If you're casually monitoring the Hakeem Nicks situation, you may be a tad misled. Sources such as ESPN and NFL Network are playing up the injury and dedicating entire segments to how the Giants will manage to fill "the void" Nicks will leave.
While it is true that the Super Bowl champion receiver has suffered a broken foot and will likely miss 12 weeks of action, I suggest taking a quick look at the calendar.
It's doubtful that the Giants are currently scrambling in an attempt to solidify their game plans for the four exhibition games coming up this summer. Barring any unexpected set backs, Nicks should return to the practice field by mid to late August. While that makes his aspirations of taking the field for the opening day of traning camp a bit fantastical, it doesn't put Week 1 in danger.
But let's jump on the sensationalized bandwagon. After all, injuries such as this one can occasionally take a few weeks longer to resolve. Last season, the Giants themselves were left without their first round draft pick for several weeks past his anticipated return thanks to the very same injury that currently has Nicks sidelined.
If Nicks's recovery time does lag and he is forced to sit out the first handful of games, New York does currently enjoy some depth despite losing Mario Manningham to free agency.
It is never wise to get too excited about a player during spring practice sessions, but it appears that Domenik Hixon may have successfully recovered from his second right ACL tear in as many years.
Hixon was expected to be Steve Smith's replacement last fall. After impressing during his first shot at the starting lineup in 2008, Hixon spent the past four seasons either injured or unable to permanently maintain a top roster spot.
He suffered his season ending injury in Week 2 of last season and in Week 3 the world saw Victor Cruz grab the limelight with a 2 TD performance in Philadelphia.
Now Hixon has reportedly gained nearly 25 lbs of muscle and has looked none the worse for wear in practice. If he can stay healthy, he may see some time during the opening weeks filling in for a potentially hobbled Nicks. But that wouldn't necessarily make him a starter.
The Giants prefer to use Victor as a slot receiver when they utilize three WR formations instead of placing the third wide out in that spot. Hixon would likely be used as an outside option with Rueben Randle handling the other side.
Of course, this is still the spring and the top reserve spot on the roster (which for the Giants is slots 4 and below) is not automatically Hixon's.
Injury has not been the only thing to slow down the former Akron Zipp. As mentioned previously, Hixon got a shot at the starting lineup in 2008 after Plaxico Burress missed a practice without the permission of the coaching staff. Despite leaving the game in the first half with a concussion, Hixon hauled in a TD while racking up 102 yards off of only 4 receptions.
But after Burress permanently removed himself from the lineup by shooting himself in the leg, Hixon got a chance to prove he was the Big Blue deep threat of the future and let it literally slip through his hands.
After badly beating an Eagles defender during a late season game in '08, Hixon dropped a wide-open pass that surely would have resulted in a TD. All players suffer miscues, even Nicks has dropped his share of easy balls, but Hixon showed that the Giants would need to shore up the position in the coming offseason. Nicks was drafted five months later and the emergence of Mario Manningham during the 2009 training camp once again knocked Hixon out of the starting lineup.
So who can potentially challenge Hixon for playing time with or without a healthy Nicks? Ramses Barden will get a chance but he'll certainly have to make a solid impression.
Barden was drafted two rounds after Nicks in '09 and team officials thought that perhaps he could develop into a reliable red zone target. At 6'6 he towers over the rest of the Giants receiving corps so he potentially can offer a unique twist to the passing game.
Obviously, the Giants have done just fine without his "twist" and during the rare moments that Barden has been healthy, he has been either ineffective or a healthy scratch on game day.
Jerrel Jernigan is entering his second year and could see some significant playing time this season in the return game. He is certainly fast but his hands are an issue. Still, he could push Hixon for time.
At the end of the day, all of this speculation is likely for naught. If Nicks is back by Week 1, he might be a tad rusty, but Super Bowls aren't won in September and Cruz should be able to provide adequate help.
