NFL Offseason

As Giants get ready for training camp, 3 biggest questions facing the team

How will Giants QB Jaxson Dart fare this season with a brand new offensive coaching staff guiding him? Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images

As a New York Giants beat writer, I think about the team a lot. Like, all the time. Occasionally, however, something happens that diverts my attention — at least a little.

In this case, that something was the New York Knicks. While I covered Giants OTAs and minicamp, I’d be lying if I said I, like the rest of New York City, wasn’t consumed by the Knicks’ historic run to an NBA championship. It was an incredible time to be living in New York, and I was fortunate enough to be a small part of The Athletic’s coverage of the title run.

My summer vacation started before the championship parade, so I missed out. Before leaving, I wanted to reconnect with the Giants and began thinking about the biggest questions I have about this team as it left for its summer break.

And that’s what I have for you today. These are three of the biggest questions I have about the Giants as we wait for them to return to the football field for training camp at the end of July.

What will Year 2 of Jaxson Dart look like?

Dart spent the latter part of the offseason in the spotlight due to his off-the-field activities, but putting politics aside, it’s been an offseason of change for Dart. Not only does he, like his teammates, have a new coach in John Harbaugh, but he also has a new offensive coordinator in Matt Nagy. What will that relationship look like? And even beyond how he works with Nagy, Dart has a room full of experienced coaches, including senior offensive assistant Greg Roman and passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan. Roman, of course, is a long-time NFL play caller, while Callahan just spent two seasons as the Tennessee Titans’ head coach. It’s early on for all of them in New York, but you can’t help but wonder how all these new perspectives will blend to try to get the best out of Dart.

“I think he’s adjusting really well,” Harbaugh said recently of Dart’s transition to the new offense. “He looks good. I love his competitiveness. He wants to be perfect every play. It’s a work in progress all the time.”

A big part of Dart’s progression will, of course, be how much growth we see in his decision-making when it comes to when and how to run the ball. To be fair to last year’s interim staff, Dart did seem to have a better understanding later in the season about when it’s OK to put his body on the line. Still, we know situational awareness was one of the first topics of conversation the quarterback had with Nagy. Dart knows that he can’t help the team if he’s not on the field. Of course, saying it is one thing. We’ll see how far he’s progressed when the games start.

When will Malik Nabers return?

Last summer, we were all wondering when star left tackle Andrew Thomas, who was recovering from Lisfranc surgery, would return. This summer, we’re wondering about another offensive star — Malik Nabers.

It’s impossible to know right now if Nabers will be “fine” for Week 1, as general manager Joe Schoen recently told Yahoo Sports he expects the receiver to be. It could be he’ll need more time to recover after undergoing a cleanup surgery this spring following an initial surgery in the fall to repair the ACL and meniscus in his right knee.

Harbaugh did not give a target date when asked about Nabers’ timeline at the end of the offseason program. Instead, he said, “He’s making really good progress right now. I’m very hopeful he’ll be back soon.”

Dart and the Giants need Harbaugh’s hopes to come true because it’s tough to be too optimistic about this offense without Nabers leading the skill group. The Giants still have some quality options, with a solid running back room and free-agent addition Isaiah Likely now fronting the tight end group. At wide receiver, however, the Giants have a lot of questions behind Nabers.

Presumptive No. 2 Darius Slayton spent the offseason program recovering from a sports hernia surgery, so we have yet to see what the vision is for him in this offense. The Giants also drafted rookie Malachi Fields in the third round before adding a trio of veterans in Odell Beckham Jr., Braxton Berrios and JuJu Smith-Schuster. As much excitement as the Beckham signing generated, at this point in his career, he’s obviously not going to be the same caliber of player he used to be. He’s not even guaranteed to make the roster.

No, without Nabers, this offense is lacking firepower. If he’s not ready to go early this season, it will be much harder for Dart to make the Year 2 leap, so many are hoping he can.

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Is there competition at kicker?

OK, enough about the offense. Let’s get to the phase of the game everyone is most interested in: special teams! I’m only half kidding. In New York, special teams have been an Achilles’ heel over the past few seasons. The hope, of course, is that those issues are rectified with Harbaugh in town, as the coach is regarded as a special teams expert.

The anticipated kicker competition has already fizzled out, with one of the contestants cut before minicamp. Veteran Jason Sanders was the presumed favorite going into the spring, but he went 7-of-11 on field goals in open practices this spring and was released. That leaves undrafted free agent Dominic Zvada and second-year player Ben Sauls, who finished last season as the Giants’ kicker, going 8-for-8 on his field-goal attempts. Despite Sauls’ impressive debut, Zvada appears to be the frontrunner. Sauls made only 19 of his 36 field goals this spring in open practices. Meanwhile, Zvada made 13-of-13 field goals at minicamp.

Harbaugh pointed out that Sauls’ misses have all been “left,” and the kicker knows the problem from a technique standpoint.

“He’s just got to lock in and fix it. He’ll do that. I’m confident in it,” Harbaugh said.

If Sauls can fix his issues, the kicker competition will actually heat up in training camp. In the meantime, we’ll see if another veteran is brought in to add to the competition.

Jun 24, 2026

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