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Few teams changed more than the New York Giants in the 2025 offseason, making them one of the top teams to monitor during the 2025 NFL training camp period. While the team's overall buzz has been overwhelmingly positive, the Giants' defense has raised a few concerning red flags.
Following numerous monumental changes, the Giants' training camp has been oozing reports that have already fans excited for the 2025 season. Whether it has been new starting quarterback Russell Wilson, the rookies Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart or New York's marquee free agent signings, all have seemingly been thriving in the offseason.
The early reports have been so positive that finding any negatives almost feels like nitpicking. Yet, given how successful the Giants' offense has been so far, their defense appears to be just a step behind in training camp. The lone dark mark is nothing to worry about, particularly at this point in the summer, but is something that should be monitored as the preseason approaches.
New York has other potential concerns, including Malik Nabers' lingering injury issues and a few potential offensive line woes. But with Brian Daboll dismissing Nabers' potential shoulder injury, those matters appear to be resolved. It is difficult to gauge how well their offensive line is doing at this point, but Evan Neal's progression in his transition to guard appears to be going much better than initially anticipated.
No team will be perfect in the offseason, and one that went 3-14 a year ago is bound to begin the season with outstanding issues. However, given how heavily the team invested in their secondary in free agency, the Giants' overwhelming amount of offensive success is somewhat concerning for their defense in the 2025 NFL training camp.
Giants' defense has been concerning during training camp
Like any team, the Giants would hope that their new quarterback room of Wilson, Dart and Jameis Winston would be thriving at this point in the offseason. But in most scenarios, the opposite tends to be the case. With offenses spending the majority of the summer tinkering with the playbook and integrating new assets, defenses tend to thrive in spring and summer camps.
In the Giants' case, their defense has not been in front at all. Instead, nearly every report praises the team's offense, particularly its success through the air. Dart struggled early on, but has since hit his stride to match Wilson and Winston's production. The rookie received his most opportunities on Sunday, when he completed 11 of his 14 passes during live sets with the second team, according to ESPN's Jordan Raanan.
Wilson has completed his passes at a similar rate throughout training camp while consistently hitting Nabers and Darius Slayton on deep routes. Even Winston, who has worked in as the third-string for most of camp, dominated in his first chance to run the second-team offense. Winston completed 12 of his 14 pass attempts on Friday, July 25, per Raanan.
The issues seem to be most prominent on the outside, where the Giants' receivers are consistently winning their one-on-one matchups. That is expected of Nabers, who is already established as one of the best wideouts in the league. However, it is an entirely different story when Slayton, Montrell Washington, Lil'Jordan Humphrey and Ihmir Smith-Marsette are routinely winning their reps. Even when Nabers was sidelined with a toe injury and Wan'Dale Robinson sat out after colliding with Bobby Okereke, New York's offense still found consistent success against its defense.
Giants' defense is not a significant issue
While the Giants' defense is something to continue monitoring, it is not worth panicking over just yet. It is easy to forget that their secondary is as much of a work in progress, with its top two players — Jevon Holland and Paulson Adebo — joining the team in free agency.
Offensive highlights tend to circulate on social media much more, but Holland has created some eye-catching highlights of his own. The star safety has been all over the field, intercepting multiple passes and getting in the way of countless others.
Nickelback Dru Phillips, who continues to be arguably the most underrated defender in the NFL, has also turned heads as he continues to lock down the slot, jump routes and pick off passes. Phillips made headlines during training camp by revealing his recent LASIK surgery procedure to fix what he called his previously “blind” vision.
The Giants' pass-rush has been arguably their top headline of the 2025 NFL training camp. Specifically, Carter has wreaked havoc on the offensive line and backfield all offseason from the moment he joined the team. While offensive linemen practice with a handicap during non-padded sessions, Carter and the pass-rush continued to flourish with pads.
Perhaps some of the defensive line's success can be attributed to their ongoing offensive line struggles, but the Giants' pass-rush is expected to be among the best in the league in 2025. Most view Carter as a generational talent, and he now joins a team that led the league in sacks through the first eight weeks of the 2024 season.
The Giants' defense might not be stealing the show thus far, but they have hardly been a reason to bail on the team's offseason hype.
