Aug 192023
 
Evan Neal and Andrew Thomas, New York Giants (August 18, 2023)

Evan Neal and Andrew Thomas – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS CUT RODARIUS WILLIAMS…
The Giants have waived cornerback Rodarius Williams, who was drafted in the 6th round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Williams suffered a torn ACL in October 2021. The injury also affected his availability in 2022. The Giants activated him off of IR in mid-November. Williams played in three games, including starting in the regular-season finale. However, he did not score many points with the new coaching staff by publicly complaining about his lack of playing time. Williams finished with 15 tackles, two pass defenses, and one interception.

AUGUST 19, 2023 BRIAN DABOLL PRESS CONFERENCE…
New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll addressed the media on Saturday (VIDEO):

Q: I have a couple questions on guys who didn’t play last night. The two defensive linemen, Nacho (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches) and A’Shawn (Robinson), was that just based on where they are coming back from things?

A: Yeah, that’s kind of the sit-down with the trainers and the sport science and develop a plan for each of those guys. They weren’t going to play last night.

Q: And then (cornerback) Rodarius Williams, was he hurt or was that just couldn’t get him in the game?

A: No, he wasn’t hurt, we actually released him this morning. We’ve got some younger guys, been busy here in meetings. That happened this morning.

Q: When you look back at last night, where do you start with evaluating? We know what we saw in the press box, it looked awfully good from there but where do you start with an evaluation of a game like that?

A: I’d say it’s the same for every game in terms of what we look at. The overall execution of the play, how each person is performing their individual job and technique and assignment. There is a lot to correct, regardless of when the game is being played, preseason, regular season, who’s playing in it. That’s the job of a coach so you go through the tape. Certainly, a lot of things to correct. You praise some of the positive things that were accomplished in the game but every game there is so many different little things to correct so we just try to stay consistent with our approach. Whether it be a preseason, a regular season, any of those. We just try to stay consistent with how we approach things. Come in as a coaching staff, we watch the tape all together, offense, defense, special teams, just as a coaching staff. I’d say in the preseason, you are really evaluating a lot of the players in terms of the competition spots, where they are at. So, you spend a lot of time doing that and then you have another meeting right now. All the coaches are with their players right now so just trying to improve on the number of things that we can improve on.

Q: It seems to me that (wide receiver) Jalin Hyatt has come a long way in a short period time, how do you see it?

A: I’d say he falls right in line with all the other rookies. I think they have been here for quite some time after the draft process. They’ve made strides each and every day. There is a lot of things that are happening to them for the first time. Just because you are not getting a lot of passes as a receiver and catches as a receiver doesn’t always necessarily mean you are not improving, and I think he’s done that since he’s been here. There is a lot to learn, he still has a lot to learn, but he’s made strides. I think (wide receivers) Coach (Mike) Groh and (offensive assistant/game manager) Cade Knox have done a really good job in that room with him along with the veterans. He would be the first to tell you that he’s got still a lot to learn and a long way to go.

Q: When you are dealing with a rookie like (running back) Eric Gray, who you are asking to do the return game, sometimes the best play is minimizing, you know what I mean, it’s not a splash play, it’s just making a catch…

A: Risk (vs.) reward.

Q: How do you assess his two? He had a couple decisions early, kind of looked like he almost let the first punt drop and then he came in, kind of waved people off and caught it. Then on the kickoff, there is a temptation maybe to get the ball when it’s bouncing around there.

A: Yeah, made a good decision there, actually got good field position off of it. Yeah, I think he has made good decisions back there. The more he does it, the better it is, particularly outside and in our stadium in particular with the wind. There was some good wind there last night in terms of the kicking game. He’s worked hard at it, he will continue to work hard at it and much like Jalin, I think he’s made some strides, but he’s still got a ways to go.

Q: Is it hard to trust a rookie in that situation because there is a lot of problems that can arise?

A: No, I think whether you are a rookie or a two-year vet, a five-year vet, you go through a process that starts back in OTAs and camp. You work hard at it, you prepare for it and if you prepare hard for it and continue to practice it, as a coach you have confidence in those players because of the amount of time and effort and energy they put into it.

