The issues the Giants still need to address before the start of the season

There isn’t much time to spare when it comes to figuring out roster spots and roles for the players who will make up the 2024 Giants.

Spring practices set the process in motion, and the summer has shed plenty of light as to how this team will line up when the games count.

Still, there isn’t quite enough illumination to reveal exactly what the Giants will look like on Sept. 8, when they open their season at home against the Vikings.

What’s left to settle? Here are five items the Giants still need to sort out:

1. The second starting perimeter cornerback: It is possible the player who fills this role is not yet on the roster. After all, it is not as if anyone currently on the team has seized the opportunity to start alongside Deonte Banks.

Cor’Dale Flott, entering his third season, was given the first chance. He showed glimpses of potential, but was not consistent enough to win the job outright. Flott now is dealing with a quad injury and missed last week. That is not good for him. Nick McCloud, a versatile player, is next in line, and he started against the Texans in the second preseason game.

“We’ll keep on competing it out,’’ head coach Brian Daboll said. “Obviously, Flott wasn’t out there. We’ll see where he is this week. I thought McCloud did a nice job like he normally does when he goes out there — dependable, consistent, durable. So again, we’ll let that play out.’’

2. The swing tackle: This spot is a bit like the backup quarterback — no one pays much attention to who it is until there is an injury to a starter and the swing tackle is needed on the field.

In a perfect world (does that exist?), the Giants would like to see Evan Neal fill this role as he gets himself in shape following ankle surgery and a subsequent bone spur that kept him out of the first three weeks of camp. Neal is trying to resuscitate his career after veteran Jermaine Eluemunor was brought in to start at right tackle, Neal’s former spot.

Neal has yet to play in the first two preseason games. “He wasn’t ready to go,’’ Daboll said. “Hopefully we’ll get him this week, we’ll see where he’s at, but he’s getting close.”

If healthy, Neal has more physical potential than Josh Ezeudu or Yodny Cajuste.

3. The kick returner: Gunner Olszewski arrived in late October last season and saved the day with his reliability as a returner, highlighted by his 94-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Rams. He did enough to get re-signed and has been extremely steady in camp.

But Daboll (and general manager Joe Schoen) have history with Isaiah McKenzie from their time together in Buffalo, and McKenzie’s presence was always going to be impactful. McKenzie also offers considerably more as a wide receiver. With Olszewski down for several weeks due to a groin injury, it looks to be McKenzie’s job to lose.

4. The starting safety alongside Jason Pinnock: The Giants drafted Tyler Nubin out of Minnesota in the second round with the idea he could be an immediate starter — a plan Schoen admitted to publicly on “Hard Knocks.’’ A calf injury slowed Nubin’s development in his first NFL training camp, and Dane Belton took over a starting spot created when Xavier McKinney left for free-agent riches from the Packers.

Belton is a ball-hawk and a steady player, but the Giants like Nubin’s potential. Nubin made it back to play in the first two preseason games and made an impression. It seems only a matter of time before he is the full-time starter.

On Tuesday, Nubin lined up alongside Pinnock with the starting defense for the first time.

“He continues to get better,’’ defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said of Nubin. “He continues to improve each day. I think the one thing with him is he’s finally out there. He’s healthy. We missed him those first two weeks. And he’s had ground to make up to get back in that competition. He’s been good. He’s taking advantage of the opportunities. Doesn’t make the same mistake twice. I’ve been encouraged by where he’s at right now.’’

5. The final wide receiver spot: There are four wide receiver roster slots already locked up: Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt. Expect one of these spots to be filled by a special teamer — McKenzie or Miles Boykin. Maybe Boykin sticks around exclusively as a special-teams ace.

That leaves one spot for either Isaiah Hodgins or Allen Robinson. The fact that neither has much of a role on special teams — Hodgins, at age 25, has more of a shot to contribute there than the 30-year-old Robinson — is not helpful to either player. Hodgins knows the offense and is trusted by the coaching staff. Robinson is an 11-year veteran with a great pass-catching pedigree (562 receptions, 43 touchdowns), but he clearly has lost a step. Both are bigger targets. Based on familiarity with the system and youth, Hodgins probably has the edge.

