How Giants WRs stack up with Nabers, Beckham & Co.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants starting wide receivers at mandatory minicamp this week were free agent acquisitions Darnell MooneyandCalvin Austin IIIas well as third-round pick Malachi Fields. Those three players weren't on the roster last season.

It was part-necessity and part-desire. The Giants made a point of upgrading the position this offseasonwhileMalik Nabers and Darius Slaytonwere rehabbing injuries.

Nabers is trying to get back from a torn ACL in time for Week 1. The Giants remain hopeful that happens. Slayton had core muscle surgery earlier in the offseason and is expected back for the start of training camp.

In the meantime, the Giants brought in reinforcements -- which were made even more necessary after receiver/returner Gunner Olszewski tore an Achilles last week. The team signed veterans Odell Beckham Jr., Juju Smith-Schuster and Braxton Berriosall within the span of a few hours earlier this month.

"Well, I'm excited about the group, especially when we're healthy," coach John Harbaugh said. "If you get Malik out there, you got I would say arguably -- I know his goal is to be the best in the league. That would be his goal. And he's capable of doing it. And after that we got some guys, man. I like the guys we brought in."

"They're practicing well, as you see. All those guys are practicing well. The guys we brought in in free agency. We drafted a really good player [in Fields]. We'll get Darius back, another guy. When you step back and look at it, you got about five guys you feel really good about."

Those five guys are Nabers, Slayton, Mooney, Austin and Fields. They seem like locks to be on the roster assuming they are all healthy.

That leaves room possibly for one more -- maybe two if Nabers isn't ready for the start of the season.

"And from there you got some competition," Harbaugh said. "I think we stocked the room with as much competition as we could. The guys that we brought back from previous, those are all good football players. All those guys, those young guys, they're good football players and who's just going to really show up when it counts, in games and stuff. And in practice I've been impressed with them.

"And then we brought the veteran guys in. So that adds another layer of competition in the mix. There are a lot of guys going for a spot or two there that we'll see what happens."

Other receivers in the mix are Jalin Hyatt, Isaiah Hodgins, Beaux Collins, Dalen Cambre, Ryan Miller and former New York Jets receiver/returner Xavier Gipson. Hyatt has become the forgotten man from last year's team, but he had a strong minicamp.

It was Beckham who perhaps made the biggest impact at minicamp. He was wide open on a busted coverage Tuesday at practice and hauled in a deep pass from quarterback Jaxson Dart. He made a tough, contested catch 15 yards downfield on a pass from Dart later in practice.

The biggest question with Beckham, the former Pro Bowl receiver who starred for the Giants from 2014-17, isn't whether he can make plays -- it's whether he can stay healthy. He seemed to have gotten nicked up and limped around for a few seconds after multiple plays during the first two tough days of minicamp. As it turned out, he was fine, but it's something to keep an eye on going forward.

It's imperative for Beckham to remain on the field. He knows given the unit's logjam it's going to take work to make the team.

"Coach [Harbaugh] and I talked about that. I think that was one of his fears," Beckham said last week. "He was like, 'I love you so much, I've got so much respect for you. I don't want to bring you here and have to cut you,' or whatever.

"I'm like, 'Listen, I'm going out on my sword either way it goes. If that's what you've got to do, you see I'm not the best or fit, then by all means I'm good with it, I can live with it.' I can't live with sitting at home not doing it, you know? I just couldn't do it. ... I'm just here to enjoy the moment, work hard. We'll see what happens."

Beckham has probably made the biggest impact of the three recently signed receivers so far at practice. Smith-Schuster had a strong first daythen tailed off. Berrios will likely be judged by the preseason and his ability to return punts.

The unit's overall success is still largely contingent on when Nabers gets on the field and how he looks when he returns. Harbaugh said Wednesday that even when Nabers does return to practice, he will be "building." It could take some time before the old Nabers is back playing as a dominant No. 1 receiver.

Slayton is the sneaky one to watch. He has been buried by each of the previous two regimes and bounced back in a big way, eventually rising to be the team's leading receiver. Even though he's coming off a down year, Slayton (37 catches for 538 yards and one touchdown) outproduced both Mooney (32 catches, 443 yards, one TD with Atlanta) and Austin (31 catches, 372 yards, three TDs with Pittsburgh) last season. If he returns to his previous form, the longest-tenured Giant could play a big role early in the season if Nabers is on the sideline.br/]