EAST RUTHERFORD – The New York Giants' rookie camp has come and gone, as have those who participated this past weekend, with just a handful returning in a week and joining the veterans in the offseason program.

Here are my takeaways from the festivities:

Strong first impression from Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones impressed me with the juice on his throws, especially those into coverage.

He was high a couple times on intermediate throws over the middle in Friday's practice, but you can see his natural ability on the move.

Jones stayed after practice Saturday working with sixth-round pick Darius Slayton and two tryouts, slot Flynn Nagel and tight end Alexander Ellis.

“That’s pretty standard for quarterbacks,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said afterward. “This is the way Daniel operates. I can see during practice if a route doesn’t get completed he’s kind of clicking it off in his brain, ‘OK, I’m going to get that later.’ Really good quarterbacks are perfectionists."

Jones' athleticism was on display in and out of the pocket as he moved very well to his right and to his left, including one throw to Alex Wesley that was perfect.

Consider this from rookie tight end C.J. Conrad, Jones' roommate and one of his top targets on Friday: "There's some zip on his ball. Saw that right away first ball I caught. Throws a really good ball. It zips. Hits your hands quick, gets on you quick, tight spiral. He really impressed me with his velocity."

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Off the field, Jones came off exactly as advertised: approachable, focused and comfortable with being himself despite a ton of attention and negativity that has been swirling the past week. He'll head home to Charlotte with the entire Giants' playbook for the first time on his iPad, and the No. 6 overall pick said he plans on studying and working out at Duke until he returns May 13.

"Coming back the week after next, it will be with the veterans and obviously you will be expected to be on that page," Jones said. "I have a whole lot to do next week, for sure. I think just listening, just making sure you are listening to what’s being said. Trying not to make the same mistake twice is the challenge. People want to see in a coachable player someone that doesn’t make the same mistake twice. I think focusing on that and understanding what you need to correct, making sure you are mindful of that when the situation presents itself."

Dexter Lawrence ready to Hulk up

Only two Giants players that I have covered appeared as massive as defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence: Shaun Rogers and Shawn Andrews. I joked with the Giants' second of three first-round picks that he looked like he was going to lift the podium up and swing it around during Friday's news conference.

"Like Hulk?" he said.

Yeah, exactly like Hulk.

The 6-foot-4, 342-pound Lawrence lined up at left end, nose guard and right end in odd fronts throughout team drills, and he didn't just look to overpower the offensive lineman in front of him, which was probably a calculated move.

Show the coaches his bag of tricks early in the hopes of shattering the myth that he's solely a run stopper and lacks enough pass rush skills to be a factor in those situations.

Guarded optimism: Austin Droogsma

The Giants have signed guard Austin Droogsma, who was a tryout at rookie camp. The 6-foot-4, 345-pound Droogsma went to Florida State, but did not play football - he was a track and field star in shot put and discus.

This was his first time in pads in SIX years. Crazy story. The Giants apparently liked what they saw and are willing to add him to the 90-man roster with the hope of seeing more. His last football game was in high school, so Droogma impressed enough as a potential developmental prospect worth tracking moving forward.

Droogsma's family ties were in track and field, and even though he was rated as one of the top guards in the country coming out of high school, he followed his father Mike's footsteps. Dad threw the discus at Florida State.

DeAndre Baker takes on starring role

Former Georgia cornerback DeAndre Baker was the most impressive player on the field for rookie camp, and it wasn't close.

He uses physicality in coverage, but his technique is very clean. Not grabby. Just straight up looking to lock in and lock down. It's only two practices against guys who might not even be in the league, but ... there's a chance Baker has the biggest impact of any Giants rookie in 2019.

On Saturday, Baker just swatted a Jones deep sideline pass intended for Reggie White Jr. into the arms of McKinley Whitfield for the pick. In a 1-on-1 interview for an upcoming story, Baker showed he has the ability to exude confidence without talking smack. Just get the sense he's good, he knows he is good, but there is a lot of work to be done and he isn't satisfied.

Tenny Adewusi, sleeper

Former Colonia star Tenny Adewusi converted from QB to DB at Delaware, where he was coached by Henry Baker, the Giants assistant DB coach. Adewusi was very active and earned a spot after entering camp as a tryout with Jacob Thieneman’s status uncertain due to a knee injury.

Adewusi, Rutgers punter Ryan Anderson and defensive end Alex Jenkins all signed with the Giants when camp ended. Anderson will compete with Riley Dixon.

Supporting Corey Ballentine

Shurmur was asked about Corey Ballentine and he clearly wanted to make the point that the rookie CB was "a victim of a crime."

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He said Ballentine was “shot in the butt" and the Giants want him to take the time he needs to mourn his close friend Dwane Simmons and for closure. Shurmur said the Giants are hopeful Ballentine will be able to be with the team when the rookies join the veterans as part of the offseason program, but they would stay in contact, stressing "this is a real-life situation."

'Moneybacker' Mark McLaurin

Mark McLaurin signed as an undrafted free agent, and while he played defensive back at Mississippi State, the Giants are toying with using him in a sort of "moneybacker" role as Bettcher and the Cardinals did with Deone Bucannon in Arizona.

The two players are almost identical in size (Bucannon and McLaurin are both 6-foot-1, McLaurin has Bucannon by a pound at 212). McLaurin is listed on the roster at linebacker and he played there in base defenses on the outside, but rotated in at defensive back as well. He could bring athleticism at inside backer and help in coverage, also proving stout enough to hold up against the run in sub packages. The Giants don't really have a player in that role - playing Jabrill Peppers at linebacker is not the move right now - and we know how highly thought of Devin White and Devin Bush were in the draft. Clearly not as bulked up as those two, McLaurin is someone to keep an eye on as Bettcher tries to find different pieces to improve the playmaking ability of his defense this season.

Email: stapleton@northjersey.com

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