1) Daniel Jones REALY Likes Throwing to Darren Waller

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll decided to play his starters on Friday night against the Carolina Panthers. The most crucial starting player was quarterback, Daniel Jones, who only played the game’s first series but still showed flashes of what was to come this season. It was quickly noted that Jones’ first read on passing plays was still Darren Waller, just like Giants fans including myself realized once training camp began. The Giants QB targeted Waller four times on the teams’ opening drive, including the game’s first two plays. New York punched it in for six on a 2nd and goal play from the four-yard line where Jones rolled out right on play action and hit tight end Daniel Bellinger for the score.

DJ to Belly for SIX 🙌

📺: NBC4/NFL Network pic.twitter.com/Xrq0qzvxwd

— New York Giants (@Giants) August 18, 2023

It was a successful showing from Daniel Jones and the Giants starters running 10 plays and putting up seven points in just around five minutes. Jones completed eight out of nine passes thrown for 69 yards in his 2023 preseason debut and most likely his final showing (I would assume) before the regular season begins.

2) Evan Neal Looked Good and Bad

The Giants’ seventh pick in last year’s NFL Draft had an interesting game on Friday night. Offensive Tackle Evan Neal seemed to be moving at a faster pace than his normal self against the Panthers’ defensive line and gave Giants fans hope for steady improvement heading into his second season. Neal’s new stance gave him quicker jumps off the line against defensive ends like Yetur Gross-Matos, who was against the Giants’ tackle for most of the first half. Another key note was that Giants head coach Brian Daboll had Neal playing the right tackle spot for the entire first half. However, Neal did allow a sack on the final play of his appearance in the preseason week two matchup against the Panthers.

“I felt extremely comfortable out there,” Neal said. “I mean, nothing was perfect, but just getting out of my stance, being good with my hands, playing with a lot more balance. I felt like I got that done.”

3) Jalin Hyatt Shows His Game Breaking Speed Again

21-year-old rookie Jalin Hyatt had a solid performance in Friday’s game for the Giants. Yes, addressing the elephant in the room, Hyatt did drop a perfectly placed ball by backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor but the error was quickly made up for in a huge way. The speedster lined up in the slot on a 2nd and 10 from Carolina’s 33-yard line where he ran a beautiful criss-cross route beating safety Eric Rowe for the touchdown. Hyatt had at least five to ten yards of separation between himself and Rowe which was pretty remarkable to see when watching the replay.

JALIN HYATT HAS ARRIVED 😤 pic.twitter.com/uV6Ydjuvy4

— PFF (@PFF) August 19, 2023

The Giants’ wide receiver finished with four catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. “Well, look, I mean, we ran him on a bunch of short routes, we got him on that big route and we’re just trying to help him be a better receiver,’’ head coach Brian Daboll said. “So, you know, we ask him to do quite a bit of stuff. He runs a variety of routes: short, intermediate, deep. But again, he’s a young player like the other rookies we have, we just try to bring them along and try to put them in good positions.’’