Q: What did he (Eric Gray) show you on the nine-yard touchdown run? Seemed like he had to get some of that on his own.

A: I thought he ran with a good pad level. I thought it was well blocked upfront with the line and Belly (tight end Daniel Bellinger), there was some good finish in there and he had some good leg drive and finished it off there. That’s important, you have to get the ball downhill, particularly down there in the red zone and run with good pad level and leg drive, got to block it up well. The space is condensed, course patterns are a lot different. There is more guys in the box, there is usually an extra guy you are going to have to either run through or run around. It was good to see him be able to finish the play in the end zone.

Q: I wanted to ask you about Daniel Bellinger. When (tight end) Darren Waller came, Daniel kind of was the forgotten guy. What have you seen from him and how is he complementing Darren and the office?

A: He played some last year, quite a bit and then he had the eye injury, but he’s got the right mindset of kind of the person we are looking for. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s dependable, he’s a good teammate, he works hard. He puts the team first. I think it’s good to have veterans in the room that can help those players as well, those young players. I think he’s made strides from when he played last year to where he’s at now. Time will tell once we get going here in the regular season. Good young player, has the right mindset and has a good player in the room to learn from as well now.

Q: I wanted to ask you about (tackle) Evan Neal. Obviously, came back from almost two weeks of not practicing, can you just talk about the progress he’s made and what was he doing to kind of not fall off despite the fact that he couldn’t practice?

A: Yeah, you know he was in the protocol, so whatever we could have him do, he did, relative to the rules of the protocol He’s another young player that worked hard in the offseason. He shed some weight, I’d say improved technique and it was good to have him out there. I thought he showed well here in this game.

Q: Because Darren is essentially a fourth wide receiver, you saw with (tight end Rob) Gronkowski in New England, how much does he allow you to do with your offense that maybe you couldn’t do before?

A: Yeah, I think he’s got obviously a good skillset. I wouldn’t classify him as a wide receiver; I’d say he’s a tight end. We ask him to do everything that tight ends do. I’ve coached the position for a while. A variety of blocking schemes… Again, he’s a player that you can use in different roles relative to where he lines up at the line of scrimmage or outside the line of scrimmage. He’s capable of doing those things, so he gives you some flexibility in terms of formationally and personnel usage and things like that, and he’s done that throughout his career. He’s a good guy to have on your team and work with.

Q: How important are those pre-snap alignments to what you try to do? It seemed like on the first drive you had a different formation every time you went out.

A: I’d just say I think it depends on what they’re doing defensively to you as well. So, it’s kind of like the cat-and-mouse game. You put one group in, what do they put in? Sometimes it tells you stuff, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it gives you false keys. It all depends on the defense that you’re facing and the philosophy of that defensive coordinator or that defensive play caller.

That’s something you look at during the week as you get going here into the regular season. You never have an idea of exactly how teams want to play you, so you have to have multiple things ready to go on a call sheet based on what you’re going to get formationally from another team defensively. So, that’s kind of pre-work that you do during the week, and you really don’t know until you get that out there in the game of how they want to approach it.

Q: On the Bellinger touchdown, you lined up Waller just inside him. It looked like the two defenders, their eyes went to Waller, and Bellinger obviously blocked a little bit first and then popped open. Did you feel like that formation there allowed him to get open?

A: I thought it was a pretty standard play that the players executed well that (offensive coordinator Mike) Kaf(ka) thought would be good down there in the red zone. I’d say there was a play fake with it. They were on (quarterback) Daniel (Jones) pretty good, and again, another good example of Daniel adjusting his throw and his arm angle and things like that to get around the defender that’s kind of unblocked on that play, or should I say late blocked on that play. Yeah, they did a good job executing.

