s quite a bit of meat on the bone.
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New York Giants LB Micah McFadden looks back on his rookie season and discusses what he experienced and learned along the way.
New York Giants rookie linebacker Micah McFadden got an education in his first year in the NFL.
The fifth-round draft pick (No. 146 overall) out of Indiana was the only member of the Giants’ 2022 11-man draft class that played in all 17 games last season.
McFadden took over at inside linebacker after Tae Crowder fell out of favor during the season and then started seven games. He ended the season with 59 total tackles (six for a loss) with two QB hits and a forced fumble.
McFadden was clearly in over his head on some plays but mostly he showed development and the Giants have him in their plans going forward.
During a recent appearance on the Tallen Time Podcast, McFadden spoke about the biggest differences between the college and pro game.
“A lot of people don’t understand the difference between the NFL and college. It’s like night and day, with just the expertise and experience that guys have. You’re playing against guys who have been in the league for 10-15 and they have it down to a science,” McFadden said.
“Now the biggest difference for me is having to play physical into the line of scrimmage. You get that experience in college playing against Ohio State and Michigan. It was definitely a transition in training camp and during the season.’
“It’s definitely a long haul. It’s pretty much two college seasons back to back. Even those preseason games, being a young guy, you play the whole game. But you’re certainly blessed to be there and play the game that you love.”
The Giants are likely to bring in some competition to challenge McFadden this summer. Darrian Beavers, another 2022 draft pick, will be back after missing his rookie year to a knee injury. The team will also likely draft an off-ball linebacker or two and may even bring back veteran Jarrad Davis and/or Jaylon Smith.
McFadden also revealed what he learned during his rookie year in East Rutherford.
“Shedding blockers, that was a big adjustment at my position. It’s become a passing game, and that’s so important these days,” he said. “For me, covering backs out of the backfield was a learning experience, too. The biggest thing is that everything is heightened, from practice, meetings, everything. When you’re playing 22-24 weeks in a row, you need to know what to expect and what to prepare for. You have a pattern and what to expect, and the coaches do a great job with all of that.”
Yes, shedding blockers was one of his weaknesses early on, but as stated, he improved over time. The Giants are looking forward to seeing exactly how big of a leap McFadden can make in Year 2.
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If the New York Giants want to return to the playoffs in 2023, here are five things they’re going to need to settle this offseason.
The New York Giants made significant strides in 2022 under first-year general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, logging a winning record for the first time in six years and winning their first postseason game since Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
They face a crucial offseason if they plan to continue their climb in the NFC hierarchy, however. Much still needs to be done for them to sustain success and remain contenders for years to come.
Here are five things that they can do in the next few months that can help them get back to the playoffs in 2023.
