The 6-foot, 291-pounder made Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks” List after bench pressing 495 pounds this offseason with 42 reps at 225. His game is about motor, instincts and hands — exactly what typically excites DL coach Andre Patterson regarding tools to work with. Chatman was also invited to the Seahawks’ rookie camp this week, per Aaron Wilson.
The Giants are concentrating on the trenches this offseason, even though they didn’t use any of their six draft picks on either line.
The New York Giants entered the 2024 NFL draft seeking out players who could help them both build their roster and enhance their culture.
So when they selected Purdue’s soon-to-be 25-year-old everyman, running back/receiver Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the fifth round, fans began to piece together the mindset.
“Some of these guys are older, too, relative to what people have been through the past few years, I would say, COVID and all those other things,” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said after the draft.
“Some guys are a little bit older. He’s a former receiver. In terms of yards per carry, he’s been pretty good. He’s an athlete who has played receiver and then played running back and has some good production. We’ll throw him in the mix. Whether that’s in the kickoff return game or whether that’s at running back or the receiving part of it, we’ve got to do a good job of getting him in here and seeing where he’s at and then trying to fit him into the things that he can do well.”
Tracy was the first of the Giants’ six draft picks to sign his rookie deal, which was completed this week. He sloughed that off and revealed the real reason why he is here.
“I’m here to play football,” Tracy said. “I’m not really worried about the business side of it. If I do what I do on the football field, everything else will come.”
Tracy believes he could not have landed in a better place. The Giants are entering the post-Saquon Barkley era with a committee approach at running back. He feels he’s a good fit with his skill set.
“I’ve been working for this for 20 years”
Tyrone Tracy Jr. talks about the “special moment” of being drafted by the Giants: pic.twitter.com/SeWcYxeEGI
“I think it’s a huge advantage,” he said regarding his versatility. “The league now is turning toward more of a passing league within the running back game. If you’re a running back in this NFL today, you have to be able to run the ball well and also catch the ball out of the backfield. So, it’s really good that I can do both and I have the receiver background.”
Tracy figures to help out on special teams, where he has extensive experience as a returner.
“It kind of added a little bit more value to me and really the rest of running backs because that’s something we can place in our bag and do on the field and add to our skillset,” Tracy said. “I was pretty happy, to say the least.”
All in all, the young man from Indianapolis is glad to be Giant.
“For me to actually be on an NFL team, be on a roster,” Tracy said, “it means more to me than people know.”
The New York Giants selected UCLA linebacker Darius Muasau with their sixth and final pick in this year’s NFL draft (No. 183 overall) and are stoked about the energy and production he can bring to their defense and special teams.
“He’s a good football player,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said after the draft. “He was actually with (Michael Ghobrial), our special teams coach, they crossed paths at Hawaii. 440 career tackles, hasn’t missed a game, smart, tough, dependable, instinctive. Our special teams coach, he’s coached him, has a vision for him on special teams.”
Muasau, speaking at the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend out at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center, revealed that he has a split personality of sorts — one for public consumption and the other once he gets on the field.
Darius Muasau talks about his “alter ego” on the field:
“Once I get onto that field, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s somebody else on that field.” pic.twitter.com/kOmQ3mFOcs
Muasau talked about his previous encounter with Ghobrial at the University of Hawaii, where Muasau played before transferring to UCLA.
“I only played special teams that year,” Muasau said. “That’s how I contributed to the team. That was my role there. I guess I was on every special team also at the time. I was on kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return. That is how I made my money out there. I just love running down, playing the ball, just making plays for the team. Any way to contribute to the team. That’s the way I did it.
“Now it’s a small world seeing Coach Ghobrial here now. Just a full circle moment having him here. Coming from the University of Hawai’i to now here in New York, it’s crazy.”
Muasau is a West coaster who is preparing for a career on the East Coast. He’s only seen snow once in his lifetime.
“I played in Wyoming, high altitude, and it was like light snow,” Muasau said. “But nothing really crazy. I’m also looking forward to a white Christmas. I haven’t seen anything like that in Hawaii, so I’m just really excited to be here.”
The New York Giants made their biggest move of the offseason during the heart of free agency when they acquired edge rusher Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers.
While the Giants let Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney sign elsewhere, general manager Joe Schoen executing the trade to acquire Burns showed the team is prioritizing premium positions as they continue to build the roster.
Burns joins a talented defensive front that includes both Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence.
TRADED FOR: 2024 second- and fifth-round picks, 2025 conditional fifth-round pick (with Carolina receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick)
I thought about slotting Burns at the top of this list, and maybe I should have. Of everyone in my top 10, he seems like the safest lock to play like a star for his new team in 2024. Unlike Allen and Diggs, the 26-year-old is still squarely in his prime, and unlike Jeudy, he’s a proven entity with a high floor. Burns has had a double-digit pressure rate every year of his career, per Next Gen Stats, and he should team with Kayvon Thibodeaux to boost a defense that finished 30th in pressure rate last season. The problem is, I could see Burns wrecking opponents this season and the Giants still stumbling because of offensive limitations. So, perhaps unfairly, he lands here, capped, in a way, by the lingering uncertainty around what Daniel Jones will bring to the table.
