New York Giants coach John Harbaugh vowed at his introductory news conference that “we’re going to be doing football, all the time, every day.” As Harbaugh’s first training camp concludes with Friday’s preseason finale against the Jets, the veteran coach has kept his word.The Giants have held 21 practices from the start of training camp to this point. They held 15 practices over the same stretch last year.The difference comes from former coach Brian Daboll’s more frequent off days. Daboll never practiced more than three days in a row, and he gave two days off from practice after a preseason game. The Giants practiced on 10 of their 11 days in West Virginia to open camp this year, including six straight practices in the second week. Harbaugh has had the team back on the practice field after one day off following each preseason game.Harbaugh’s practices have been longer, with 12 sessions lasting more than two hours. Just four of Daboll’s practices ran over two hours last year.The early returns on the demanding schedule are promising, as the Giants dominated a joint practice against the lowly Dolphins in the oppressive Miami heat last week. The Giants almost made it through the grueling camp without incurring a major injury before wide receiver Calvin Austin suffered a non-contact torn ACL during a drill on Tuesday.Harbaugh’s program got off to an inauspicious start when three players, including receiver/return Gunner Olszewski and defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris, suffered torn Achilles tendons during OTAs. But those were the only major injuries until the Giants lost Austin, who was slated to be the starting slot receiver.It’s been notable how the Giants have avoided extended absences due to soft-tissue injuries. Even when players are injured, they seem to be returning to practice faster than past years. Assistant general manager Brandon Brown attributed the short stays on the sideline to the meritocracy Harbaugh has established.“Guys don’t want to miss practice because they understand the floor is being raised and you missing practice is an opportunity, frankly, for someone else to take your job, and you see it in real time,” Brown said. “It’s not just lip service. You’ve seen rotations of players getting reps with the ones, now getting reps with the twos, guys that were fringed twos now getting reps with the ones.”It’s not as if Harbaugh is running the players into the ground with no consideration for their bodies. Two of the camp practices were conducted at a jog-through pace to limit the physical demands while maintaining the mental intensity.Every coach drills situational football, but Harbaugh dedicates more time to game management — leading late, trailing late, end of half, etc. — than any of the previous four Giants coaches I’ve covered in the post-Tom Coughlin era. No stone has gone unturned by Harbaugh. The Giants have rehearsed everything from their pregame stretching routine to the victory formation. It will be shocking if the Giants aren’t effective at converting on fourth-and-1 because they’ve seemingly drilled that situation as much as any other this summer.Soon the Giants will find out if the more intense training camp translates to the regular season. They have dropped their past three openers by a combined score of 89-12.Target hogsThe worth of training camp stats can be debated, but there’s value in having a tally of how many passes a receiver caught and from which quarterback.Tight end Isaiah Likely was far and away starting quarterback Jaxson Dart’s favorite target with 44 catches in 11-on-11 team periods during camp. Wide receiver Darnell Mooney finished a distant second with 18 catches from Dart. Austin (17), TE Theo Johnson (17), WR Malachi Fields (15), RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. (14), RB Devin Singletary (13) and RB Cam Skattebo (12) were the other players with at least 10 catches from Dart in camp.Dart completed 188-of-276 attempts (68.1 percent) in 11-on-11 periods with seven interceptions. Oddly, defensive tackle Darius Alexander was the only player with multiple interceptions of Dart this summer. For perspective on how much heavier Dart’s workload was as the starter this summer compared to the backup as a rookie, he completed 85-of-136 attempts (62.5 percent) in camp last year.Backup quarterback Jameis Winston completed 156-of-244 passes (63.9 percent) in 11-on-11 periods. His favorite targets were TE Tanner Conner (16 catches), WR Dalen Cambre (16), WR Braxton Berrios (14), WR Xavier Gipson (13), RB Eric Gray (13) and TE Thomas Fidone (12).Overall, the Giants’ quarterbacks attempted 617 passes in 11-on-11 periods this summer compared to 463 attempts last year under Daboll.And the winner is …Harbaugh’s run of having an undrafted rookie make the roster — it happened 17 times in his 18 years in Baltimore — should continue with kicker Dominic Zvada. A three-man competition was quickly whittled down to two in the spring after the Giants determined veteran Jason Sanders didn’t have the leg strength necessary to kick in the Meadowlands (Sanders ironically went on to win the Jets’ kicking job).That left Zvada against Ben Sauls, who went 8-for-8 on field goals in the final three games of last season as a rookie. Zvada was the clear leader in the competition after Sauls struggled badly in the spring, and the rookie never ceded his hold on the job.Both kickers were perfect on kicks in the first two preseason games, but Zvada held a significant edge in practice. He made 81-of-90 field goals (90 percent) in live periods compared to 67-of-87 (77 percent) for Sauls. Both kickers have strong legs, as evidenced by makes from 60-plus yards in the last practice of camp, but Zvada’s booming power raises excitement over the possibility of the Giants having a weapon like the one the Cowboys discovered in Brandon Aubrey.Special