Team news: New York Giants | Page 5

The Giants are building a package of plays around rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart for Week 1 against the Commanders.

One of the burning questions surrounding the 2025 Giants was when the first-round pick would make his debut. That answer could be Sunday. Dart was impressive during the preseason and, unofficially, moved up to No. 2 on the depth chart behind Russell Wilson. That would make it easier for the Giants to get Dart into the game whenever they want with such packages of plays. Wilson was already low on our rankings, at QB29. If Dart does see game time, it only lowers the ceiling even more. Also, given the Giants' tough early schedule (at Commanders, at Cowboys, vs. Chiefs, vs. Chargers) it may not be long before Dart is inserted into the starting lineup.

Brian Daboll says Giants will “back down on Malik” Nabers today in practice because his back is a “little tight” but says Nabers will be OK for Sunday

LT Andrew Thomas will practice today and “do some team stuff” after not practicing yesterday

Related Players: Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt

Nabers has a very real chance to lead all 2025 NFL wide receivers in target share; it's just a matter of how efficient those looks will be. If he's on the field, he's an automatic must-start, and we should expect a WR1 outcome against the Commanders.

Mike McDaniel said Dolphins TE Darren Waller had a setback before Thursday's practice and is doubtful to play Sunday vs the Colts

Related Players: Julian Hill, Tanner Conner

The recently un-retired Waller hasn't seen much of the football field this summer, which makes him a complete stay-away until we get some good news on that end. If he doesn't suit up, receiving work would presumably fall to Julian Hill, though he's earned only 26 targets through his first two years in the league, so this situation is best to avoid for now.

Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (hip) did not participate in Thursday’s practice for the portion of the work the media watched. What does that mean?

Related Players: Julian Hill, Tanner Conner

The recently un-retired Waller hasn't seen much of the football field this summer, which makes him a complete stay-away until we get some good news on that end. If he doesn't suit up, receiving work would presumably fall to Julian Hill, though he's earned only 26 targets through his first two years in the league, so this situation is best to avoid for now.

Falcons OC Zac Robinson on Darnell Mooney: "Day to day, but he looks good out there. He’s running really well, catching the ball. We’ll keep monitoring the situation, but he has looked pretty good."

Related Players: Drake London, Ray-Ray McCloud, Khadarel Hodge

Good sign for Mooney, but not good enough that we should be shoving him in lineups quite yet. When we've received the all-clear, he will be an option as a fantasy WR3/4 after putting up good numbers last year, with a lack of additions to the WR room ahead of 2025.

Giants WR Malik Nabers, who was limited at times in camp with a toe issue, isn't on the initial injury report, putting him on track to play Sunday vs. Washington.

LT Andrew Thomas (foot) was limited.

Related Players: Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt

Nabers has a very real chance to lead all 2025 NFL wide receivers in target share; it's just a matter of how efficient those looks will be. If he's on the field, he's an automatic must-start, and we should expect a WR1 outcome against the Commanders.

Giants dropped their unofficial depth chart a few moments ago. Jaxson Dart is listed as QB2, Jameis Winston QB3.

Related players: Russell Wilson

Dart is waiting in the wings for Wilson to struggle, which, will likely happen at some point this season. Dart is worth stashing especially in deeper leagues, and even more especially after an impressive preseason. It's worth noting teams will often make a QB change over a team's bye week, but the Giants bye doesn't come until Week 14, which is very late in the game. We'll see how short Wilson's leash will be.

Giants WR Malik Nabers has been held out of practice for 11 days with a minor back issue, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

One source told Raanan the injury is characterized as “normal camp tightness.” The Giants are likely being very cautious with their star wide receiver and may end up sitting him the entire preseason. Nabers should be good to go for the season opener in three weeks against the Commanders. Nabers has also missed time in the spring with a toe injury. As long as he is healthy, Nabers is one of the top receiver options in fantasy, currently a top-ten overall player in consensus rankings.

It's trending heavily in favor of Tyrone Tracy, in part because Cam Skattebo has missed the past two weeks with a minor leg injury. Skattebo may be getting closer to a return, but the setback put a halt to his charge for significant carries early in the season. Tracy has taken first-team reps, almost exclusively, this summer, while Skattebo took only a handful. The rookie did flash an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and excel in open space. That is what Skattebo's role likely will be early in the season, with the carries split being somewhere in the 70-30 range in favor of Tracy.

Raanan got some pushback from Skattebo fantasy drafters when he said this was "100%" Tracy's backfield, and he's doubling down now. The ADP has already started to push the backs further apart, and if this is really a 70/30 split, it's probably not far enough.

Here is Raheem Morris' update on WR Darnell Mooney.

"Kind of just waiting and rolling. Kind of a week-to-week basis. I feel good about getting him back healthy and ready to go. When? I don’t know. We’ll have him back healthy this year, though."

Interpret as you will.

Related players: Drake London, Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge, Casey Washington, Michael Pitts, Bijan Robinson

Mooney owners could be waiting a while to get back their receiver for fantasy lineups, depending on how you read into these comments. With Mooney out of the lineup, it could mean more work for McCloud, Hodge and maybe even Pitts. McCloud shined at times last season, especially in a three game stretch where he caught 18 passes for 239 yards on 23 targets in weeks 11-14. Hodge was limited to 7 catches for 131 yards all season, most of which came in a 2-67-1 line in a Week 5 game against the Buccaneers. Robinson and the running backs could also get more involved.