EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Most of the players from the New York Giants' 2021 draft class have yet to make their marks at training camp. That is, in part, because they haven't been on the field practicing very often.

First-round draft pick Kadarius Toney, the No. 20 overall selection out of Florida, missed the first five full-team practices as he worked to return following a positive COVID-19 test. Even when the speedy wide receiver has been in drills, there hasn't been much that stood out. His first catch in live team drills came Saturday on a dump-down pass 11 days into camp.

He's not alone among slow-starting Giants rookies.

Third-round cornerback Aaron Robinson had core muscle surgery late in the spring and fourth-round outside linebacker Elerson Smith is dealing with a minor leg problem. That left three of the Giants' first four picks stuck on the sidelines for the first week of camp. Even sixth-round running back Gary Brightwell has been sidelined recently with a leg injury.

Only second-round outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari has gotten his early indoctrination to NFL practices on a regular basis.

For a variety of reasons, ranging from his cleats to his contract to a family emergency, Toney wasn't on the field that much during spring workouts, either. So it was a relief when he started to do more late last week after the Giants were cautious about his return from the virus.

"It's very different for everybody," coach Joe Judge said of COVID-19. "Some guys it's more head colds, some guys it's more lungs. So if you bring him back, some guys jump back on the field ... other guys you can tell the enthusiasm is there [but] they don't have their wind yet or legs."

Toney looks to be making progress, albeit slowly, and doesn't seem worried the missed time.

"I mean, I feel good. I'm good," he said. "Am I behind? No, I feel like I'm getting better every day, learning the playbook day by day more."

As coaches like to say, sometimes you don't know what you don't know.

Receivers coach Tyke Tolbert believes the missed time is a setback for Toney, but the Giants are doing everything possible to make sure it won't slow him down. Tolbert explained that Toney has been attentive in meetings, asking a lot of questions. The assistant said that if he asks the receivers five questions, three are geared toward the rookie as they try to get him up to speed.

Every little bit helps, because the importance of training camp is magnified for rookies. It's the first time they're really able to get on the field and play high-intensity snaps alongside NFL veterans -- a key part of the learning curve.

For Toney and Robinson, the next month will be a crash course that will likely determine how much of an impact they will make as rookies. It's one thing to participate in videoconferences, it's another to make mistakes on the field and try to correct them.

"I feel like it definitely puts [Robinson] behind the eight ball a little bit because he's not on the field getting actual visual reps," said veteran cornerback James Bradberry, who added that his rookie year (2016 with the Carolina Panthers) was a blur. "But ... if he learns very quickly, it's not going to be a struggle for him at all. It's just depending on how attentive he is."

Smith appears close to returning. That is big, because the Giants are especially thin at outside linebacker where Lorenzo Carter (calf), Oshane Ximines (hamstring) and Ryan Anderson (back) have been dealing with injuries.

"He's made a lot of progress," Judge said of Smith late last week. "We don't think [the injury is] something that's going to long-term limit him, but I don't want to put a timetable on him in terms of when he'll be back. We feel confident in the direction he's moving ... and it'll be more of a ramp-up, gradual process when he gets back to practice."

Ximines and Anderson returned to practice this week and are being eased into the action, but Smith and Ojulari could get an opportunity to shine in their banged-up position group.

"I'm just trying to grow every single day," said Ojulari, a Georgia product. "Come out here ... learn from the older guys. Just continue to get better."

Perhaps the most impactful rookie to date has been sixth-round cornerback Rodarius Williams. He snuck in some first-team reps at practice last week, grabbing an interception.

"I'm definitely not where I want to be," Williams said. "Each day I go into the film room and I don't watch good plays. I watch every play that my technique is bad and stuff like this. It's mental errors and just learning from James, learning from [cornerback] Adoree' [Jackson], small technique issues I'm working on every day."

He has made a positive impression early in camp, but New York's 2021 draft class has ground to make up if it is going to deliver significant contributions this season.