On the very first play of the very first practice of training camp, New York Giants linebacker Devon Kennard undercut tight end Will Tye and intercepted an Eli Manning pass.

It was a nice moment for Kennard, who had spent much of his offseason working hard to improve his coverage skills.

“Most definitely, [coverage] was something I made a point of emphasis in getting better at this off-season and it’s nice to start camp off that way,” Kennard told reporters earlier this week.

For the last several years, coverage over the middle has been an Achilles heel for the Giants defense. Tight ends like Jason Witten have routinely doled out significant damage, and it’s an area Steve Spagnuolo would very much like to see improvements.

Kennard has received that message.

“I think it is essential,” Kennard added. “At linebacker you have to be able to obviously stop the run, but it’s a pass happy league and there are a lot of good quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends and skill players out there, so you have to be able to defend the pass.”

Of course, the concern regarding Kennard has never been his instincts or willingness to improve. Rather, like many Giants in recent years, his issues have stemmed from an inability to stay healthy.

Luckily, Kennard has opened camp feeling healthier than ever, and he’s anxious to shed the “injury prone” label.

“I feel healthy, I am lean, I’m strong and fast and I just feel ready to go,” Kennard said. “I am not worried about what has happened in the past and I feel great right now and I am doing above and beyond everything to keep my body healthy and to stay on the field and that is all I am concerned with.”

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If Kennard, a 2014 fifth-round pick, can stay healthy, the Giants are confident in what they can get out of him. But that’s always going to be a “could be” scenario until Kennard proves he’s able to stay on the field.

In his two NFL seasons, Kennard has missed 11 games due to injury.