If Deonte Banks and John Michael Schmitz aren’t starting Week 1 for the Giants, something’s gone wrong

Rookies can start, immediately, for NFL teams and fare quite well.

However, most do not find their way into the starting lineup from Day 1, and even fewer of them make an impact right away. A positive impact, that is.

The Giants, though, are similar to a lot of young NFL teams in that they need, and expect, their top picks to play sooner rather than later.

Which is why, for the second straight year, the team has two starting jobs available to rookies.

Deonte Banks, their first-round pick, will be given every opportunity to win a starting job at cornerback, and John Michael Schmitz, drafted No. 57 overall, is expected to earn the starting center job on the offensive line.

While Banks will need to overcome some veteran competition, the road should be paved quite smoothly for Schmitz, given that the Giants’ starting center in 2022, Jon Feliciano, is currently with the 49ers and the backup center last season, Nick Gates, is with the Commanders.

Of course, the better the team and the stronger the roster, the less urgency there is for rookies to play right away.

A year ago, the Giants were in full rebuild mode and their two premium first-round picks, outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux and right tackle Evan Neal, became immediate starters. Thibodeaux’s first season went more seamlessly than Neal’s, and the Giants are determined that both players become fixtures for years to come.

Not every team can follow the blueprint designed by the Jets in 2022, when cornerback Sauce Gardner (No. 4 overall) and wide receiver Garrett Wilson (No. 10 overall) were sensational in their NFL debut seasons, each earning Rookie of the Year honors on their respective sides of the ball.

For their part, the Giants would like to think they not only found another two potential starters in the 2023 draft, but that the other five picks can: a) make the team, b) contribute in some capacity this season or c) at least show enough to be deemed worthy to stay in the program on the practice squad.

Much of the post-draft buzz circulated around receiver Jalin Hyatt, a player the Giants traded up to get in the third round. Hyatt probably is not as polished as some of the receivers who were selected before him, though his speed and the vertical threat he should present will likely lead to playing time early in the season.

He does, however, have several more experienced players ahead of him — Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, Sterling Shepard (when he is fully cleared from his 2022 knee surgery), Jamison Crowder and, in the coming months, Wan’Dale Robinson, still recovering from the knee injury that prematurely ended his rookie year.

If running back Eric Gray, taken in the fifth round, receives significant playing time it will be because Saquon Barkley or Matt Breida is not available, or else because Gray shows the coaching staff he is ready to run with the ball as a first-year NFL player.

But neither Hyatt nor Gray carries the expectation Banks and Schmitz each do.

There is not much standing in the way of Banks joining veteran Adoree’ Jackson as a starting perimeter cornerback. Yes, Cor’Dale Flott, Rodarius Williams and Aaron Robinson return from last year’s roster, and Amani Oruwariye, a 27-year-old with 36 starts in his four years with the Lions, has arrived, but that is not exactly daunting competition for Banks.

Still, they’re veterans and will not move aside and hand anything to Banks. Flott will get a chance to win the starting corner spot, as will Robinson (if he can shake his penchant for injury) and Darnay Holmes.

Expect up-and-down moments this summer for the rookie from Maryland, but if he remains healthy, it will be an upset if Banks fails to stave off this competition.

Likewise, Schmitz is the clear favorite to emerge as the starting center. The two returning players capable of challenging him, Ben Bredeson and Shane Lemieux, are both natural guards who take practice snaps at center but are not proven players at that position.

The Giants did sign J.C. Hassenauer, a 27-year-old who is a natural center and has seven total starts at that spot the past three seasons with the Steelers. But he was brought in to fill a backup role, it seems.

Schmitz is an NFL novice, but he looks the part of an NFL veteran. There are rookie offensive linemen who get drafted, report to their teams and appear as if they need to hit the weight room right away. Schmitz, at 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, gives off a sturdy vibe, though he likely needs to get stronger to combat NFL defensive linemen.

