Though the Giants hope he never has to play a regular-season snap in the foreseeable future, they can’t help but be impressed so far by rookie quarterback Ryan Nassib.
The Syracuse product has looked so good, in fact, he already is being listed ahead of veteran Curtis Painter as the No. 3 behind Eli Manning and backup David Carr on the first “unofficial” depth chart released by the team Thursday.
“He’s got a strong arm,” coach Tom Coughlin said of the fourth-round pick, who was a surprise choice by the Giants considering Manning’s youth and durability.
Throwing inside when rain forced the Giants to move to their practice bubble, Nassib flashed that big arm on a pair of throws to free-agent wideout Kevin Hardy Thursday that each covered more than 40 yards in the air.
* The unofficial depth chart released by the Giants contained few surprises.
Ex-Eagles defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins is listed ahead of veteran Shaun Rogers at right tackle, with Linval Joseph the starter at left tackle in front of rookie Johnathan Hankins.
The early nod at linebacker, meanwhile, went to veteran Keith Rivers on the strong side, Mark Herzlich in the middle and Spencer Paysinger ahead of Jacquian Williams on the weak side.
On offense, David Diehl is listed ahead of late-signing rookie Justin Pugh at right tackle, though that could change over the coming weeks as the first-rounder from Syracuse becomes more comfortable with the system.
Pugh, in fact, received a handful of snaps with the first-team offense.
* Victor Cruz gave a thumbs down to the NFL’s radical changes to the Pro Bowl that were announced Wednesday.
Instead of NFC vs. AFC, the rosters will now be determined by a “fantasy draft” captained by Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice. The game also will no longer include kickoffs, among many alterations.
“I’m not the biggest fan of [the changes], to be honest with you, but they’re trying to make the Pro Bowl fun again,” said Cruz, who played in the game last season. “I respect it and I like Jerry and Deion. It should be some fun interaction between those two guys.”
* Coughlin said he will not have to miss any practice time this weekend to accompany the Giants’ official contingent to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Bill Parcells in Canton, Ohio.
“I’ll leave after practice, and [assistant] coaches will take over the evening meetings,” Coughlin said. “We’re going to go to the ceremony to honor Bill and be there for him as Giant-to-Giant, then we’ll travel back.”
* Jenkins was excused from practice because of the death of his grandmother.