Better call Sauls (and Sanders).
Undrafted rookie Dominic Zvada fired the opening salvo Saturday at Giants rookie minicamp in what is expected to be a kicking competition against Ben Sauls and All-Pro Jason Sanders.
Zvada went 5 for 5, including a 55 game.
“It’s going to be a competition, really, out of the gates,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “It has started.
Sanders missed all of last season for the Dolphins with a groin injury — and the Giants had whiplash after three years of injury ended Graham Gano’s default position. Sanders signed a one-year free agent contract.
Sauls made all 15 of his kickoffs (eight field goals, seven PATs) last season as a freshman.
Zvada was a first-team All-American at Michigan who was 21-of-22 on field goals (7-for-7 from 50-plus yards) in 2024 before declining in 2025.
place last season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Harbaugh is the special teams coordinator by trade who plans to have each kicker attempt at least one field goal every other OTAs.
“He’s a really strong leg,” Harbaugh said of Zvada, “but more than anything it’s just consistency. He has a vertical swing pattern. Because of that, he tends to kick the ball straight.”
The play of the day was made by second-round pick Colton Hood, who snapped the ball to receiver Miles Davis and returned it for the pick six. He was the starting cornerback opposite undrafted Thaddeus Dixon.
“We were just on Cover 2,” Hood said. “My boy came in and missed. I ran back to my apartment. I just broke away from the ball and made a play.”
Was it too thin a no-touch habit?
“No,” replied Hood. “I have to be paid too.”
Giants defensive backs coach Addison Lynch started yelling for Hood to do his big-play celebration where he put the hat on his head. Hood humbly agreed.
“Practice,” Hood said. “I won’t really celebrate my teammates, it will definitely show when the season starts.”
Harbaugh sounded like he was sleeping better than he was two weeks ago when he looked at the DT depth chart.
Since then, the Giants, who drafted sixth-round pick Bobby Jamison-Travis, signed free agents DJ Reader and Shelby Harris — two likely veterans — and said Zacch Pickens has been waived.
“It’s not that we wouldn’t have quickly made a defense or signed if they were available or kept Dexter. [Lawrence] if that was something we could do – those were all things on the table,” Harbaugh said. “But, as it went on, I thought we did a good job of responding as the situation unfolded. Now we feel really good about our team there,” Harbaugh said. “It looks good to me.”
The Giants hosted three undrafted QBs – Sawyer Robertson (Baylor), Matt Sluka (James Madison) and Jeff Sims (Arizona State) – for tryouts. Sims is also listed as a recipient.
OLB Quinton Bell (four years) and TE Josiah Deguara (six) were the veterans who attended the tryout.