Q: I was talking to (wide receiver) Bryce Ford-Wheaton last night after the game just a little bit about the message that you guys send. I’m sure you send it to all the players when they get here: ‘We know what you can do in your offense or defense, but special teams is really going to be your ticket to kind of open eyes and stick that you can be in this league.’ I know buy-in is important, but how difficult is it for players in general to kind of take that message and translate it and really make an impact on special teams, given the idea that you guys don’t necessarily have the live action that you do have in the summer? How much of it is trying to translate what their skill set might be?

A: I think it’s really not that difficult, because for some of the players, if they don’t do it, they’re not going to be on the team. So, that’s job security or not having it, and that’s the reality of it. There are obviously some players that come in and play at certain positions and that’s their role, then there’s other players that have a different role whether it be in a different punt team, or punt return team, kickoff, kickoff return… I think everybody understands that. The people in the building, and I’d say, just people in general that are competing for roster spots throughout the National Football League, that there’s a role for you if you can go out there and earn that role and show that you can do it at a high level. I would say that’s probably the biggest thing. If you can earn a role and you can do something really well, regardless of what team it is on, a defensive unit, an offensive unit, a punt team unit, a punt return team unit, and you’re really good at it, you have a chance of sticking around a place. So, there’s I’d say a lot of competitive spots right now that people are kind of vying for, and certainly special teams, particularly with role players, backup players, can make a big difference.

Q: I guess a better question would have been if the buy-in is there, but some guys can’t do it. Some guys go out there and try to do it and they can’t do it. So sometimes it’s finding that right fit, right, in terms of what guys can do?

A: Yeah, no doubt about it. If you’re not a starter or you can’t do it, then you’re probably not going to be around very long.

Q: What did you see from (offensive lineman) Josh Ezeudu and your interior offensive line, the starting group in general?

A: Yeah, I think all three of them did a good job. We rotated them as you guys saw, and I’d say they all were pretty productive in the things we asked them to do yesterday.

Q: Obviously, you’re rotating them. It was a pretty even split. Do you want to have that set, or would you like to have it set? How willing are you then to take that into the season and just keep going with that rotation?

A: Yeah, I’ve done it in multiple spots. Last year, we did it some. I’ve done it in a lot of different spots that I was at, whether it was as a coordinator or even a position coach. We’ll let those guys keep competing it out. They’ve done a good job. No decisions have to be made right now, so we’ll kind of let it play out.

Q: Do you have any other roster moves that were made this morning to go along with Rodarius?

A: No, not right now. Nope. That was the only one.

Q: Were there any injuries out of last night?

A: Yeah, I have not yet met – this is kind of like last week – with the doctors yet. So, I’ll have a better answer for the injury stuff on Monday for you.

Q: Is there a reason (running back) Saquon (Barkley) didn’t play?

A: Yeah. We just didn’t play him.

Q: You had so many passes in that opening series. I was just wondering, if we’re not going to use him with the first team, he’s not going to play?

A: It’s kind of—we have a plan for each one of our guys, and that was his plan.

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off on Sunday and return to practice on Monday (10:00AM-Noon). Assistant General Manager Brandon Brown will also address the media on Monday.

Jul 102023
 
Adoree' Jackson, New York Giants (September 18, 2022)

Adoree’ Jackson – © USA TODAY Sports

With New York Giants training camp beginning in late July, BigBlueInteractive.com (BBI) breaks down each of the team’s positional groups until the players report at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

FIND A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL BREAKDOWNS HERE

POSITIONAL BREAKDOWN: Defensive Backs

2022 YEAR IN REVIEW: Don “Wink” Martindale’s aggressive defensive system places a great deal of pressure on defensive backs, who must be able to be left alone on an island in man coverage. One mistake could result in an easy touchdown. With that understanding in mind, it is a minor miracle that the Giants defensive backfield was able to hold up as well as it did in 2022 given injuries and the pedigree of many of the component parts that made up the whole unit.

