A Quick Preview of Giants Rookie MiniCamp

On Friday, the Giants will open their rookie minicamp at TPC. All seven draft picks from last weekend’s NFL Draft will be in attendance, plus seven more UDFAs signed after the draft. The Giants will also host nine unsigned players who will be “trying out” for the team as well as other players who still qualify as rookies.

The Giants currently have 84 of the 90 roster spots spoken for. They had 77 players already under contract before the draft and seven more slots are being reserved for the UDFAs they signed afterward. They will obviously have to make room on the roster for one of those in order to stay under 90.

Then, they will have to release a player each time they come to a contract agreement with a draftee.

Confirmed attendees to this week’s rookie minicamp:

Draftees: OL Justin Pugh, DT Jonathan Hankins, DE Damontre Moore, QB Ryan Nassib, S Cooper Taylor, OL Eric Herman and RB Michael Cox. UDFAs: LSU TE Chase Clement, Virginia Tech WR Marcus Davis, Mount Union LB Charles Dieuseul, Charleston Southern DB Charles James, Ohio State LB Etienne Sabino, Virginia Tech S Alonzo Tweedy, Louisville RB Jeremy Wright

Tryout players (unconfirmed): Bethel QB Wilson Masoud, Northern Michigan OT Jace Daniels, Citadel P Cass Couey, Ball State G/C Kitt O’Brien, UMass S Darren Thellen, Southeast Missouri State LS Brandon Gabbard, East Stroudsburg G Seve Rivers, Johnson C. Smith University LT/C Jordan Mosley, Albany State DT Justin Blash

Who am I looking forward to seeing? Just about everyone when I think about it. The team is on a quest to get bigger and younger and this draft goes a long way in helping them do that. Some big bodies will be coming through the door.

Naturally, Pugh and Hankins will be at the center of the media crush. Nassib is being called the Giants’ Tebow by some (except that he is expected to develop into a legitimate NFL QB) because of the situation he’s in. Still, I feel he’ll bring a lot to this roster even if he never gets to play.

Cooper Taylor, who looked a lot like Brad Van Pelt in his highlight reel, will get a lot of focus. So will Damontre Moore, the Texas A&M sack machine. Jerry Reese is excited about OL Eric Herman, who he called “nasty” and “hard-nosed.” Michael Cox might be a pleasant surprise at RB.

From the UDFA group, you know we’ll be paying attention to those two Virginia Tech guys. Davis is a huge target – a la Brandon Marshall – and may be this year’s undrafted gem. Tweedy was the nation’s top ST player last year. The Giants will surely give him a long look this summer.

Not sure if there’s room for Clement on the roster, but his blocking ability will certainly keep the coaches interested. Wright had 10 TDs at Louisville last year. James (@shutdownCB1) is a little short at 5’9″ but was accomplished at the collegiate level.

I know the two LBs (Sabino and Dieuseul) will be under scrutiny this weekend. The masses are upset with the fact the Giants  did not select a LB in the draft and are looking for new blood at the position. The jury is out on these two. Sabino has ability, but his college career was inconsistent and he ended up missing games due a broken fibula last season.

Dieuseul comes from a small school and admittedly I don’t know much about him, but he could be  another find by Reese.