Giants rookie Malachi Fields pushing for more playing time with standout training camp

Time stopped when Malachi Fields left his feet to catch a dig route over the middle of the field.“It was like he was just levitating,” safety Jason Pinnock said, recalling Fields’ standout introductory reception during spring practice.“I was kind of just waiting for him to come down.

He’s a freak athlete.If I had to say one glaring thing, it’s his ball skills.” Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.

The 6-foot-4 rookie is responsible for a few 40-yard catches during training camp, but he has shown a more expansive route tree than just tracking go-balls since he joined the Giants as a third-round pick.Veterans Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin have the inside track to be the Giants’ top complementary options to No.1 receiver Malik Nabers when the season begins.

But it might not be long before Fields is pushing for more targets from Jaxson Dart and using his physicality to perimeter block for the running backs.“The playbook comes easy to him so we can really focus on what happens after the snap rather than before,” receivers coach Chad Hall said.“That’s really beneficial to coach because I’m not teaching the white-board stuff.

He’s gotten better from the snap to the release to the top of the routes.He’s a big guy who can bend well.

We’re just trying to get him to bend more, play lower.”Fields will make his NFL preseason debut Saturday against the Vikings in front of his parents, wife and son.Teammates recognize that he is champing at the bit to be competitive again.“He has a great rapport with Jaxson,” backup quarterback Jameis Winston said.

“He’s curious about what is required to be the best.And I think when you have that mindset, when you focus on what you love, it’s a setup for success.”The Giants tied for No.

11 in 20-yard receptions (52) and tied for No.5 (11) in 40-yard receptions last season despite an injured Nabers miss...