The release of James Bradberry in May left a gaping hole at cornerback with the injury-prone Adoree’ Jackson remaining as the only proven starter. Nickel corner and 2021 3rd-rounder Aaron Robinson was moved outside and won the job opposite of Jackson in training camp. However, Robinson missed Weeks 2 and 3 with with appendicitis. He then tore his ACL and MCL in Week 4 and was lost for the season. Another 2021 draft pick, Rodarius Williams, was still recovering from a previous ACL and was also on IR. That left the Giants with three options outside: Nick McCloud (who was claimed off of waivers from the Bills in late August), Justin Layne (who was claimed off of waivers from the Steelers in late August), and Fabian Moreau (who was released by the Texans in late August). The defensive staff turned to Moreau, who started the rest of the season except for Week 11 (oblique injury) and Week 17 (healthy scratch). While Moreau was not an ideal starter, he performed better than anticipated.

The situation at outside corner got even shakier in the second half of the season when Jackson was lost for the final seven regular-season games with an MCL knee sprain he suffered while the coaching staff foolishly had him returning a punt. Jackson, who had been playing at a very high level, did not return until the playoffs. The Giants then turned to McCloud, who started those remaining seven games. McCloud had his ups and downs in coverage, particularly against upper echelon receivers, but played better than expected.

The Giants waived Layne in mid-November when Rodarius Williams was healthy enough to return (however, Williams only played in three games all season). Undrafted rookie free agent Zyon Gilbert spent the entire season on the Practice Squad but was a standard elevation three times, starting once.

At slot corner, the Giants had drafted Cor’Dale Flott in the 3rd round, but it was Darnay Holmes who served as the team’s primary nickel corner. He missed one game due to a shoulder injury. Holmes played a physical, aggressive game, but had issues in coverage at key moments of football games. Holmes also was a penalty machine, being flagged nine times. Flott saw quite a bit of action, playing in 11 games.

Safety was not immune to drama either. The Giants had parted ways with Jabrill Peppers in the offseason, opening the door for Julian Love, who had a career season. Love started 16 regular-season games and finished the year with a team-high 124 tackles. He played in 95 percent of defensive snaps and was flagged only once.

The problem was Xavier McKinney was lost for virtually the entire second-half of the season due to an off-the-field ATV accident during the bye week that caused multiple fractures in his left hand, requiring surgery. McKinney missed seven regular-season games. He also was a “healthy” scratch in the regular-season finale. This meant the team was without its two best defensive backs for the second-half of the year.

Making matters worse at safety was that veteran Tony Jefferson, who the had been added to the 53-man roster in early October, was lost a week later when he was placed on IR with a foot injury. He did not return until December. Rookie 4th-rounder Dane Belton broke his clavicle in early August in training camp. He missed the entire preseason and first regular-season game. Belton also appeared on the injury report a few times in November and December with a clavicle injury and was never completely healthy. Nevertheless, Belton did play in 15 regular-season games with five starts.

With Love shifting to Xavier McKinney’s spot, it was Jason Pinnock who picked up much of the slack. The Giants claimed Pinnock off of waivers from the Jets in late August. He played in 14 games, starting five contests in the second half of the season. However, he also missed three games due to shoulder and ankle injuries.

Undrafted rookie free agent Trenton Thompson spent the year on the Practice Squad, but did play in one game on special teams. The Giants also signed ex-Ram Terrell Burgess to the Practice Squad in November 2022. Burgess played in one regular-season game, also exclusively on special teams.

In summary, for much of the season, the Giants were without their two best defensive backs, being forced to start three players who had been cut in August (Moreau, McCloud, Pinnock). When you factor in the injuries on the defensive line (including Leonard Williams missing a month), Kayvon Thibodeaux starting off slowly due to injury, Azeez Ojulari missing most of the year, and in-season pick-ups starting at inside linebacker, you really appreciate what the defensive staff was able to accomplish with those who were still standing. If you had told fans that in August, they would have predicted a 3-14 season.

ADDITIONS/SUBTRACTIONS: The Giants did not re-sign any of their unrestricted free agents. Fabian Moreau, who started 11 games for the Giants, remains a free agent. Tony Jefferson also found no takers, retired, and has joined the Ravens’ scouting department. The team’s biggest free agent loss was clearly Julian Love, who signed a 2-year, $12 million contract with the Seahawks. At one point, the Giants had attempted to re-sign him, but it appears he priced himself out their price range.