Schmitz, already 24, also is older than most rookies after spending six years at the University of Minnesota. He redshirted as a true freshman and in 2022 used the extra year of eligibility given to student-athletes who were in school during the COVID season. With six years in a Big Ten weight room, Schmitz is better prepared for the physical demands than most NFL rookies are.

After using a different Week 1 starting center in four of the past six years, the Giants expect — or at least hope — for Schmitz to get the job, settle in and end this scattershot trend in the middle of the offensive line.

If Schmitz or Banks fails to play his way into the starting lineup, the Giants’ plan will have gone awry.

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List price

This is as good a time of year as any for … a list!

Nowadays, it seems, there is never a bad time for compiling a list, especially when it comes to sports and offering opinions on who is the best, second-best and so on.

The list we want to take a look at comes from Clay Harbor, who played tight end in the NFL for nine years. Writing for The 33rd Team analytics site and think tank, Harbor put together his list of the top seven tight ends entering the 2023 season.

It’s hard to argue with Harbor’s top two. He has Travis Kelce of the Chiefs as the league’s best tight end, which qualifies as a no-brainer. Putting George Kittle of the 49ers at No. 2 is also a safe and logical pick.

At No. 3 is Dallas Goedert of the Eagles, followed by Mark Andrews of the Ravens at No. 4, T.J. Hockenson of the Vikings at No. 5, Kyle Pitts of the Falcons at No. 6 and a familiar name, Evan Engram, now with the Jaguars, at No. 7.

Engram is the only Giants-affiliated player to make the cut, and he doesn’t play for the club anymore.

Darren Waller, who is about to embark on his first season with the Giants, did not crack the list.

If this was put together after the 2019 or 2020 seasons, Waller would undoubtedly be on it — and high on the list. After all, in those two seasons he amassed a total of 197 receptions for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns in 32 games. In ’21 and ’22, he combined for just 83 receptions, 1,053 yards and five touchdowns, limited to 20 total games while beset by injuries.

The Giants shipped a third-round draft pick to the Raiders in exchange for Waller this past offseason in hopes he returns to the form that made him one of the best tight ends in the league.

Waller has more raw ability than Goedert, Andrews and Hockenson do, but those three have been more dependable the past two seasons. In the spring, Waller ran free and easy, and, at 6-foot-6, towered over the Giants’ defensive backs going against him in shorts and T-shirts.

There are far greater challenges ahead.

After not adding a No. 1 wide receiver, the Giants need Waller to be the No. 1 target for Daniel Jones they think he can — and need him to — be.

For the sake of the Giants’ offensive plans for this season, head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka better hope Harbor is off the mark here and that not including Waller turns out to be a glaring omission.

Asked and answered

Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:

What joint practices with other teams do the Giants have scheduled this summer?

The Giants open their preseason schedule Aug. 11 against the Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, which will follow two days of joint practices with the Lions at their facility in Allen Park, Mich.

Figure the Giants board their charter flight on Monday, Aug. 7, and hit the field for practice with the Lions that Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday will be reserved for meetings and a walk-through with the teams not practicing together the day before the preseason opener.

These joint practices can be extremely valuable. The competition level is increased and the monotony of the camp grind is interrupted by the presence of another team.

The key is the head coaches having an agreement on the tempo and pace of the practices. Some teams are more aggressive and incorporate more physical contact than others. These things can go awry when the two teams are not on the same page.

As long as there is an understanding about how much contact will be permitted, the Giants should benefit from seeing a different team for a few days.

Do you anticipate any player movement in the next few weeks?

Probably not. Many members of the front office and all of the coaching staff are taking time off before the grind of training camp begins. The roster is pretty much set for the start of camp, but there likely will be a player or two added or subtracted as we get closer to the first practice on July 26.

Every team gets alerted when a player around the league gets cut, and the talent evaluators immediately assess whether that player warrants consideration as a roster addition. Could this lead to some movement from the Giants in the coming weeks? Certainly.

What often happens is a team sees what it has when it hits the field, and determines after a week or so whether help is needed in one specific area.

Until then, most teams, including the Giants, are fairly set.