New York Giants 2026 Training Camp Position Battle to Watch

NFL teams have wrapped up their respective organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamps, and after a near month-long break, they'll pick things back up near the end of July for training camp.

The first preseason game takes place on Thursday, Aug. 6 on NBC when the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals face off in the Hall of Fame Game. The rest of the preseason's first week will take place from Aug. 13-15, followed by Week 2 on Aug. 20-23, and Week 3 on Aug. 27-29.

But before the preseason gets underway, teams must first report to training camp. The New York Giants will report to training camp on July 23 (rookies) and July 28 (veterans), and below is their biggest position battle to watch this summer.

Position Battle: WR | Darius Slayton vs. Darnell Mooney vs. Malachi Fields vs. Calvin Austin III vs. Odell Beckham Jr. vs. JuJu Smith-Schuster

Aside from the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants' wide receiver situation may be the most wide open.

Malik Nabers is the team's unquestioned No. 1 wideout, but he's coming off a traumatic knee injury and some are convinced he'll miss a big chunk of next season, which creates a golden opportunity for one Giants receiver.

The problem is of the six players competing for playing time at WR, there's no clear-cut best option.

Slayton was New York's second-leading receiver last year (37 receptions, 538 yards, one touchdown), and he's the odds-on favorite to break camp as the team's WR1. He's hit 700 yards or more in four seasons, and 50 receptions in two of them.

The 29-year-old Slayton also has a rapport with second-year QB Jaxson Dart, which puts him a leg up on everyone else.

Fields is the wild card of the group. A third-round rookie out of Notre Dame, the 6-foot-4, 223-pound wideout is a violent pass-catcher who plays with a mean streak. He totaled 36 catches for 630 yards and five touchdowns last year.

His 17.5 yards per catch showed his big-play potential. Some have likened Fields to former Giants fan favorite Plaxico Burress, and his jumping ability and knack for winning contested catches seems to back that up.

It's hard to determine what the Giants can expect from Beckham Jr., who hasn't played a down in the NFL since Dec. 8, 2024. Beckham Jr. certainly isn't the Pro Bowl player he used to be, but he showed with the Los Angeles Rams (2021) and Baltimore Ravens (2023) that he can still make plays and be a solid contributor.

New York also has three of almost the exact same player - Calvin Austin III (31 receptions, 372 yards, three TDs), Darnell Mooney (32 receptions, 443 yards, one TD), and JuJu Smith-Schuster (33 receptions, 345 yards, one TD) - and it needs to decide which one it favors over the other two.

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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 6:16 PM.