The Giants did re-sign Practice Squaders Zyon Gilbert, Trenton Thompson and Terrell Burgess, but Burgess was waived after failing a physical in May.

In free agency, the Giants added CB Amani Oruwariye (UFA from the Lions) and S Bobby McCain (cut by Commanders). Undrafted CB Leonard Johnson, who did not play in 2022, was also signed.

The big addition was the 1st-round selection of Deonte Banks, who the team moved up one spot to acquire. The Giants also drafted CB Tre Hawkins in the 6th round and S Gervarrius Owens in the 7th round, meaning that almost half of their draft picks were spent on the defensive backfield. The Giant signed undrafted rookie free agents CB Gemon Green and S Alex Cook after the Draft.

TRAINING CAMP STORY LINES:  Last season, this coaching staff made due with other team’s castoffs. Just as with the defensive line and linebacker, there appears to be more stability now. Most eyes will be focused on how quickly and effectively Deonte Banks, as a rookie, can nail down the starting cornerback spot opposite of Adoree’ Jackson. But there are many interesting and important story lines at this position.

Depth at cornerback. As we saw last year, players get hurt. And Adoree’ Jackson has missed time for four seasons in a row. Aaron Robinson had won the starting job before he got hurt, but he’s coming off a serious knee injury. He will compete against Amani Oruwariye, Rodarius Williams, Tre Hawkins, Zyon Gilbert, Leonard Johnson, and Gemon Green. Oruwariye is a wild card. At times, he was spectacular in Detroit, at other times awful. Rodarius Williams has flashed but also left a bad taste last year while publicly complaining about playing time. While Hawkins was a late pick, he also was one of the team’s 30 pre-draft visits.

Cor’Dale Flott will likely press Darnay Holmes at slot corner. He could also be a factor outside while Robinson could also be moved back inside. The ability of all three of these players to play inside does help their respective chances.

McCloud could be a more important piece than realized with the loss of Julian Love. The Giants had McCloud working at safety this spring, and that kind of versatility is what the coaching staff appreciated about Love. Regardless, the Giants must fill this vacancy, and that battle will be one of the most interesting of training camp. The leading contenders are McCloud, Bobby McCain, Dane Belton, and Jason Pinnock.

ON THE BUBBLE: There are currently 19 defensive backs on the 90-man roster. The Giants are likely to carry somewhere between 10 and 12 on the roster. The only sure bets are Adoree’ Jackson, Deonte Banks, and Xavier McKinney. However, Cor’Dale Flott and Dane Belton have a greater chance to make it given their 2022 draft status. Nick McCloud’s versatility also seems to be growing in importance. While everyone else is “on the bubble”, this may be the toughest position group on the team to predict as most of these guys have enough talent to make a roster. In other words, don’t count out guys even like Zyon Gilbert.

FROM COACHES AND PLAYERS: Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale on Deonte Banks: “I just think he’s everything you want in a corner, starting off with he is tough and he can tackle. He likes to play press coverage and he likes to be on the island out there. He loves the challenge of it. You can see he’s that way here. Very humble kid.”

Defensive Backs Coach Jerome Henderson on Deonte Banks: “When you see his physical skillset, you’re absolutely excited about that. His size, his speed, his strength, his toughness, his one-on-one demeanor. We think we got a good one. I was really excited to get the guy we wanted.”

Defensive Backs Coach Jerome Henderson on slot corners: “It used to be that you only put little corners inside, twitchy small guys. But now it’s become a match-up game and it depends on who their slot (receiver) is because you get some big guys in there to deal with. That’s why we like having so many guys with versatility, when you think of X (McKinney), McCloud, Bobby McCain, and you add our corners into the mix, we have options to match the bodies hopefully and get it right… You may have that guy who you like versus anybody. Hopefully, we have that guy. If we don’t, we’ll go by the committee approach.”