Better to receive

There is a disconnect between what the Giants inside their building believe they have on their roster and what the outside perception is about the Giants.

Few areas of the roster demonstrate this disparity more than how the Giants’ wide receivers are viewed, in terms of self-analysis versus public discourse.

The talk all summer, once rookie Malik Nabers began running past, through and over Giants defenders in training camp, was that this is the best wide receiver corps Daniel Jones has worked with since he arrived in 2019.

This is difficult to debate. Jones has never thrown to a legitimate No. 1 target (Kenny Golladay, ugh) and Nabers, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, looks as if he will qualify as that type of weapon.

Wan’Dale Robinson, entering his third season, is finally healthy and looks to be a strong slot option. Jalin Hyatt has great speed and is stronger and more in tune with the offense as he moves into his second year. Darius Slayton can get down the field, and his production has been remarkably consistent in his five seasons with the team.

Not bad, right?

Well, hold on just a minute.

According to the 33rd Team analytics site, which ranked all 32 wide receiver rooms in the NFL, the Giants’ group checks in at No. 25. If healthy, this unit “should be a competitive group that provides a massive spark to an otherwise boring offense,’’ according to the piece, which adds, “Malik Nabers will be a star and Jalin Hyatt’s speed is difference-making.’’

The top five wide receiver groups in the ranking are the Texans (Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell), 49ers (Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Ricky Pearsall), Dolphins (Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Odell Beckham Jr.), Seahawks (DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba) and Bears (DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze).

The Giants are ranked last in the NFC East behind the No. 7 Eagles (A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Parris Campbell), the No. 17 Commanders (Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Luke McCaffrey) and the No. 19 Cowboys (CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert).

Perhaps Nabers is so good that he elevates the entire position for the Giants. He showed his stuff with a high degree-of-difficulty grab in preseason game No. 2 in Houston.  Robinson and Hyatt are young players with a chance to develop. Slayton, until proven otherwise, remains the best downfield threat — as evidenced by his 44-yard reception against the Texans. Hyatt has the wheels to supplant Slayton, but he has to do so.

Maybe the unit will not be as bad as so many outside the organization anticipate. What is certain is that the Giants, from top to bottom, will not fall into any trap of being overconfident based on what has been written or said about them.

Asked and answered

Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:

What should we expect out of the joint practice with the Jets this week?

Well, it will be disappointing if the action on the fields Wednesday in Florham Park devolves into a series of altercations and fights. Been there, done that, right? The Giants and Lions went at it for two days in their joint practices at the Giants facility, and the Jets engaged in some extracurricular activity when they practiced in Charlotte, N.C., with the Panthers. It is getting closer to the real season, and such summer folly needs to be pushed aside for both teams to get what they want out of this one-day session.

Watching Nabers try to escape the clutches of cover-man extraordinaire Sauce Gardner will be fun, as will seeing how edge rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux fare against savvy veteran offensive tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses. Will Aaron Rodgers pick apart the young and unproven Giants secondary?

Spirited competition is great, but when the practice schedule gets messed up because there are machismo-fueled stoppages every few plays, it leads to too much wasted time and energy.

Is everyone making too much of one bad Daniel Jones interception in the first quarter of the Giants’ loss to the Texans in Houston?

It really was a bad one, wasn’t it? Jones is not some wide-eyed rookie over-aggressively trying to make a play out of his own end zone to avoid a sack and a safety. He knows better — or should know better — than to panic and throw the ball up for grabs, handing the Texans a gift turnover and walk-in pick-six.

Jones admitted afterward he needed to “dirt it at the feet’’ of his intended target, rookie tight end Theo Johnson. Maybe Jones, in his first game back since Nov. 5 following reconstructive knee surgery, was too eager to make a play. Or else he was rusty and his instincts were lagging.

Bad throws and not seeing a defender are the pitfalls every quarterback tries to avoid, but they are inevitable, sometimes. This was a mental gaffe, and Jones needs to be beyond this by now. It simply cannot happen.