The New York Giants are among the select handful of NFL franchises to be holding mandatory minicamp this week. 

Most of the NFL wrapped their offseason programs last week but New York will host two days of on-field work starting tomorrow amid their final preparations for the start of training camp. The Giants are a team facing a lot of pressure — but also a lot of intrigue this summer. Will the renovations to New York's roster prompt a leap in 2025? If it happens, a few key contributors will need to come up big. Who are they? 

Here's four picks for New York Giants players who could use a good week to further set up breakout seasons in 2025.

Four New York Giants to watch entering minicamp

Theo Johnson, Tight End

The Giants passing attack could certainly use an extra element to help teams from rolling coverage overtop of Malik Nabers in 2025. Since Coach Brian Daboll took command of this offense in 2022, the Giants rank 8th in the NFL in snaps out of 11 personnel. 

With just one tight end on the field for New York, the passing game profile simply hasn't been there at that position. Darren Waller was supposed to be the big breakthrough for New York at that spot but his career flamed out after just one season with the Giants. 

I'm not saying that Theo Johnson is Darren Waller. But I am saying he's got all the potential in the world to deliver a dangerous hybrid impact as a former high school wide receiver. The Giants become a much bigger problem to defend if Johnson becomes a legitimate pass catching threat in his second season. New York has hedged around him with a number of offseason additions — Johnson could afford a strong week to further entrench himself as the primary rep taker once camp arrives. 

Evan Neal, Offensive Guard

Neal's transition to guard is a last gasp breath to salvage this once premium investment. 

Should you expect him to win the right guard position this summer? No, probably not. But if he did, it would mark the first sign of progress we've seen from Neal in a Giants uniform. That has to be worth something, right? The concern with New York's line is rooted in regression potential for an aging Greg Van Roten and the injury history for star tackle Andrew Thomas. Neal beating out Van Roten could, in theory, raise the ceiling of the unit this season while a revamped passing attack looks to create more space at the line of scrimmage. 

Darius Alexander, Defensive tackle (Rookie)

New York's third draft choice from this year's NFL Draft is uniquely positioned to become an impact player. He's got the luxury of one of the league's most dangerous pass rush trios on the edge plus Dexter Lawrence in the middle. Lawrence is one of the league's most unique threats inside — and all of that primes Darius Alexander to see a LOT of one on ones. 

This is the climate and environment for Alexander to collect a lot of wins if he's going to shine this season; but a steady progression of more quality reps would be a promising omen. The Giants' guard play should be considered sufficient. How consistently can he beat New York's guards? It's a nice way for Alexander to cut his teeth but it's ultimately up to his play to generate the excitement needed that he can be the X-factor inside. 

Jaxson Dart, Quarterback (Rookie)

Duh. I mean, come on. 

Dart is looking to push Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in the quarterback room and his ability to do so quickly could correlate directly to how much job security Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll can claim after the season. Every rep counts, even this time of year. So for Dart, who the Giants are deeply invested in, this week at minicamp is about continuing to create uncertainty with Wilson atop the depth chart. 

New York can say all the right things about how this is Russell Wilson's job and so on, but the best case scenario for them is that Dart beats him out. This will be an important showing for Dart to set the baseline of which his improvement is measured during the early chapters of training camp. 

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The New York Giants offense is going to look a lot different this season despite the return of head coach Brian Daboll and his offensive scheme. New quarterbacks offer the promise of new hope for big plays down the field. But the quarterback room isn't the only thing looking pretty different these days — wide […]