Defensive Backs Coach Jerome Henderson on Nick McCloud:“He’s been repping at safety in the spring. He played everything (last season). Big, physical, fast, versatile. We do so much with our safeties covering the slot. We’re blitzing the nickel (cornerback) and now we need a guy who can cover that slot receiver. So we like him for that. We like him for his toughness, we like him for his competitiveness. We thought he would help us at the safety position… Right now, he’s just playing safety.”

Adoree’ Jackson on Nick McCloud: “I think Nick is a man, a Swiss Army knife. A guy that is going to do whatever you ask him to do, he’s going to do it at a high level. One thing I can say I appreciate Nick never put his head down, never wavering, never being woe is me, just like, ‘coach what do you need me to do’. Him being able to switch around it’s great because we can utilize him in different ways. I say I just appreciate Nick for him being unselfish. A lot of guys probably would be mad or whatever it may be, but him just going out there and loving the game, having fun with it, good things happen. It gets him on the field as well.”

PREDICTIONS/CLOSING THOUGHTS: Let’s be clear. Wink Martindale did not have two outside cornerbacks who he could completely trust to leave on an island last season. As I said above, it’s a minor miracle the Giants got as far as they did with late August castoffs. Things change now with Adoree’ Jackson and Deonte Banks. Yes, Adoree’ has to stay healthy. And yes, there will be growing pains with Banks. But when the two of them are on the field together, Martindale can really dial it up.

At corner, my focus really is going to be more at the slot position, and outside depth. Darnay Holmes is a lightning rod for fans. He’s an aggressive, physical player. But he was successfully targeted by opposing teams late in games, and he obviously gets too grabby, which leads to penalties. Holmes says he’s been working on this hard this offseason. We shall see. Meanwhile, Cor’Dale Flott lurks as does potentially Aaron Robinson.

Outside, the Giants really need to find solid 3rd and 4th corners. Robinson got hurt before he could demonstrate he could play outside. Tre Hawkins was obviously on the team’s radar scope, but he’s raw. As already mentioned, Oruwariye is a wild card. He could thrive under Jerome Henderson and Wink’s press-man schemes. On the other hand, he could be one of the first guys on the chopping block.

Keep one important thing in mind, Jackson is in the last year of his expensive contract ($19 million cap hit in 2023). Like the situation with Leonard Williams and the defensive line, cornerback could also be pretty high on the draft priority list in 2024.

Finding someone to play opposite of Xavier McKinney at safety is one of the more interesting training camp battles. Strong (and premature) cases could be made for Bobby McCain, Dane Belton, and Jason Pinnock winning a starting job. But now Nick McCloud enters into the picture. Could he be the next Julian Love? And don’t completely discount a guy coming out of nowhere like rookie Gervarrius Owens.

If any of these young guys want to really help their chances, they should go all out on special teams, especially with the Giants possibly parting ways with core special teamers come cutdown day.

FINAL DEPTH CHART: This was the toughest group for me to predict. Here are my thoughts:

Corner: Adoree’ Jackson, Deonte Banks, Aaron Robinson, Cor’Dale Flott, Amani Oruwariye, Tre Hawkins

I wanted to go with seven, but there simply isn’t room. I’d prefer to keep Darnay Holmes but someone had to go and if he’s pressed by Flott and/or Robinson, keeping him makes less sense with an almost $3 million cap hit. However, things change if Robinson is on the PUP and/or Oruwariye continues to struggle like he did in 2022. My guess here is Wink has a preference for big corners who can press, which gives the nod to Oruwariye and Hawkins behind the two starters. Flott and Robinson are the slot guys. Their ability to also play outside helps them immensely. Regardless, the competition here is intense and I would not completely discount Rodarius Williams.

Safety: Xavier McKinney, Bobby McCain, Nick McCloud, Dane Belton, Jason Pinnock

I wanted to go with six, but again, a numbers game. Gervarrius Owens, who made some plays this spring, could easily make the final 53. Heck, Alex Cook was sporting the green dot with the back-up safeties. His best shot, however, is likely the Practice Squad.

