The Giants are in the midst of a big week as they prepare for the start of the season.

The team will wrap up its preseason slate at MetLife Stadium on Friday with a matchup against the Jets. Less than 48 hours later, some big decisions will have to be made as the deadline to reduce the roster to 53 players is Sunday at 6 p.m.

While much of the roster has been decided already, there are still several spots up for grabs heading into the preseason finale.

"We're certainly not certain about what we want to do yet, yet I wouldn't say it's all up in the air either," coach John Harbaugh told the media Monday. "There's probably some key points, some clutch areas where we just have to make decisions still with three, four, five decisions that have to be made."

Here are storylines to keep an eye on heading into Friday's preseason game against the Jets.

Wrapping up the preseason

The Giants will conclude their preseason schedule with a matchup against the Jets at MetLife Stadium this Friday. It will serve as the final opportunity many players currently on the roster to showcase their skills to the coaching staff prior to Sunday's cutdown day. While guys are competing against each other for a limited number of spots, whether it's in the starting lineup or simply to make the roster, Harbaugh has been impressed with how everyone on the team has conducted themselves this summer.

"They've committed to helping one another achieve each other's dreams, those kinds of things we talk about in our meetings and I know they talk about amongst themselves as a group of guys," the head coach said on Sunday. "And so, you're pulling for everybody and everybody's pulling for everybody. Everybody wants – you see it on the sideline, you see it between guys who are competing for the same position. They're rooting for each other and helping each other along. I mean, you see so many of the best things about human nature come out on a football team, believe it or not. ...

"I would say everybody, every one of our guys, whether they're here the next week or they're not, will look back and say they did their very best, they put their best foot forward, and it's something that they can look back on really for the rest of their life proudly."

Malik sheds the red non-contact jersey

As we inch closer to the start of the regular season, one of the key contributors on the offense took a big step towards his return to game action. For the first time this summer, star wide receiver Malik Nabers participated in practice on Monday without the red, non-contact jersey that he had worn last week.

"I thought he looked good," Harbaugh said after Monday's practice. "Look at the tape later, but he was moving well, probably moving the best we've seen him look. ... It was a good practice for him today. Got the red shirt off. That was a good step."

Taking the non-contact jersey off is certainly a step in the right direction for Nabers as he continues to work his way back from last year's knee injury. However, Harbaugh would not make any definitive statements about the wideout being on the field for the Week 1 matchup against the Cowboys.

"I just don't want to make any kind of statements like that," the head coach said when asked if Nabers is trending towards playing in Week 1. "I think it's reasonable to assume that. Those are all kind of things that you can assume. It's just based on watching the guy practice. The only thing I know more than you guys know is what the docs and the trainers tell me, as far as his rehab. And that's doing well. He's doing really well with that. He's strong. He's in a good place, but how he gets through practice, how ready he is to play and protect himself, is really based on practice."

Depth along the O-line

The Giants made a trade last week as they sent offensive lineman Daniel Faalele to the Jaguars in exchange for a 2027 sixth-round pick. Harbaugh noted that the team is always looking to take advantage of an opportunity to add more draft picks, but we'll get more into that in a bit. More importantly, the head coach pointed towards the confidence the team has in the depth of their O-line as a driving force behind the trade.

"I think it says we feel good about our depth, for sure," the head coach said about the trade. "We do feel good about our depth on the offensive line generally and inside. And it's not too often you get a trade like that. You know, it's not too often you can trade a player for a sixth-round pick in the middle of training camp. But sometimes teams have needs, and Daniel's started many games in the National Football League, so they felt like that was valuable for them. With us, Daniel was doing well for the role he was going to be playing, and yet we have other guys that were doing well, too."

The performance of some of the players vying for reserve roles along the O-line is what led to the coaching staff and front office feeling confident about the depth. One of these players is rookie sixth-round pick J.C. Davis, who is coming off a dominant performance against the Dolphins. Davis lined up at left tackle for all 81 offensive snaps in Miami, which included 46 pass block snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, the rookie did not surrender a single pressure while finishing as the team's highest ranked player on offense.

"I think it was a great opportunity for the coaches to see my ability, what I could do at left tackle, and I think it went pretty good," Davis told reporters on Monday. "Of course, I've got things to improve on, but overall, it was a good game. We got the win. That was the most important thing."

Looking to improve in 2026 and beyond

As previously mentioned, the Giants acquired an additional pick in the 2027 NFL Draft with last week's trade of Faalele, which brings the team's total draft capital to six picks in next year's draft as it currently stands. The Giants' fourth-round pick was used in this year's trade up to acquire Malachi Fields in the third round, while the seventh-round pick was sent to the Dolphins last year as part of the Darren Waller trade. The sixth-round pick the Giants acquired in that deal turned into J.C. Davis.

"Any time you can add picks, it's a valuable thing," the head coach said about last week's trade. "It's a future thing. Doesn't seem like much now, but it'll matter day three of the draft. It'll be something that we'll be happy we've got."

As the Giants approach Sunday's cutdown day, they will explore any and all trade possibilities as they look to improve both the roster in 2026 and their draft capital moving forward.

"If we could, we'd do it as much as we possibly could," Harbaugh said about trading for future draft picks. "We'd like to take advantage of the opportunities, if they'll come up, as much as we can. We do have some guys. We're kind of deep in a few positions, and maybe that'll happen. It doesn't happen that often, but maybe it will."