EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A small white UFO hovered over a brief portion of New York Giants minicamp Wednesday as the Giants became the latest NFL team to use a drone-mounted camera to record part of their practice.

The drone, a DJI Phantom 3, hovered about 50 feet over practice for just a few minutes (it only has 18 minutes' worth of battery life) and went unnoticed by several of the players. Some said they heard it buzzing above their heads and looked to see what it was. But since this was the first day they used it, none of the players knew yet what the drone's specific purpose was.

Through the team's media relations staff, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he would decline comment on the drone until he and his staff had a chance to review the video the drone shot and figure out what, if anything, it can offer them as a tool for evaluation. The general idea is that coaches can study drills and formations from directly overhead, which hasn't been possible before.

This specific drone is 18 inches wide and has 7-inch blades propelling it. The Giants' video department has been practicing with it on empty fields for a few weeks before deciding they were OK with flying over players' heads. The Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans are among the other teams known to be experimenting with the technology this offseason.