Nov 142022
 
Wink Martindale and Brian Daboll, New York Giants (November 13, 2022)

Wink Martindale and Brian Daboll – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS ROSTER MOVES…
The New York Giants made the following roster moves on Monday:

  • Signed defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux off of the team’s Practice Squad.
  • Activated cornerback Rodarius Williams from Injured Reserve.
  • Waived offensive tackle Devery Hamilton and cornerback Justin Layne.
  • Terminated the Practice Squad contract of offensive tackle Will Holden.

The Giants signed Mondeaux to the Practice Squad in September 2022. He has been elevated to the roster for three games, the maximum allowed in a single season. The 6’5”, 280-pound Mondeaux was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New Orleans Saints after the 2018 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Saints (2018), Kansas City Chiefs (2019), and Pittsburgh Steelers (2019-2022). The Steelers waived him in late August 2022.

The Giants placed Williams on Injured Reserve in mid-October 2021 with a torn ACL. Before suffering the season-ending injury, Williams played in five games, including 15 percent of all defensive snaps. Still not fully recovered from the injury, Williams was placed on Injured Reserve in late August this year. The Giants drafted Williams in the 6th round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

The 6’6”, 311-pound Hamilton was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Las Vegas Raiders after the 2021 NFL Draft. The Raiders released him from their Practice Squad in September 2021 and he was then signed by the Giants to their Practice Squad in October 2021.

The Giants claimed Justin Layne off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Steelers in late August 2022. The 6’2”, 192-pound Layne was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Steelers.

The Giants signed Will Holden as a street free agent in early August 2022. The 6’7”, 312-pound Holden was originally drafted in the 5th-round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He has spent time with the Cardinals (2017-2018, 2018-2019), Indianapolis Colts (2018, 2020), New Orleans Saints (2018), Miami Dolphins (2019), Seattle Seahawks (2019), San Francisco 49ers (2019), Baltimore Ravens (2019-2020), and Detroit Lions (2021).

NOVEMBER 14, 2022 BRIAN DABOLL PRESS CONFERENCE…
New York Giants Head Coach Brian Daboll addressed the media on Monday to discuss his team’s 24-16 win over the Houston Texans (the VIDEO of the press conference is also available on YouTube):

Q: I wanted to ask you specifically (about quarterback) Daniel (Jones) and (wide receiver) Darius Slayton, who came into the league together, built up some chemistry. When you look at systems, offensive systems change throughout the years, different concepts and what not. What elements of chemistry can carry over from year to year to year regardless of the system?

A: I think a lot. Those guys work a lot together during the week and then in the offseason. They throw a lot after practice. Again, reading a receiver’s body language and having trust in them that they’re going to be where they’re supposed to be and make a play on the ball when you throw it to them, I think, is really important in quarterback play and receiver – call it skill play. That’s really the passing game. You can get some zone coverages, which we got yesterday. And we got some man coverages like you do every week. So, one is having the confidence that your player, as a quarterback, is going to beat the player that he’s going against, or in zone that they’re going to be reading it the right way, getting the head turn the right way, knowing when to let it go. So, the more you can do that with the skill players as a quarterback, I think the more trust develops. And that’s really what the passing game is. That’s where it all starts.

Q: Can that chemistry kind of elevate a receiver’s game, do you think, more so than maybe skill to a degree?

A: It’s probably a combination of both. Again, there’s a lot of things that need to go right in terms of the passing game. But certainly, the person throwing it, the person catching it – it starts there. So, you’d like to have as many talented players as you can (that) make good chemistry with one another. The only way you get that is by practicing, being out there and doing as much as you can do to improve that area.

Q: You said after the game that if you have to throw it 60 times, you’ll throw it 60 times, that it’s week to week. But you guys have kind of settled into a pretty steady run-heavy game plan week to week. Just curious the process of coming to that point. What goes into (it)? How did you figure out that that was the best path for this team to win games?