Burns playing with talent all around him may be the most significant reason that he is expected to have an impact in his first season in a Giants’ uniform.
Between Burns and Thibodeaux, the Giants should be able to rush the passer at ease. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Burns could have his best season given the upgrade in the talent around him.
New York Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux has his sights set on breaking the single-season sack record (22.5) in 2024.
“I mean, I’m always going to shoot for the stars, so only thing you can do from here is go for the record,” he told the New York Post.
Thibodeaux does not make this statement lightly as he thinks it is very much in the cards.
“As long as you believe in it, it’s as realistic as you want it to be,” Thibodeaux said, “so if you ask me, it’s very real.”
While it is a lofty goal, the Oregon product has improved tremendously since entering the league when it comes to getting after the quarterback.
As a rookie, Thibodeaux posted a modest four sacks. However, he nearly tripled that in his sophomore season in the NFL as he finished with 11.5 sacks.
Now the former fifth overall pick will have every opportunity to improve on that as he now has two-time Pro Bowler edge rusher Brian Burns on the opposite side.
“He challenges me,” Thibodeaux said. “When you’re talking about having somebody who’s similar body types, similar mindsets that has reached a higher level of greatness than I have, it’s nothing but motivation, it’s constant work whether we’re watching film with each other, whether we’re talking ball or whether we’re on the field getting pass rush in, and seeing how he does things and how I can implement it in my game and then there’s certain things that I do differently that he can implement in his game.”
Burns has averaged nearly 10 sacks per season over the last three years and with this type of edge rushing threat on the opposite side, it should open up more room for Thibodeaux to work.
One can not forget about Dexter Lawrence as well as he has been causing havoc for quarterbacks from the nose tackle position recording 12 sacks and 49 quarterback hits in only the last two seasons.
The New York Giants opened their annual rookie minicamp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Friday. It was the first time the media got to see the team’s 2024 draft class in their new environment.
The first-time interviews are usually awkward and little is ever revealed as the youngsters are in awe of their new surroundings and are still finding their way around.
Second-round pick Tyler Nubin, a highly-touted safety out of Minnesota, had to pinch himself. He was finally in the NFL and had landed with one of the league’s flagship franchises.
“Yeah, 100 percent,” Nubin told reporters when asked if yesterday was a big day for him. “Almost shed a tear when I saw my helmet and my locker. It’s just awesome. Just being able to be out here, play the game I love, again, especially for this great, storied organization, I couldn’t thank this organization enough.”
By admission, Nubin is not very familiar with the City of New York, which he vows to explore. He was asked about what sights he was looking forward to seeing.
“Honestly, everything,” he said. “I’ve never really explored the city like that before. Played Spider-Man (the video game) for all my life, so I kind of know where some stuff is at swinging through the city. But seeing it in real life is going to be cooler for sure.”
Nubin’s New York experience is about to go from fantasy to reality very quickly in the next few months. The Giants are relying on him to fill the hole left by the departure of Xavier McKinney in free agency.
McKinney played every defensive snap in 2023. Nubin is ready for the challenge.
“You’re getting a dog, man. You are getting somebody that’s not going to stop until — honestly just never going to stop really. I love the game too much. I feel like whatever I have to do to be successful on the field I’m going to do and sacrifice for this team, this city, and I’m going to love doing it,” he said.
The New York Giants selected Kentucky defensive back Andru “Dru” Phillips in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft in an ongoing effort to beef up their secondary.
The Giants plan on deploying the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Phillips in several roles. They entered the draft in need of a physical outside corner. Phillips is certainly physical enough, but he may not fill the bill on the outside.
“Every defense is specifically unique,” Philips told reporters on the first day of the Giants’ rookie minicamp on Friday. “So, this one, some different techniques to what I do down at nickel. Just got to pick up on it. The faster I get it, the easier it’s coming. I’m just in the playbook trying to study and make sure I get everything right.”
But when push comes to shove, Phillips says he favors playing in packages.
“I can play both, but preferably the nickel position,” he said. “When I went to Kentucky, I always wanted to play nickel the whole time. I didn’t really get an opportunity until my junior year. Once I got the opportunity I kind of like — I embodied it. I felt like it’s who I was. That’s what I did best, so I went all in on it. It carried over here, so I’m out here playing nickel now.”
Phillips added that there is “so much going on at that nickel.”
“I like being in control a lot of times. You get to communicate more. You’re involved in the run game as well as the pass game. A lot of times on certain down distances you know that ball is coming to you. I’m trying just to make as many plays as possible,” he said.
The Giants could very well stick with Phillips in the slot and at nickel and move another one of their young defensive backs such as Cor’Dale Flott or Tre Hawkins III to the outside.
One thing is for sure: The Giants are getting a gamer — a physical player — in Phillips.
