Game Week is finally here as the preseason opener is now just a few days away.

The Giants practiced in shells Monday followed by a walkthrough practice Tuesday afternoon. Coach Brian Daboll met with the media before both sessions, while wide receiver Montrell Washington and linebacker Darius Mausau spoke after practice on Monday, and wide receiver Darius Slayton, safety Tyler Nubin, and offensive lineman Greg Van Roten spoke Tuesday.

Here is what we learned.

Wilson's 'positive impact' on Nabers

It didn't take long for quarterback Russell Wilson to make an impact on the locker room. Since the day he arrived in East Rutherford, the veteran signal-caller's presence has been felt both on and off the field, evidenced by the countless rave reviews he's gotten from his teammates in the media.

Considering the youth across the Giants' offense, Wilson's influence on the unit has been significant, especially when it comes to the team's top playmaker. The connection between Wilson and star wide receiver Malik Nabers has been growing since the start of training camp, with the two connecting on big passes seemingly every practice. Daboll discussed the impression Wilson has made on the 22-year-old wideout and how the team is already seeing improvements from their young star.

"He's had a very positive impact on Malik," Daboll said about the veteran quarterback. "They have a good relationship, they spend a lot of time in the meeting room and then they spend time outside just in terms of body maintenance, how Russ takes care of his body, the things he's done to have a long career. He's kind of grabbed hold of that, asks a lot of questions, he's very involved. Talking about Malik in the meetings, communicative.

"I know you see a lot of the plays that he makes out on the field. But the thing I'm most proud of is the growth he's made as an individual in the meeting rooms, outside the building. And I think Russ has had a big impact on that as well. He's one of our best players, in terms of Malik. And I think he's made strides from year one to year two in a lot of areas. And I'm very proud of how he's approached really the whole offseason and then into training camp. But I do think that the relationship he has with Russ has been impactful."

Daboll on preseason philosophy: 'It's different for every team'

With the preseason opener just a few days away, a hot topic this week among members of the media has been whether or not Daboll will play his starters against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. As has been the case the last few years, the head coach did not shed light on the coaching staff's plans for this weekend.

However, Daboll did discuss some of his general philosophy surrounding playing guys in the preseason, and the subsequent risks and benefits.

"I think it's different for every team," the head coach said. "I've done a lot of research in terms of teams in the last few years, coaches, veteran coaches, what they've done. I worked for some people that have had pretty good success in how we did it. I don't think there's one right formula. Play them, not play them. I think you need to do what's best for your football team. So, is it a series? Is it two series? Is it a half? You talk about that as a staff as we get going. Take a look at the practices that we've had. There's no substitute for playing the game. You have to tackle. You don't do a whole lot (in practice). Some people do some live tackling, but it's not much. There's no substitute for a quarterback when he knows he can get hit. There's no substitute for an offensive guard cleaning the pocket or being very physical in the run game in gang tackling. That's the game of football.

"So you try to balance that with what you think is best for the football team. You're always going to have injury risk. In practice, you have injury risk. But we'll sit down and do what we think is best for our football team. If that's playing, it's playing. If it's not playing as much, it's not playing as much. We've had a good camp to this point. I think we've got a lot accomplished. It's been a physical camp. And we'll continue to have a physical camp here leading up to the first game."

"I think it's valuable for anybody, no matter how long you've played," Slayton added about playing in the preseason. "No matter how you look at it, it's been a long time since you've been live tackled, it's been a long time since you've seen somebody that wears a different color than you. I think preseason reps are really valuable, regardless of how long you've played."

While we're on the subject of starters, the Giants released their first unofficial depth chart ahead of Saturday's game in Buffalo.

As always, the depth chart is subject to change. It simply serves as a guide, more so for the media than the coaches.

Additionally, players on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list are not included.

The entire depth chart can be found here

Washington: 'A play a day, keep the coaches away'

While the Wilson-Nabers duo has garnered plenty of attention over the first few weeks of training camp, another quarterback-wide receiver connection is not far behind in terms of the number of big plays made. Rookie Jaxson Dart is still finding his way as he goes through his first NFL training camp, and one of the guys he's been leaning on most during practice is wide receiver Montrell Washington.

