Giants training camp preview: How will offense look without Saquon Barkley?

Things had been dark around the Meadowlands for nearly a decade until Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll showed up last year. The new general manager and head coach brought a new outlook, a fresh approach, and — most importantly — the Giants' first playoff berth in six years. The future of the franchise looked bright for a change.

Until the storm clouds rolled back in.

Sadly for the Giants, things aren't so sunny in East Rutherford, N.J., anymore, not with their popular, star running back Saquon Barkley set to skip all or most of training camp due to his contract dispute. When the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a long-term contract on Monday it left Barkley unhappy and forced to play on the $10.1 million franchise tag this season — assuming he decides to play at all.

But more than that, it set a negative tone for what the Giants hoped would be a happy camp, and guaranteed that Barkley's holdout would be a daily topic in New York as long he stays away. The Giants will surely say it's not a distraction. But whether they like it or not, Barkley's absence will loom over everything they do this summer, and possibly beyond.

[Read more: What's next for Saquon Barkley and the Giants?]

Not surprisingly, it is by far the biggest of the five biggest storylines for this Giants camp:

1. Saquon Barkley's absence

Daboll's not going to discuss it and he's going to advise his players to do the same, and they'll all downplay any effect it might have. But don't be fooled. The ramifications of Barkley skipping camp and the reasons he's doing it are serious and have huge implications on the Giants' fortunes this year.

The biggest question, of course, is: When will he return? It's widely expected that he won't be back until Week 1. But will he be ready then? What kind of shape will he be in? Will he be one of the many players who return from a holdout only to get hurt right away after missing training camp? And while he's gone, can the Giants figure out any way to survive without him?

Will Barkley be happy? Will he let his anger at the organization affect his performance? Will he be the same good soldier and dedicated team player now that he knows the organization wouldn't stretch to keep him long-term? The Giants are absolutely convinced Barkley's character is such that he'll be the leader and teammate he's always been.

But no one will really know until he returns.

Only one thing is certain in this whole mess. With Barkley out, the Giants have a backfield of Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell and rookie Eric Gray. For a team that relied so much on Barkley last season, and believes it's a playoff-caliber team again this year, that Barkley-less committee clearly isn't good enough.

2. Daniel Jones quest to prove he's worth $40 million per year

Veteran receiver Sterling Shepard swore he didn't notice anything different about Jones after he signed his four-year, $160 million contract in February. Maybe he had a little "money swag" but it wasn't affecting his work ethic.

"No. If you know anything about Daniel, that guy is the hardest worker no matter what the situation is," Shepard said. "I expect him to have the mentality of, ‘I'm going to show everybody why I deserve this money.'"

Even Jones admitted the contract comes with additional pressure on top of what he always feels as a quarterback in New York. It just seems a little bigger given how many people around the NFL were blown away that the Giants would pay Jones that much. He had a good year last year, throwing for 3,200 yards and 15 touchdowns with only five interceptions, while running for 708 yards and seven touchdowns too.

But at $40 million per year, the world expects something more. And the Giants will need it until—and maybe even after—Barkley returns. No one should read too much into training camp practices and preseason games. But the big money guarantees Jones will be under a big microscope every time he steps on the field.

3. The revamped receiver corps

Give the Giants credit. They knew if they were going to pay Jones $160 million they had to give him better weapons. So they went out and traded for dynamic tight end Darren Waller, signed speedy receiver Parris Campbell and drafted the blazing Jalin Hyatt in the third round.

Is that enough? On paper, it's a much faster corps than the Giants had last season, and it sure looks like a step up from the scrap-heap group surrounding Jones last year. Waller could be Travis Kelce-like if he stays healthy. Campbell and Hyatt are definite upgrades that should help Darius Slayton become something more than a low-grade, reliable option.

There's also the potential for other help. Shepard and last year's second-round pick, Wan'Dale Robinson, could be interesting pieces if they can successfully make it back from their injuries. They also still have Isaiah Hodgins and maybe Jamison Crowder has something left in his tank too.

All that is better, but no one will mistake this for one of the NFL's best groups. There may not be a No. 1 receiver among them, and many of them wouldn't even be a No. 2 on most NFL teams. Waller is the key. If he stays healthy, he could carry the passing attack and make everyone else better. But the upside of this group overall probably still isn't very high.

4. The never-ending rebuild of the offensive line

The Giants have been trying to fix this glaring problem ever since they dismantled their last Super Bowl team more than a decade ago. But for the first time since then they might actually be on the brink of something good and reliable.

They know now they have an anchor left tackle in Andrew Thomas, who was one of the best in the league at his position last season. And they've got promising, young players at three other positions — Evan Neal at right tackle, Josh Ezeudu at left guard, and rookie John Michael Schmitz, their second-round pick, at center. Add in veteran Mark Glowinski at right guard and this unit could actually be … solid.

Of course, there are still ifs. Neal, the seventh overall pick in last year's draft, struggled as a rookie. Ezeudu battled injuries. And camp will tell if Schmitz is ready for the starting job the Giants are likely to hand him. But there's no doubt they have better pieces up front than the Giants have had in a long, long time.

5. Wink Martindale's encore performance

There aren't many assistant coaches who pulled off a better magic trick than the Giants' defensive coordinator did last season. His defense was strong, aggressive, was tough in the fourth quarter, and won quite a few games for the Giants.

They were so valuable that it was almost easy to overlook that they ranked 25th overall and 27th against the run.

A lot of their overachieving was because of Martindale's scheme and his coaching. Now he's surrounded by better players. They signed veteran middle linebacker Bobby Okereke, added defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson to the front line, signed safety Bobby McCain to replace the departed Julian Love, and drafted one of the best corners in the draft, Deonte Banks, in the first round back in April.

With the rest of the players now having a year of experience in Martindale's scheme, and especially with the return of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence who got a four-year, $90 million contract in May, Martindale has better pieces to work with this season. And for his next trick, if he can piece it all together, he might even be able to get the Giants' defense ranked in the top 15.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.