Giants excited about receivers' explosiveness
Not surprisingly, there is competition among the Giants' wide receivers.
Wide receivers coach Mike Groh believers “top to bottom, we’re much faster.” That seems evident on the practice field.
Groh coached Parris Campbell, who signed with the Giants in free agency, when both were in Indianapolis, so he knew about Campbell’s big-play ability. As a group, the receivers are far more explosive than in recent seasons.
That includes rookie Jalin Hyatt, of whom Groh said, “Oh, yeah, he’s fast. He’s done everything asked of him this spring.”
As for concerns about Hyatt’s ability to run the full route tree, Groh said: “I think if we had major concerns that, maybe, he wouldn’t be here. We’re very pleased with what he’s shown on the field so far.”
During the spring, the Giants' receivers made the case for the need for speed.
"This is definitely the fastest total complete group that I've played with in my career," Campbell said. "We’ve got speed all across the board. It's speed that can do a lot of different things. It's not just guys running in a straight line fast, it's ball in the hands fast. In their routes fast. We complement each other.”
Campbell said he definitely includes tight end Darren Waller in that group. At 6-6, 238, Waller can move.
“He's just an athletic freak,” Campbell said.
Kettle Bellinger
Tight end Daniel Bellinger appears to have bulked up this offseason.
Bellinger said while he’s more muscular, he is actually a little lighter. Bellinger said he is fully healed from the eye injury he sustained last season but does plan to wear a shield this season as “a safety precaution.”
Bellinger has enjoyed getting to know Waller, who was acquired via trade from the Raiders in March.
“He’s not just a great player, he’s a great guy," Bellinger said. "I’m excited to learn from him. I was already watching film on him before we got him. I’ve learned a lot from him, [including] how he attacks guys on defense leverage-wise. He’s a unicorn as a player.”
Still no Saquon
Saquon Barkley is again training this week in Arizona and has missed the entire spring with the team. Players who are franchise-tagged cannot participate unless they sign their franchise tender, which Barkley has not done. The Giants and Barkley's camp have until July 17 to come to agreement on a new contract. Obviously, it would behoove the parties to find common ground. Barkley's market value is more than $10.1 million, and he represented 29% of the Giants' offense last season.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
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