‘Kudos & Wet Willies’: Who’s up, who’s down after another week of New York Giants training camp

Malik Nabers continues to impress; Deonte Banks, not so much

The New York Giants are off on Sunday. When they return to practice on Monday, things will shift a bit in practice as the Giants look toward their Saturday preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills.

Let’s take our second look at training camp through our ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ lens.

Kudos to …

Malik Nabers — After Tuesday’s injury scare, Nabers could have coasted for a couple of days, done individual drills and walk-through periods while letting his “injured” shoulder heal. Nope.

Head coach Brian Daboll said Nabers would do “stuff” on Thursday. Turns out, Nabers did everything — including catching a 50-yard “moon ball” from Russell Wilson.

You know what that’s called? It’s called leadership. It’s called setting the standard. When a star player doesn’t coast, no one else better coast. And Nabers does not coast.

Evan Neal — The fourth-year offensive lineman made it clear earlier in his career that he was an offensive tackle, not a guard. Well, whether he wanted it or not the Giants have now made him a guard. Neal isn’t moaning about the move, he appears to be taking advantage of it. I won’t be shocked to see him emerge from the summer as the Giants’ starting right guard.

Beaux Collins — The undrafted receiver has impressed Daboll and could make a strong bid for a roster spot. Of course, he will have to stay on the field to do so. Collins has worked on the side during the last couple of practices.

Jaxson Dart — I am not into compiling training camp stats. Overall completion percentage is meaningless at this point. What is important is that almost every day we see something impressive from Dart, whether it is a decision or a quality throw. As Brian Daboll has pointed out, even some of his mistakes are the kind you want a rookie quarterback to make in training camp.

Eli Manning — Gotta give the man props for his SummerSlam get-up.

Dr. Steven Greenstein — I don’t know how Dru Phillips played as well as he did last season while admitting he really couldn’t see. I have tried playing basketball without rec specs, and it’s virtually impossible to play a sport well when everything is a blur. Greenstein performed the LASIK surgery on Phillips that should help the second-year cornerback take a step forward in 2025.

Tom Coughlin — You have to love the former Giants coach. He still has the fire. And, yes, I still think the man has the energy to coach if he really wanted to.

Dee Williams — The cornerback/kick returner probably doesn’t have a path to the 53-man roster, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play. Williams put on a show on Friday:

Montrell Washington — Quietly, Washington is giving himself a chance to bid for a roster spot at wide receiver. A 26-year-old who played in 15 games for the Denver Broncos with four receptions in 2022, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Washington has made a handful of catches during team periods almost every day.

James Hudson — I am still not sure how good Hudson is as a player, but the offensive tackle is endearing himself to his offensive teammates with his energy and his “take no crap” mindset. Of course, defensive players like Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns might feel differently.

Wet Willies to …

Deonte Banks — Entering his third season, it seems that the former first-round pick still has not learned how to turn his head and find the football while he is in coverage. Early in the week, he committed defensive pass interference in the end zone on a long, floating pass from Russell Wilson he should have been able to find and at least knock down. On Saturday, Banks committed a holding penalty and got burned deep by Nabers in one-on-one drills.

Not that it is ‘WW’ worthy, but Banks’ comfort in front of a microphone has not improved, either. His Tuesday session with the media was painful, filled with short, one-sentence answers.

The Big Blue View jinx — We post a big feature on rookie running back Cam Skattebo, and suddenly the Giants’ “carnage creator” is missing practice time with an injury. Shame on us.

Pre-snap penalties — There have been far too many, and I was tired of watching the Giants commit them about two days into training camp. It seems Brian Daboll has finally grown tired of them, as well:

It is about time. The Giants can’t repeat the sloppy, self-defeating, play of last season.

Tommy DeVito — The third-year quarterback had a terrible practice on Friday, per reporters on the scene. On Saturday, he only got on the field for one 11-on-11 session and went 0 for 2 with one near interception. He also had a horrid throw that barely reached the back of the end zone when the team had quarterbacks play “Hit the Crossbar” at the end of Saturday’s practice.