The New York Giants began the ninth and final week of their offseason workout program on Monday at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. The team has three more practices and then it's summer break for the players until the start of training camp at the end of July.
Here are the players who stood out at OTA No. 7:
CB JULIAN LOVE: Notre Dame's career leader in pass break-ups had a few today in a Giants jersey. The rookie fourth-round draft pick broke up two early in team drills before the levee broke and he intercepted a Daniel Jones pass. His defensive teammates shouted that they knew it was coming in recognition of the day he was already having. Love was one of three finalists last season for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back. The winner of the award was Georgia's DeAndre Baker, who is now Love's teammate on the Giants. For good measure, Love also downed a punt near the five-yard line during a special teams drill. He played the short hop perfectly to get a hand on the ball before it skipped into the end zone.
OLB OSHANE XIMINES: The X-Man can't hit anyone yet, but he was a frequent presence in the backfield today. He showed that first-step quickness that the Giants talked about when they drafted him in the third round out of Old Dominion. Likewise, Markus Golden has put together a string of good practices and would have notched another "sack" today if not for the non-contact rules. Golden, who had 12.5 sacks in 2016 under James Bettcher in Arizona before suffering a knee injury, is looking to get back on track with his new team and old coach.
WR BENNIE FOWLER: On a productive day for the defense, the 6-foot-1, 212-pound receiver stood out for the offense. He caught a touchdown from Alex Tanney during one-on-one drills, but his best play came during a blitz period. On the first rep with Jones under center, the rookie came out firing and heaved a pass up for Fowler nearly half the length of the field. Fowler elevated and made the catch as he spun backwards. He ran back to the huddle and had another catch on the very next play.
Other plays of note: Rookie WR Darius Slayton, who has impressed coach Pat Shurmur, added to his highlight reel with two nice catches. The first was a touchdown in the red zone, and the second came on an intermediate pass over the middle where Slayton showed the 40.5-inch vertical everyone saw at the combine. Both passes were from Tanney. Slayton also stretched out to down a punt at the goal line…QB Eli Manning had a pair of 10-yard touchdowns in one-on-ones to WRs Cody Latimer and Sterling Shepard…S Kamrin Moore played a fade pass into the end zone perfectly. WR Russell Shepard ran out of room and Moore broke up the pass in the back-left corner…LB Mark McLaurin intercepted a high throw that S Kenny Ladler initially got a hand on for the assist. Ladler later broke up a pass intended for Russell Shepard on the sideline…S Michael Thomas, who made the Pro Bowl last season as a special teamer, also broke up a pass…The defense closed out practice with back-to-back interceptions. DL Alex Jenkins batted a pass to himself at the line of scrimmage, and CB Tony Lippett got his hands on an overthrow.
