NY Giants OTA #9 Report & Latest Giants News & Rumors

OTA 9 Recap

The offense looked very crisp during OTA 9. Starting with 7-on-7 drills, Daniel Jones went 5 of 6 with four touchdowns. The first TD was to Jalin Hyatt, followed by Malik Nabers, another to Hyatt, and the fourth to Wan'Dale Robinson. During the team portion, Drew Lock impressed by going 9 for 10 with two touchdowns to Malik Nabers and another to Isaiah Hodgins during red zone drills. Tommy DeVito connected with Allen Robinson for a TD, while Lawrence Cager and John Jiles caught touchdowns from Nathan Rourke. On defense, Dane Belton, Jason Pinnock, and Jalen Mills all batted down passes, with Jordon Riley deflecting one at the line. Boogie Basham could have had two sacks, once sharing with DJ Davidson. Azeez Ojulari forced a quick throw by getting into the backfield, and Kayvon Thibodeaux disrupted the QB’s timing multiple times.

Art Stapleton praised Malik Nabers, saying, “I have not seen a receiver have a practice like he did today since Odell. Wish I could give you more than words and the video is the team opts to put out. Jumped off the page, so to speak. If this were training camp, my word.” Stapleton is a respected columnist and podcaster who has covered the Giants for many years. There has been a lot of hype surrounding Nabers, but should we believe the OTA hype? After all, Darren Waller was called a unicorn and Tre Hawkins was deemed the steal of the draft last year, and we know how their seasons turned out.

Sterling Shepard signed a 1-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reuniting with his college QB from Oklahoma, Baker Mayfield. The Bucs have star WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, along with young talents like second-year receiver Trey Palmer and rookie Jalen McMillan. It will be tough for Shepard to make the team, but fans still root for him. If he makes the squad, the Giants play the Bucs at MetLife in Week 11 on November 24th.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stirred controversy by telling Giants fans, “You know, we got your best player,” referring to Saquon Barkley. The Eagles signed Barkley on the first day of free agency tampering to a 3-year, $37.75M contract with $26M guaranteed. The Eagles are currently under investigation for improper contact during the tampering period. The Giants didn't even make an offer to Barkley, whose departure leaves Dexter Lawrence and Andrew Thomas as arguably the Giants' best players. Some argue that Xavier McKinney, who is younger and played every down last season, was a more significant loss than Barkley. Barkley ended his Giants tenure 4th in rushing yards and 7th in total yards, playing in 74 games while the team went 34-64-1 since he was drafted second overall in 2018.

Giants to Wear New 100th Season Century Red Uniforms Week 1 Against the Minnesota Vikings

Jalin Hyatt expressed confidence in the Giants making the playoffs, saying, "Just looking at our team, looking at what we got -- for goals, I just want a team goal. We have a playoff team. That's what we want to do. That's our focus and we're gonna get there." While there are low expectations around the league, it’s good to see players aiming high. Although the Giants making the playoffs seems unlikely, strange