insightSpecial teams are a major consideration when forming a roster, and that is certainly the case under Harbaugh, who has an extensive special teams background. Insider linebackers Micah McFadden, Jack Kelly and Zaire Barnes, as well as outside linebacker Caleb Murphy and safety Elijah Campbell, have gotten extensive work as starters on the core four special teams units (kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return).McFadden and Kelly are locks to make the roster as the backup inside linebackers. Barnes, Murphy and Campbell are unheralded players who are in prime position to make the roster because of their special teams value.Gunner is an important position on the punt team. Campbell is in line for one of the gunner jobs, while the other position is up for grabs. Cornerback Art Green has been a standout gunner, but he has lost first-team reps on special teams recently. Nic Jones, who adds value as a backup slot corner, could swipe Green’s spot as a gunner.Berrios appears to be a lock to make the roster as the punt returner after Austin’s injury. Berrios can also return kickoffs alongside Deonte Banks. None of the other wide receivers contribute on special teams, so that might mean whoever is lower on the depth chart between Darius Slayton and Odell Beckham Jr. will be inactive on game days.It’s trending toward the Giants carrying four running backs on the active roster: Skattebo, Singletary, Tracy and Najee Harris. None of those backs have much special teams experience beyond some kick returns for Singletary and Tracy. Like at wide receiver, it will be challenging to dress all of the running backs on game day if they don’t contribute on special teams. Tracy is an option to return kickoffs alongside Banks, and he has been a starter on the punt team throughout the summer, so that could be his ticket to a jersey on game day.Leaders in the clubhouseHarbaugh favors a leadership group instead of traditional season-long captains. Players voted to elect Dart, Winston, tight end Chris Manhertz, offensive lineman Andrew Thomas, outside linebacker Brian Burns, inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, safety Jevon Holland and punter Jordan Stout as their leaders. Harbaugh appoints weekly captains for each game.Thomas and Burns were slam dunks as the most accomplished players on the roster who have been captains previously. Edmunds arrives with a lengthy track record as a leader. It would have been alarming if Dart wasn’t considered a leader as the starting quarterback. Winston’s election speaks to the respect he commands as the team’s most vocal leader. Stout was an obvious choice considering the other specialists will be undrafted rookies (Zvada and long snapper Ben Mann). Holland is an outspoken veteran in a young secondary. Manhertz’s selection shows how much teammates respect his character, considering he only has 30 career catches in 10 seasons.Trade talkThe days leading up to cut day are often prime time for trades involving depth pieces. In previous preseasons, the Giants traded for linebacker Isaiah Simmons and outside linebacker Boogie Basham while shipping away defensive lineman Jordan Phillips. None of those players made a significant impact and only late-round picks were exchanged. The Day 3 picks acquired from the Basham and Phillips trades yielded cornerback Korie Black in the seventh round of last year’s draft and linebacker Jack Kelly in the sixth round this year.“The draft is a little bit of a numbers game,” Harbaugh said. “The more swings you can take, the more chances you have to hit on guys. So, having more picks over time, I hope that’s something we’re able to accumulate and have a lot of picks year to year.”The Giants have added to their war chest with a pair of trades in the past week. They dealt backup guard Daniel Faalele to the Jaguars for a 2027 sixth-round pick. Faalele was viewed as the top backup guard entering camp, but he started to slide down the depth chart as the summer progressed. That the Giants got a sixth-round pick signals interest from multiple teams in Faalele, who started every game the previous two seasons for Harbaugh in Baltimore.The Giants then flipped backup guard/tackle Josh Ezeudu to the Chiefs for a 2028 seventh-round pick this week. The minuscule return indicates the Giants were planning to cut Ezeudu, so they were happy to get anything for the 2022 third-round pick.Trading two guards in a week suggests the Giants are extremely confident in veteran backup Aaron Stinnie. The Giants also have an ongoing competition for backup center between Lucas Patrick and Bryan Hudson. It’s possible both players could make the 53-man roster, although it’s more likely the Giants will try to slip the loser of the battle onto their practice squad.Waiver fodderThe Giants are fifth in the waiver order, which isn’t necessarily something to celebrate in general manager Joe Schoen’s fifth season. But it does give them an opportunity to claim young players cut by other teams. It’s important to note that vested veterans — players with three or more credited seasons — aren’t subject to waivers. Those players can sign directly with any team after getting cut, so the Giants’ place in the waiver order won’t help land any vets.The Giants had success with waiver claims after cut day in 2022 when the roster Schoen inherited from Dave Gettleman was full of holes. Offensive lineman Tyre Phillips, cornerback Nick McCloud and safety Jason Pinnock became valuable contributors for the 2022 playoff team. However, the Giants haven’t made a consequential post-cut day waiver addition in the past three years.The Giants don’t figure to add many players after cut day this year, but defensive tackle stands out as a glaring need as the regular season approaches. That position could be a trade target in the coming days, especially if the Giants are eyeing a veteran.