Giants Training Camp opened this week in Albany, New York.  I had an opportunity to watch the morning and afternoon sessions live from the University of Albany campus.  While the opening days of training camp provide very little information into how fantasy players will perform in the regular season, there are plenty of trends that develop that can provide some insight how a team will plan to utilize their players this upcoming season.  I have continued to pay close attention Giants training camp this week.  Here are my observations:

Early morning arrivals:



Quarterbacks :



Eli is a stud.  He'll never be a beastly fantasy producer, but his ability to manage the offense from the line of scrimmage is eerily similar to his brother Peyton.  He's well deserving of the big contract he signed this week.

Receivers :



The clear weakness on the Giants roster is the receiving corps.  They brought 10 receivers to camp.  There is some emerging talent on this roster, although no clear #1 option.  Steve Smith has gotten the lions share of reps, while Sinorice Moss has been seen being utilized in the deep passing game.  Moss is likely the fastest receiver on the team and was easily beating his defenders downfield.  Post-practice interviews by Giants players indicated they want to utlize their speed (they have little size) by throwing more deep balls in 2009 - to help strech the field.  The team has a bunch of 40 reception recievers on this team and Smith will likely emerge as the leading receiver with just over 60 receptions.  Mario Manningham has made leaps as he enters his 2nd season.  Many impressive grabs in traffic excited the crowd, however the groans on a fumbled punt and a dropped pass or two reminded the crowd he still has some learning to do.  Domink Hixon will likely be the starting flanker in 2009 and by the amount of reps he received in both session fielding punts from both the jugs machine and Jay Feagles, it looks as though he'll go back to being the teams primary kick returner - a role he has thrived in.  Ahmad Bradshaw took an equal amount of kick return reps, so he'll likely be utilized here as well.  Ramses Barden is going to have a steep learning curve as he had some trouble getting off press coverage.  Kevin Boss continues to be a stud in the passing game, catching everything.  Boss is going to be utiized heavily in the passing attack and could easily lead the team in TD's again in 2009.  Rookie Hakeem Nicks is the future stud of this WR corps, but he's still a season away from beastliness.  There were plenty of comparisons of Anquan Boldin and Hakeem Nicks being thrown around through both session.

2009 starting lineup - Steve Smith, Dominik Hixon, Mario Manningham.
2010 starting lineup - Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham. - This lineup could be a very dangerous asset for the Gaints passing game.
 
Running Backs :



The RB group is still led by beast Brandon Jacobs.  Behind him, Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware and Rookie Andre Brown each looked fast and versatile.  Jacobs will continue to be the workhorse, but it seems each of the backups will have valuable situational roles, and it still seems unclear if one player will emerge as the clear #2.
 

Defense :



The Defense is going to be nasty.  They also have some ridiculous depth.  On the offensive line, the return of DE Osi Umenyora lining up opposite DE Justin Tuck will provide a speed rush from the outside requiring opposing QB's to step back into the pocket instead of rolling out.  Opposing QB's will then be greeted by 6'7" 300lb Chris Canty to try and pass over.  The Defensive Backfield has plenty of emerging talent as well.  Kenny Phillips had two interceptions in the morning practice and Aaron Ross had one as well.  Terell Thomas showed some impressive ability and will push frequently injured Aaron Ross for a starting job.
 
Dynasty Outlook:

The Defense is a safe bet to be Top-3 in the NFL.  The running game will be the same as it always is, and look for Bradshaw, Ware and Brown  to emerge as sneaky future talents in the NFL, their ceilings are limited however.  A Jacobs injury - which will happen, one of them will emerge as a reliable starter in his absence.  The passing game is loaded with 40 catch 500-700 yard receivers.   Steve Smith will be a weekly #3 starter, but could put up a couple duds.  We still don't believe in Sinorice Moss, but if he starts getting utilized more often, his value could steadily increase despite his limited ceiling.  Stash away deep sleepers Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks to breakout in 2010.  These two players are where the the true Dynasty Value is on the Giants roster.

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