EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- There wasn’t a lot to glean from the New York Giants’ first practice of training camp. The crowd was somewhat muted as coach Ben McAdoo ran his team through a light practice that didn’t include any offense vs. defense drills. It was more walk-through than practice.
And that was by design.
"[Thursday] we went out and moved them around a little bit, it was good. [Friday] we saw how they responded," coach Ben McAdoo said. "We didn’t do a lot of heavy work today, had about 3-4 speed periods out there. Dusted them off really, footballwise, and we will go in and take a look at it and we will go from there. We will open it up."
One thing that was notable during the workout was who ran with the first- and second-team offensive and defensive units. Among those with the starting defense were safety Darian Thompson and middle linebacker B.J. Goodson. Both second-year players are expected to play a significant role this season.
Defensive tackles Jay Bromley and Robert Thomas also were with the first-team defense as Damon Harrison was limited by what McAdoo termed as soreness in his lower legs.
The full first-team defense during the first practice of training camp:
DE: Jason Pierre-Paul, Olivier Vernon
DT: Jay Bromley, Robert Thomas
LB: B.J. Goodson, Jonathan Casillas, Devon Kennard
CB: Janoris Jenkins, Eli Apple
S: Landon Collins, Darian Thompson
Thompson missed most of last season with a foot injury and was limited during parts of the spring. Safeties coach David Merritt has said he’ll compete for the starting job this summer with Andrew Adams.
But the Giants have high hopes for last year’s third-round pick, who would have started last season had he not been limited by injuries. Friday was an encouraging start.
“I felt good, just getting back out there on the field with my teammates and playing football again,” he said. “It was a long offseason, even the break between minicamp and OTAs and training camp seemed like forever. So it just feels good to get back in the groove again.”
Adams worked Friday with the second-team defense. He was alongside Nat Berhe.
The full second-team defense during the first practice of training camp:
DE: Romeo Okwara, Kerry Wynn
DT: Corbin Bryant, Jordan Williams
LB: Keenan Robinson, Mark Herzlich, Stansly Maponga
CB: Michael Hunter, Valentino Blake
S: Andrew Adams, Nat Berhe
Second-round pick defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson began with the third team. So did third-year defensive end Owa Odighizuwa after missing most of the spring as he dealt with personal issues.
McAdoo appears ready to make the rookies earn their spots. First-round pick Evan Engram also rotated in with the offense along with Rhett Ellison and Will Tye.
The full first-team offense during the first practice of training camp:
QB: Eli Manning
RB: Paul Perkins (Shane Vereen, during 2-minute offense)
WR: Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard
TE: Rhett Ellison (Evan Engram and Will Tye)
OL: Ereck Flowers, Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg, John Jerry, Bobby Hart
The full second-team offense during the first practice of training camp:
QB: Josh Johnson
RB: Orleans Darkwa
WR: Tavarres King, Dwayne Harris, Darius Powe
TE: Matt LaCosse (Jerell Adams)
OL: Chad Wheeler, Adam Gettis, Brett Jones, D.J. Fluker, Adam Bisnowaty
Injury update:
• Linebacker J.T. Thomas (knee) joined running back Shaun Draughn (ankle) on the PUP list. Thomas still is recovering from an ACL tear last season. “We’ll see how it goes,” McAdoo said. “He is making progress. He is not where we want him to be yet. Hopefully it is not anything that takes too long.”
• Harrison’s lower-body soreness (possibly his knee?) isn’t expected to be serious. He jumped in to a drill late in practice. The Giants don’t seem overly concerned. “We are starting slow with Snacks,” McAdoo said. “He came in in good shape. He was a little bit sore, but we are starting slow with him.” Harrison also missed some time last year early in camp with a knee problem.