The 26-year-old wideout is a bit of a journeyman. He played in 15 games with the Denver Broncos in 2022 but has appeared in seven total games since, with all of his playing time over the last two seasons coming on special teams. Washington signed a reserve/future contract with the Giants back in February and has been on a mission to make a strong impression on the coaching staff ever since. After a solid spring, the veteran receiver has been one of the standouts of training camp so far, coming up with a big catch almost every practice.

"I'm just trying to make a play just to get on the team, to be honest with you," Washington told reporters. "That's just really it, I'm just trying to make plays every day. A play a day, my motto, a play a day, keep the coaches away. So, I'm trying to make as many plays as I can."

While he might have originally been brought in with an eye more towards the return game, it appears as if Washington's strong start to the summer has earned him more of a look in the passing game, as well, according to his head coach.

"I think the guys that are doing good work and making plays, Montrell, I would include him in there, they're going to get more opportunity, they make plays, they're going to get more opportunity to show what they can do," Daboll said. "There are guys that are doing a nice job. This time of year, you're shuffling guys around and seeing them versus different players in competition, but maybe some guys that aren't getting as many reps with the early guys that are showing up, earn the right to get more."

"It's one thing where you have the guys you expect to make plays making plays, but when you're top to bottom, have a practice and every group rotates through and everyone is making plays, it elevates the play of everyone around," Slayton added about Washington and the rest of the depth receivers. "I think ultimately, it matters that guys like that are practicing well and playing well because it ups the play of the guys like myself who are in the 'one group.'"

'A bunch of dawgs' in '24 draft class

A big reason for the optimism surrounding the 2025 Giants is due to the performance of last year's rookies. Between Malik Nabers' record-setting season, Tyler Nubin and Dru Phillips' impact on the secondary, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Theo Johnson's growth throughout the year, it's clear that the '24 rookie class will be part of the foundation of the team moving forward.

But don't take it from me. The final member of the 2024 draft class, linebacker Darius Muasau, spoke on Monday about the impact his class has made and the potential the group has to help bring this team to where it wants to be.

"Last year, we really set the standard as far as what we can go out and contribute," said Muasau. "We have a bunch of dawgs in our draft class. We got Malik, we got Tyrone, we got Nub, we got Dru Phillips. I think the camaraderie that we bring is unmatched. We always get together – our rookie class from last year. Every time we had away games, home games, we would always get together, go out to dinners, just chop it up on how the team is doing. A lot of the vets, you got Dex (Lawrence), you got (Brian) Burns, they're always coming up to the rookies from last year. They're like, 'Aye, you guys are the future of this program. You guys are really the future of this whole organization. You got to put the team on your back at times because everything is coming down to what you guys put on tape, how you guys carry yourself around the building. The staff is always looking at you guys. Whenever your number is called, you got to be able to step up.'

"So, I feel like that's what a lot of the guys drafted last year in our draft class really did and they put out a good showing and we're really just trying to build off of that coming into this year. We got a good rookie class this year with (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter), we got (defensive lineman) Darius Alexander, we got guys on defense – on both sides of the ball, even (quarterback) Jaxson Dart, so just really looking to build off of that and set a higher bar for our standard."

Due to the presence of veterans Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden, Muasau tends to sometimes be the forgotten man of last year's draft class. But the second-year linebacker put together a solid rookie campaign, finishing the season with 55 tackles (26 solo), three tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and one interception in 15 games (seven starts). Similar to some of the other members of 2024 draft class, Muasau has already begun to make a jump heading into Year 2.

"I see improvement in communication," the head coach said Monday about the young linebacker. "I think he's a very instinctive player. He earned playing time, too. I mean, there's always sometimes that young guys play, but he's earned playing time because of his performance. And he's another guy, kind of put him and Dru Phillips in a category, who has taken a good step from year one to year two. Now we talked about Malik, but Malik was pretty successful year one. Where they've kind of, they've grown into their roles, communication, production out on the field, not making a lot of mistakes. If they do, they come back and they fix it. So Darius is right in the mix here. I think he's a good football player for us. And he'll have every opportunity to compete and to play. He'll play."