Arvell Reese, the Giants’ No. 5 pick, stands out during New York’s first padded camp session in White Sulphur Springs

The New York Giants’ first padded practice of 2026 training camp at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, came in a weather window that seemed designed to test both conditioning and attention to detail. The session began with a light sprinkle, turned into a torrential downpour for about an hour in the middle portion of practice, and then finished in heat and bright sunshine. The result was a sloppy, one-hour-and-45-minute workout that still produced a standout theme for the coaching staff: their new talent is already pushing the tempo.

According to Yahoo Sports’ report from camp, Arvell Reese, selected as the team’s No. 5 pick, dominated the practice. In a day marked by shifting field conditions, Reese’s impact stood out in the middle of the most difficult stretch, when wet grass can tighten footwork and change how quickly linemen and skill players can accelerate and separate.

Practices early in training camp are often about installation and evaluation, not polished execution. When weather turns, that balance can shift further toward fundamentals and decision-making, since ball security, route timing, and tackling mechanics become harder to maintain. Reese’s advantage in those circumstances matters because it points to an ability to generate plays even when the environment is working against crisp repetition.

The day’s uneven conditions also highlight why the Giants and Reese will be watching more than just the flash. Dominance in a short window can come from processing, leverage, and effort as much as from raw athleticism. With the downpour cutting through the session for such a long stretch, Reese’s reported control of the practice offers an early look at how he may handle the consistency demands of the long summer grind.

There is, however, a need for caution in how much should be read into one practice. Training-camp standout moments can reflect matchups, rep distribution, or how often certain groups were able to get clean work before conditions deteriorated. Still, for a team investing a top-five selection, a player making plays in the first padded session is an encouraging sign for how he is being integrated.

For the Giants, the next step is to see whether Reese’s influence carries into later padded work, especially once the schedule settles into a more repeatable rhythm. If he continues to control reps consistently, the early training-camp focus may shift from learning the system to sharpening the weekly performance traits that matter on Sundays. If not, the weather-altered opener will remain a useful, but incomplete, first snapshot.

What to watch over the coming days is straightforward: whether Reese’s dominance stays tied to specific phases of practice, or whether he can translate it across different periods as conditions improve and competition rotates. The answer will help determine how quickly New York can turn a top-five investment into a steady training-camp standard rather than a one-day highlight.