Looking for special chance to be Giant

When they first came into the league as highly touted wide receiver prospects, Devin Thomas and Michael Clayton probably did not envision their careers coming to the point where they are now. Clayton was a first-round pick of the Bucs in 2004, taken with the 15th overall pick, and Thomas was a second-rounder selected with the 34th overall pick by the Redskins in 2008. They had promise, they had money. They had jobs.

Fast-forward to the present, and both are just trying to make the Giants' 53-man roster. And they're doing it the way generations of undrafted, unheralded rookies have had to scratch their way into the hearts of coaches and personnel men -- through the gantlet of special teams.

Thomas returned three kickoffs for an average of 46.0 yards last week against the Bears, including an electrifying 73-yarder that set up the Giants' first offensive touchdown of the preseason. The key block on his run at the point of attack? It was thrown by Clayton.

That was just one of Clayton's eye-opening hits on specials.

"Did you see the kickoff coverage when the off returner came up and he just decked him?" Tom Coughlin asked reporters this past week. "And then the block on the long return, he just splattered him. If the young players could watch how that guy goes about his business, he is very intense and serious."

The Giants added the two players late last season when injuries devoured the receiving group. Both were brought back for this training camp. Thomas missed a few practices after dislocating his right pinkie -- the bone actually popped out of the skin -- and has been playing with his right hand heavily bandaged since. It prevented him from switching the ball to his outside hand on the 73-yard return and possibly going all the way to the end zone, but it actually seems as though Thomas has had better success catching passes in practice since the injury.

Thomas has caught five of six passes thrown his way this preseason for a total of 43 yards. Clayton has not caught a pass. Neither is likely to displace the hierarchy of receivers the Giants have in place ahead of them. But they have been around long enough to realize that and recognize the importance of their special-teams contributions.

"You have a guy who knows he is fighting for his job and is smart enough to go out," Coughlin said in reference to both players. "He has had a taste of it before. You don't want to be in a one-on-one situation with that guy because you know he is going to play and play hard. He is trying to secure a job."

There might not be room on the roster for either player, and there certainly won't be room for both. At least one of them will continue bouncing along, perhaps scooped up quickly by another squad hoping to capture the promise that teams saw when they drafted Clayton and Thomas so high.

Thomas would seem to have the best chance of sticking based on his offensive contributions during preseason. He certainly could provide a spark to the Giants' kickoff-return game, which has been so lackluster in recent years that Coughlin looked at the numbers from Monday's game and joked: "Are you sure you're talking about our team?"

Thomas isn't taking anything for granted, but he's clearly hoping to stick around long enough to make an impact against the team that drafted him and released him last fall.

Said Thomas, "Until I make that [53-man roster] and they put me back there in the first game against them 'Deadskins,' then I will say it's my job."