their early impressions of the NFL\u2019s first round picks<\/a>. So far Jordan Raanan has been impressed with both of the Giants\u2019 first rounders, so we\u2019ll go in reverse order and start with offensive lineman Sisi Mauigoa.<\/p>\n10. Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami<\/p>\n
Mauigoa plugged in immediately at right guard next to tackle Jermaine Eluemunor with the first-team offense in the spring. Mauigoa\u2019s desire to learn and impressive physical talent stood out to Eluemunor. It\u2019s hard to imagine, considering his size and body composition, that Mauigoa isn\u2019t immediately a plus run blocker from the start during his rookie season.<\/p>\n
If we\u2019re being honest, there\u2019s only so much an offensive lineman can show before the pads go on. The Giants\u2019 practices have been more intense than we\u2019re used to seeing at this point on the calendar, but there\u2019s still not any real hitting.<\/p>\n
Still, it\u2019s a positive sign that Mauigoa has attacked learning how to be a pro and learning the Giants\u2019 playbook. It\u2019s also a good sign that the early indications are that he\u2019ll (at least) be a strong run blocker as a rookie. Greg Roman simply loves the power run game, and one of the reasons he\u2019s not with the Chargers anymore is that, as good as their offensive line is, they didn\u2019t have the players to play they way he wants. Mauigoa, along with Andrew Thomas and Eluemunor, should be a much better fit for the run plays that Roman dreams up.<\/p>\n
5. Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State<\/p>\n
Reese looks the part. Even on an NFL field, he stands out physically with his size (6-foot-4, 241 pounds), especially at inside linebacker where he\u2019s playing. The Ohio State product impressed with his ability to cover and run with running backs. Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns said he was surprised by that part of his game and that he didn\u2019t know it existed. The Giants were also happy with how Reese handled the mental aspect of the spring.<\/p>\n
Like with Mauigoa, there\u2019s only so much we can learn about a linebacker — inside or outside — before the pads go on. But it\u2019s still a good sign that the athleticism we saw on tape at Ohio State and at the NFL Scouting Combine is translating to an NFL field and against NFL players.<\/p>\n
Reese\u2019s versatility and ability to handle the mental load could make him a key piece for the Giants\u2019 defense and help him hit his stride quickly as a rookie. We\u2019ve seen that the most \u201cpro ready\u201d rookies, players like Justin Pugh or Odell Beckham Jr., aren\u2019t just the ones with the most athletic upside. But rather they\u2019re the ones who have the mental intangibles to quickly pick up NFL playbooks and process the game at NFL speed.<\/p>\n
About a month ago I wrote that Reese could be the key to the Giants\u2019 defense in 2026 (and beyond).<\/p>\n
One of the major challenges facing modern defenses is figuring out ways to contain high octane passing attacks without compromising run defense. One of the solutions has been to use versatile second level defenders to change from even to odd (ie: a 4 to 5-man) fronts underneath two-deep shells (Cover 2 or Cover 4). In addition to Reese\u2019s explosiveness and bend as a pass rusher, his ability to play on the line of scrimmage or drop into coverage gives the Giants the same kind of versatility other teams are getting with hybrid safeties.<\/p>\n
It could be a very good sign for Dennard Wilson\u2019s group that Reese not only seems to fits right in with Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Tremaine Edmunds, but is already impressing the Giants\u2019 coaching staff with his Football IQ.<\/p>\n
Training camp and the preseason are taking their sweet time getting here, but they could be very fun this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s setting up to be a long, hot summer here on the east coast. It\u2019s being made even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":729002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[167478,349,99],"class_list":["post-736628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-new-york-giants-discussion","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}