{"id":317846,"date":"2026-08-10T16:30:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/317846\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T16:30:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:30:43","slug":"ny-giants-rookie-report-impactful-arvell-reese-leading-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/317846\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Giants rookie report: Impactful Arvell Reese leading the way"},"content":{"rendered":"

With two weeks of New York Giants training camp in the books, how are the team\u2019s 2026 draft picks performing? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n

The No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft spent his time in West Virginia showing all of the reasons the Giants were thrilled to select him. He made plays going forward against the run and as a blitzer. He made plays going backward in zone coverage, and playing man-to-man. He made plays going sideline to sideline. He occasionally lined up on the edge.<\/p>\n

In other words, he showed every skill the Giants were hoping to see.<\/p>\n

When we had an opportunity to speak with him near the end of the West Virginia stay, Reese wasn\u2019t bragging.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day I come out here, there\u2019s always something I\u2019m looking to get better at,\u201d Reese said. \u201cAs you watch the film, there\u2019s always something to pick up on to get better at and correct the next day. So, yeah, that\u2019s a day-in, day-out thing. Every day I\u2019m looking to get one percent better at something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reese has shown a desire to earn respect from his teammates since the day he was drafted, and that is part of what endears him to veteran players.<\/p>\n

Head coach John Harbaugh loves Reese\u2019s playmaking. What impresses him most, though, is how few assignment mistakes Reese, the team\u2019s youngest player at 20 years of age, makes despite carrying a heavy plate of responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see the talent, obviously,\u201d Harbaugh said. \u201cI think he\u2019s very sharp for a first-year guy. He gets things right pretty much all the time, makes very few mistakes. He\u2019s a very serious-minded guy, and he\u2019s very determined. I mean, he\u2019s doing things well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reese was matter-of-fact when I asked him about Harbaugh\u2019s comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very important. That\u2019s my job to do that. I get to do that, you feel me?,\u201d Reese said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s very important. I take a lot of pride in that, in knowing my stuff and making sure I\u2019m doing everything right. Mistakes happen, but try to just limit those mistakes and not make the same mistake twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Francis \u2018Sisi\u2019 Mauigoa<\/p>\n

Remember Andrew Thomas\u2019s rookie season? John Michael Schmitz\u2019s? Evan Neal\u2019s? None of them were good, and that is important context to keep in mind when you assess Mauigoa, the No. 10 overall pick.<\/p>\n

Harbaugh is not looking for Mauigoa to play like a Hall of Famer from Day 1. He is looking, at least initially, for functionality that does not hold the offense back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard. It\u2019s a tough position to play because there\u2019s so much that goes into it. So, you probably have to be a little bit understanding because everything is new to those guys, and there\u2019s so much nuance and detail to the position. So, the ability to function in a way that you can operate with, that\u2019s probably where it starts,\u201d Harbaugh said recently.\u201c I mean, they have to know where to go. The footwork\u2019s got to be \u2013 fundamentals have to be sound enough that they just don\u2019t get whipped right away, which can happen because it can ruin the play. So, they\u2019ve got to have that certain level of competence out of the gates. That\u2019s a must.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd really, very few guys \u2013 there\u2019s very few offensive linemen, really, no matter where they get drafted, that can actually pull that off their rookie year. So, hopefully Sisi\u2019s one of those guys. So far so good, but we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mauigoa has taken every snap of training camp as the starting right guard. It has certainly looked to the naked eye as though Mauigoa has been meeting or exceeding the bar Harbaugh has set.<\/p>\n

Veteran inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has found himself hooked up regularly with Mauigo during 11-on-11 periods.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a good player. Obviously he\u2019s strong with his hands, has good foot movement, good footwork. Just attention to detail,\u201d Edmunds said. \u201cI think the guys that\u2019s on the o-line are making him better as well. He\u2019s learning from some of the older guys, but early impressions, he\u2019s strong. He understands blocking schemes and where to be at. So, he\u2019s doing a good job right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still early for him though, training camp is a long way. So, I think each day that we come out here, once he starts playing in the games, that would be another test for him and he\u2019ll continue to get better. But so far, I\u2019ve definitely been liking what I\u2019ve been seeing from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nose tackle D.J. Reader has also had some battles with Mauigoa.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very heavy-handed and he can move,\u201d Reader said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to be around some young, joyful energy. I\u2019m getting up there in some years. He\u2019s a kid, I know he\u2019s going to make me bring it every day. He\u2019s going to make me better for it, and he\u2019s going to get better for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can get some push on you. I tend to believe in myself being pretty strong. He does a good job, though, of bringing the power to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jul<\/a><\/p>\n