“I take a lot of pride in it. It’s probably one of the top things about who I am,” Phillips said of his physical style. “I know I’m (not) the 6’4” corner, but you’ve got to make up for it in some ways. I’ve always known that. It was one thing I never shied away from my whole life.
“I was that one kid, I was going — as a little kid I was just a daredevil. I just want to go do whatever… It just comes from who I am as a person. I don’t want to shy away from anything and that’s from anybody or any circumstance. It’s kind of just second nature.”
New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, the sixth overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft, recently revealed that he and former LSU teammate, Jayden Daniels, had a $10,000 running bet on who would be this year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Daniels, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was Nabers’ quarterback at LSU and the second overall selection in the draft by the Washington Commanders.
On Friday, at the Giants’ rookie minicamp, Nabers told reporters that the bet was off.
The bet was canceled after Nabers and Daniels realized they might be bumping up against the league’s policies on gambling.
“I’m educated now that I got here about sports betting and gambling,” Nabers said. “We’re calling the bet off. There is no bet now. It was just another brother pushing another brother to try to get to success. That’s all it was.”
The competition is far from over, though. Nabers and Daniels will face off twice this season. That is on the back burner for the moment. Nabers has bigger fish to fry, such as learning the playbook and fitting in with his new team.
“For right now, it’s just learning the playbook, interacting with my teammates, interacting with the rookies here. You know, trying to learn how to be a Giant, following the instructions or rules they have here. It’s just being a pro at the end of the day,” he said.
Nabers (6-0, 200 lbs.) earned unanimous All-America honors in 2023, when he led the nation with 120.7 receiving yards per contest. He also led the FBS in plays of 20-plus yards (34) and 30-plus yards (17). He finished No. 1 in the SEC in receptions (89) and receiving yards (1,569) and ranked No. 2 in the league in receiving touchdowns (14).
Nabers capped his LSU career as the school’s all-time leader in receptions (189) and receiving yards (3,003). He is one of only two players in LSU history to top the 3,000-yard mark in receiving yards, joining Josh Reed (3,001 yards from 1999-2001). He ranks No. 7 in LSU history in receiving touchdowns with 21 and led the SEC in receptions in back-to-back years. Nabers capped his career with at least one reception in 37 consecutive games.
The signing came right before the Giants began their rookie minicamp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center on Friday morning.
The New York Giants officially announced the hiring of team legend Chris Snee on Friday. He joins the personnel department as a senior scout.
“I’m super excited about it,” Snee said. “I’m a Giant, and I always have been, despite having worn Jaguars clothes for four years when I scouted down there. Everyone knows my heart has always been here. This is where I feel like I belong and where I want to be, and I’m going to come in and work my tail off.”
Snee previously spent four seasons working for his father-in-law and retired Giants head coach, Tom Coughlin, with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2017-2020.
“By the final year, it evolved into defensive line as well, which is kind of the natural progression,” Snee said. “I’m sure every scout will tell you they have their positions that they’re stronger at evaluating, but I definitely would like to be able to evaluate all positions and learn. Never been a guy to come in and think I know everything because I don’t. I’m in there and I want to continue to listen to those who have done it for years, which is what I did in Jacksonville. I kind of listened to those vets down there. That’s what I’ll do in this case, too. Just continue to learn the world of scouting.”
After his time with the Jags, Snee spent two seasons serving as an analyst with Boston College. Now he’s back where it all began.
“It came about by me sending a text,” Snee said. “It was one of those where I met with him a few years ago, and I had some things personally that I wanted to see through, so I couldn’t give the amount of time that was required. And then I took the job at B.C. I didn’t want to be there for a few months and leave, so I stayed there for a couple of years and tried to help up there. I think it was March, early March, I sent Joe a text and it kind of went from there.”
Following his retirement, Snee took a break from the game of football but that was short-lived. You can take the man out of football but you can’t take football out of the man.
“It’s been a progression for me,” he said. “The first year I didn’t watch at all. I didn’t watch one game. That was even when Tom was still the coach. I went to a game later that first year. It was just hard for me. And then I’d watch a little, and then it was more and more. The last couple years, I’ve watched as many games as my schedule would allow. If I wasn’t driving to Boston or somewhere else, or coaching (his children’s youth teams), I was watching the game for sure and paying attention. Always rooting for them, but I didn’t watch because I wanted to keep playing. It was just hard to walk away.
“I retired when I was 32. I thought I would be able to kind of survive without the game. Some guys can, but I can’t. I wanted to focus on my family, which I’ve done, but they’re older now and I’ve coached them through their years of youth sports. It probably cost me job opportunities, but I wouldn’t go back and change a thing. Those years you can’t get back. People approached me from the finance world and real estate, and it just boiled down to, do I want to learn something new, or do I want to stay in the game that I love? I love football. I love everything about it. So, even in my years where I wasn’t with an organization, I was still on the field in town coaching the kids or helping out with high school.”
In addition to announcing the Snee hire, the Giants also announced the promotion of two in the personnel department.
Nick La Testa, who was a pro scout, is now the assistant director of pro scouting. Charles Tisch, a football operations assistant, is now the manager, football administration.
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