The New York Giants will host the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 of their 2023 preseason schedule on Friday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
It’s entirely possible the Giants play some of their starters before wrapping up the preseason next week against the New York Jets, but it’s unclear which players will appear or how many reps they will receive.
With that uncertainty in mind, here are five players with the most to gain in the game.
QB Tommy DeVito
Undrafted free agent Tommy DeVito likely won’t make the 53-man roster if the Giants go with two quarterbacks come final cuts. But, after his impressive debut last week in Detroit, the New Jersey native might prove to be too valuable to risk losing via waivers.
“I thought he did a really nice job in there,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said of DeVito this week. “Gutsy, played tough, I think he did all the things we asked him to do from an execution standpoint. He’s growing each and every day.”
If DeVito plays as well this week in front of his friends and relatives, the Giants will have to think hard about his future in East Rutherford.
Giants Touchdown!
Former Illinois and Syracuse UDFA QB Tommy DeVito finds Tommy Sweeney to take a 13-3 lead
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/Yd4ICIZFRk
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) August 12, 2023
DL Jordon Riley
Jordon Riley, a seventh-round pick out of Oregon, is making his presence known as a run-stopper with the Giants. Last week in Detroit, Riley solidified the coaches’ faith in him by having a solid game.
“He’s really just improved day-by-day. Come into this league, it’s all new and then you are inside, he’s big, he’s long, he can bend,” head coach Brin Daboll said this week about Riley.
“He’s learning stuff every day from (coaches) Dre and Cox but then I’d say those four veterans they are really good teammates and they take those guys underneath their wings and talk to them a lot and he’s done a good job of listening and just trying to get better each day.”
Good shit Jordon Riley pic.twitter.com/D4wmQTUes3
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) August 12, 2023
The Giants were next to last in the NFL in defending the run last year and want to have a deep rotation upfront this year. Riley is in the running to be in that group.
OL Joshua Ezeudu
The Giants were hoping Joshua Ezeudu could come in and knock the competition for the left guard position on its heels this summer, but that hasn’t happened.
The former North Carolina star is in a heated battle with several other players for the starting role and needs to settle in and be more consistent.
Right now, the left guard role is wide open. Let the best man win.
“I’m seeing a great competition,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafak said this week. “I’m seeing two or three tough kids — four tough guys that are really going after it in that core so they’re doing a nice job and we’re mixing them around and trying to give them as many different looks.
“In the run game, in the pass game, they’re seeing a bunch of different looks from (Defensive Coordinator Don Martindale) Wink’s defense as far as pressure. So, all of those things and you go all the way back, really to the spring, you evaluate that part of it then you take the whole body of work and now you can get a clear picture of how he fits into your offense.”
S Dane Belton
The second-year safety out of Iowa has gotten kind of lost in the shuffle this summer with the emergence of players such as Jason Pinnock and the play of Nick McCloud, Bobby McCain, and rookies Gevarraius Owens and Alex Cook.
Dane Belton can only go out this week and do his job, which he has been doing well this summer.
Dane Belton with the easiest INT in the history of football — Nate Sudfeld is all time bad good lord #NYG pic.twitter.com/aI8EX34vho
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) August 12, 2023
This is a pretty sweet play by Dane Belton pic.twitter.com/MsIPxMh12B
— Giants Daily (@NYGDaily) August 9, 2023
Dane Belton is a ball magnet 😮💨
— evin (@KayvonOjulari) August 15, 2023
Safety once seemed to be a dark hole for the Giants after letting Julian Love walk to Seattle via free agency. That appears to be way in the rearview mirror right now with this group ramping up under coordinator Wink Martindale.
WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton
Bryce Ford-Wheaton, or BFW as he’s sometimes referred, had a rough debut in Detroit last week failing to reel in any of his three targets (including a bad drop). He was also called for an offensive pass interference.
On 3rd & 3, Tommy DeVito 9-yd pass to Bryce Ford-Wheaton negated by OPI#NYGiants 13 #Lions 11 3ʀᴅ pic.twitter.com/4Qmc6SpUHu
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) August 12, 2023
The Giants signed BFW as an undrafted rookie this spring and even gave him a step-up via a bonus. Right now he’s a practice squad player who could find himself on another roster at some point this year. He needs to show more discipline against Carolina.
