Eli Manning tops Monday's list of camp standouts

Aug 05, 2019 at 04:01 PM

Dan Salomone

Senior Managing Editor, Giants.com

After a players day off, the Giants resumed training camp on Monday at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. The team has one more full practice tomorrow before Thursday's preseason opener against the Jets.

Here are today's practice standouts:

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QB Eli Manning: The 38-year-old quarterback made one of his best throws of the spring or summer today. He dropped in a perfect pass to wide receiver Cody Latimer, who made an equally impressive catch over his shoulder down the right sideline.

"I think Eli has done a wonderful job taking care of himself," offensive assistant Ryan Roeder said last week. "He works at it endlessly and I think the things he does on the field, you can't just say, 'Oh, he's done that because he's been here so long.' It's just really impressive the way he can diagnose a defense. Physically, I think he's done an unbelievable job taking care of his himself. He's just a phenomenal teammate. It's really a great room. It's really a great room for guys to learn and grow and just be a part of."

CB DeAndre Baker: The first-round draft choice is high on the list of players to watch on Thursday when he and the rest of the rookies take the field for the first time as Giants. Baker got the best of Manning on a play today, breaking up a pass intended for wide receiver Golden Tate on the left sideline.

"I think he's getting more and more confident within the system," coach Pat Shurmur said of Baker. "The next phase is when we start playing the games Thursday, out there against another opponent. Then we'll see if he can take the next step. He's a confident guy in general, which is part of his charm. But he's starting to get more and more comfortable playing the position, so it shows up a little more."

WR Sterling Shepard: Anyone wearing a yellow pinny in a sea of blue and white jerseys is going to stand out, but that wasn't the only reason Shepard did today. If not for the color he was wearing, you wouldn't really be able to tell Shepard is limited with a broken thumb. He was once again out there running with the team and catching passes with the non-injured hand. There was one play when he was matched up with cornerback Grant Haley, who was also in a yellow non-contact pinny, and Shepard made a slick catch as he spun around and secured it. Shurmur values his toughness, but they want to be smart about it at the same time.

"Well, there are times where people don't do it exactly the way we want it," Shurmur said. "So, then you correct them. The fact that he's wearing a yellow jersey, you should be alerted to the fact that you don't touch him. To this point, there have been a couple of times that he got touched. He's fine."

So what's the upside of throwing to him if he can't catch?

"Yeah, the one-handed catches, there is an upside," Shurmur said. "He's out there running routes. I think because of what it takes to play receiver, he's able to do those things. Anytime we're practicing, we have to be smart. That's the fine line between trying to get your work and being smart so that we can all make it to game day. I can understand the questions there. We just try to continue to be smart with everything we do."

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RB Saquon Barkley (26) at New York Giants Training Camp 2019 at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, NJ