Jul 30, 2026; White Sulphur Springs, WV, USA; New York Giants cornerback Colton Hood (12) participates in a drill during training camp at The Greenbrier Resort Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The cornerback competition is interesting. Hood, Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks, and Greg Newsome are the top four cornerbacks. In some order. I just couldn\u2019t tell you what that order is. All four have taken first-team reps. All four, including Adebo, have taken second-team reps.<\/p>\n

Hood is holding his own. There have been good moments:<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, he broke up a fade in the corner of the end zone to the since-released Beaux Collins.On Friday, he forced an incompletion in coverage against tight end Isaiah Likely.<\/p>\n

There have been bad moments, like Friday when Dalen Cambre caught a hitch route, spun, and left Hood grabbing at air as he ran down the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cjJust like any rookie. They\u2019re going to have their rookie turns and their rookie curves and everything like that, but he\u2019s getting better and better each and every day, said veteran defensive back Ar\u2019Darius Washington. \u201dHe comes in. He works. He wants to get better. He wants to learn. He wants to talk.\u201c<\/p>\n

Hood knows there are things he still doesn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m learning a lot from the veterans,\u201d Hood said near the end of last week. \u201cJust getting up to speed with the playbook and everything. It\u2019s been a good camp. I\u2019ve learned a lot and I\u2019m going to continue to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of mandatory minicamp, cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch said there were areas of his game where Hood needed to improve. Hood believes he is taking steps in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely recognizing formations better. I have a better understanding of the playbook and what the guys are doing around me,\u201d Hood said. \u201cI think those are the two biggest things that I had to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hood is trying not to focus on how the cornerback depth chart will play out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really wonder about it. I\u2019m just going to take it day-by-day,\u201d Hood said. \u201cJust keep going. And being the best version of myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s time for me to go and be out there, I\u2019m going to be out there and do what I need to do. I\u2019m not really going to look at it, I\u2019m just going to do what I\u2019m told and do what I\u2019m taught, and just do my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third-round pick has not been as productive this summer as he was in the spring. Of course, a big part of that is that Fields was limited during the past week by an undisclosed injury.<\/p>\n

When Fields has been able to practice, many of his reps have been with Jaxson Dart and the starting offense.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a detailed breakdown of Jsmison-Travis\u2019s performance, I can\u2019t give you one. It is virtually impossible to get a clear look at nose tackle play from our vantage point. I do believe Jamison-Travis is making the roster. Let\u2019s see what he does in the preseason games.<\/p>\n

I was hoping to see Davis, the 192nd pick in the draft, show some positional flexibility this summer. To date, that has not happened. Davis has been the third-team left tackle throughout training camp, with undrafted free agent Ryan Schernecke on the right side.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how Davis makes the 53-man roster if left tackle is the only position he can play. Andrew Thomas is healthy, and Marcus Mbow is the swing tackle. Josh Ezeudu has been the second-team right tackle, and the Giants know he has experience at both left tackle and guard in an emergency.<\/p>\n

The 193rd pick in the draft has been impressive. He has consistently been lining up next to Micah McFadden with the second-team defense, and is clearly ahead of Darius Muasau and Zaire Barnes in the competition for roster spots.<\/p>\n

Like Reese, but on a lesser scale, we have seen Kelly make plays going forward, backward, and to the sideline. You wouldn\u2019t think he could do it, but on two occasions I have seen Kelly drop into deep coverage in the middle of the field and deny passes intended for wide receivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With two weeks of New York Giants training camp in the books, how are the team\u2019s 2026 draft…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,7692,112065,11,10],"class_list":["post-317846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-giants-analysis","tag-new-york-giants-training-camp","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}