The Giants took the field Thursday for their final practice ahead of Saturday's preseason finale against the New York Jets.

The two teams met in Florham Park on Wednesday for a joint practice, which saw the Giants' starters match up against the Jets starters in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.

"It was a productive practice all the way around," Daboll said. "That's how you want to practice against another team. No fights. It was good, a good productive practice. There was some stuff to learn from just like every practice. There were some good plays, some plays you learn from. But definitely enjoyed practicing with that team, how we did it. Got a lot out of it."

Defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence and quarterback Tommy DeVito spoke to the media after Thursday's practice.

Here are five things we learned at the podium Thursday.

1. Daboll 'pleased' with wide receivers

Between the selection of Malik Nabers and the return of a fully healthy Wan'Dale Robinson, the Giants' wide receivers look a lot different than it did this time last year. Add in Darius Slayton, who is coming off his fourth 700-yard campaign in five years, and Jalin Hyatt heading into his second season in the NFL, and it's easy to see why the Giants are encouraged by the top of their WR depth chart. Daboll spoke about Hyatt's comfort in Year 2 in the system, along with the performance of the other three top receivers this summer, before Thursday's practice.

"Yeah, experience helps," Daboll said about Hyatt. "So, getting lined up, going to the right spot, playing fast. He's made a good jump. Now we'll take that into the season. But I'm pleased with all four of those guys. Slay, he's been very, very consistent since he's been here. I have a lot of confidence in him. I know the quarterback does as well. And then Nabers is a rookie who's had a good camp. And Wan'Dale, who's now healthy and feels good. So, keep working with those four guys and see what happens."

Outside of Slayton and Hyatt, that group of wide receivers come in different shapes and sizes. While they may look different when it comes to their height and weight, all four receivers share a couple of significant skills that are vital to the team's offense.

"I like that they're fast and quick," Daboll added. "So, they can run, they can create some separation. Some are shorter, some are taller. But I like those. They're young. Obviously, Slayton's got some experience. So, we'll keep growing and building them up and improving them. But I like their skill set."

2. Dexter: 'Don't let them in our house'

One of the reasons Daboll said defensive coordinator Shane Bowen was brought in this offseason was the success his Titans' defenses had in the red zone. Tennessee allowed a touchdown on just 37.7 percent of opponents' trips inside the 20-yard line last season, which was the No. 1 mark in the NFL. And it wasn't just this past season that the Titans performed well with their backs against the wall, as the unit also finished with the No. 7 red zone defense in 2021 and No. 15 in 2022.

Last weekend, we saw the first glimpse of this new red zone defense with the projected starters on the field. On their first drive of the game, the Texans had a first and goal from the Giants' seven-yard line. Bowen's defense stood strong, shutting Houston down on four straight plays to force a turnover on downs. On the fourth down play, Brian Burns got around a lineman to pressure C.J. Stroud as Dexter Lawrence proceeded to bat the ball down at the line of scrimmage. According to the two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman, this is what the Giants' defense wants to pride itself on this season.

"We say, 'don't let them in our house'," Lawrence said Thursday. "We want to protect the house at all costs and, even that long drive, guys still fought to the end, and we ended up getting the turnover on downs and that's the maturity that you want to see in your defense."

After the unit finished 25^th in red zone defense in 2023, improving close to the goal line could go a long way in helping the defense take a big step this season.

3. Tae Banks 'improving'

Cornerback Tae Banks had a solid rookie campaign last year, finishing with two interceptions and 11 passes defensed to go with his 64 tackles (53 solo) and two tackles for loss. He earned a passer rating against of 84.7, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked 24th out of 74 qualified cornerbacks, in addition to allowing a 57.6 completion rate (53 receptions allowed on 92 targets). Similar to Hyatt, Daboll sees Banks' comfort increasing heading into Year 2 as the young corner continues to develop.

"He's still young, still improving," the head coach said. "He works hard with (Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach) Jerome (Henderson) every day. Obviously, as he's played in this new system, he gets more comfortable. But all our young guys, whether it's first year, second year, third year, continue to grow."

Going into the regular season, Banks is solidified as the team's top cornerback. He will likely find himself matched up against opposing team's top wide receivers often, which assistant general manager Brandon Brown believes the second-year corner is ready for.

"Tae is up for the challenge of wanting to prove that he can be a number one corner in this league," Brown told the media earlier this week. "He knows that he's got to earn it and that's not going to be given to him."

4. Neal could return vs. Jets

Last week, Evan Neal returned to team drills for the first time in training camp. The third-year tackle, who was working his way back from last year's foot injury, has been slowly ramped up as he inches closer to game action. While he is still unsure if Neal will play against the Jets on Saturday, Daboll hopes the young tackle will be able to suit up.

"Yeah, it'd be good," the head coach said about Neal potentially taking the field in the preseason finale. "We'll see how he does at practice today. We ramped him up a little bit more yesterday. Talked to the trainers. We'll do what's best for the player and for us."

Since returning to team drills, Neal has looked strong in pass protection. The 6-foot-7, 340-pound tackle performed well during team drills against the Jets on Wednesday, which his head coach said was a valuable step in his recovery.

"He did a good job," Daboll told the media. "Coming back, I'm not saying D.J., but he's had a long layoff too, so being able to play and compete against another team, it was important to get him those reps. Hopefully, we'll see him in the game."

5. 'You want to try to attack all areas of the field'

In last weekend's game against the Texans, quarterback Daniel Jones threw four passes that went at least 20 yards in the air, according to Pro Football Focus, two of which he completed. In his six games last year, Jones completed the same number of 20+ yard passes. He only attempted 12 such passes all season, and the maximum number of attempts he had in one single game was four.

The fact that Jones threw four passes that deep down the field in just one half against the Texans goes to show that the Giants are not going to be afraid to take some deep shots this year. Doing this should help open up the rest of the field for the offense, which should create a more balanced attack.

"Anytime you want to try to attack all areas of the field," Daboll told the media. "I think there were 323 plays of 40 yards or more last year in all the games. So that accounts for less than one percent of the entire season, 0.9 percent exactly. So, you have to do a good job of threatening the vertical part of the field. No question about it. But you also have to be able to sustain drives. Anytime you can hit a big one, usually you're going to have an opportunity to get some points on the board. And we've actively been doing that throughout OTAs and camp of pushing the ball down the field. But, again, you have to make the right decision when you're playing quarterback. So, if they're all playing deep and there's a throw to Wan'Dale where you can gain 15, 18 yards on a run after catch, so be it.

"But definitely threatening the deep part of the field, intermediate, short, horizontal, that's what you want to do offensively is to try to create as many mismatches as you can, whether it's zone and you flood zones, whether it's man-to-man and you're using different type of plays, but trying to attack all areas of the field versus the defense to try to make it as tough on them as you can."