A: I think it starts after you go through – the coaches and the players right now are meeting, going through our game. You make the corrections that you need to make on our game, and then you sit down with the advance scout. You go through the scouting report of the team you’re about to play. Again, you want to try to use your players’ strengths the best you can. Again, it’s Week 11; I think we have a fair idea of what some of those are. But then the coaches sit down. They watch the opponent. They go through. They have a lot of discussions. When I’m looking at it, I’m looking at it holistically in terms of the kicking game, defense and offense and just how I think we need to play the game to win. As a coordinator, it’s a little bit different. When I was a (offensive) coordinator, you want to obviously score as many points as you can, you’re not really focused on the other areas of the team. So, I’ll give them my thoughts on what I think we need to do collectively to win. And then they do a good job of communicating with each other and coming up with whatever that might be. It could be a certain type of run or a certain type of pass we want to use. And then everything is talked about (and) put in. And we go through situations of what we like. And then I think ultimately at the end of the day, when you’re calling a game, you get a feel for how the game’s going – let’s just call it – after the first quarter. There’s a lot of things that happen in the first quarter where they’re kind of schemed up; maybe they are game plan things. And usually the game settles in, and you’ve got to do a good job of kind of figuring that out of how you want to play and the things you want to use.

Q: If I could ask one more on (running back) Saquon (Barkley) – I think pass protection was viewed as a weakness, really, early in his career. What have you seen from him this year? What has he gotten better from (when you watch him)? Maybe it’s on film.

A: He’s sound in his assignment. He knows who to block, and he’s getting there. Certainly, we can still improve in that area. I’m sure there’s a few plays he’d like to have back. He got in the way. The biggest thing in pass protection is not letting the person you’re responsible for make the play on the quarterback, and he’s done that. But there’s certain things that we can correct – not just Saquon, but all the (running) backs on how we’d like to get it done.

Q: I’m wondering how you feel your offensive line is playing. And if you could possibly allow yourself to look ahead for a moment to an area when you have eight guys that you trusted yesterday, and you could get (guard Ben) Bredeson, (guard Shane) Lemieux and (tackle) Evan Neal back, and all of a sudden, you have experienced starters on the bench – what kind of luxury that is.

A: Depth at that position – I think we talked about this last week – depth at that position is always critical. And I would say it’s critical in November and December, and I think some of our guys are getting healthy. We’ll see where Shane is this week. I think Ben is getting a little bit better. Evan’s getting better. So, it’s good to be as healthy as we can be. (We’re) certainly not there yet, but (we’re) moving in that direction. And that’s the foundation of an offense is the offensive line play. Five guys or sometimes six, sometimes seven, sometimes eight working together as one. I think our guys up front have improved from a week-to-week basis. I think they understand what we’re trying to get done. It’s never going to be perfect. You’re playing against some really good defensive linemen, and things happen. But I think we’re making progress, and it’s good to have as many of them out there as we can.

Q: Now I’m going to ask you about the run game. We give Saquon his due credit all the time. How good an offensive line (do you have)? Like did you guys build an offensive line thinking ‘We’re going to run the ball. We want really good run blockers.’ Does it happen to be that most of these guys’ strengths, not to knock their pass blocking, but did most of these guys seem to be better run blockers? Was that the idea, or is that a fortunate coincidence?

A: I think we just try to find the best guys that we thought at that particular time fit our system and that we thought were good football players. It’s a tough job. It’s a lot easier, as an offensive lineman would say, going forward than it is backwards when you have those guys rushing at you. So again, our guys they got to do everything just like every offensive lineman in the league has to. They’ve got to pass protect. They’ve got to run block. They’ve got to be good on screen game, perimeter game. They’ve got to communicate well. So, it wasn’t just set, ‘Let’s get a bunch of run blockers,’ because I don’t think you can do it that way. You have to find guys that can do both. And I think our guys have steadily improved, and we’re still working at it. And we’ll continue to do that.

Q: You mentioned before that as a coordinator, your main concentration is you want to score points. Is the way this team is playing on offense this year more conducive to you as a head coach than it is a coordinator? You were a coordinator more than you were a head coach, and the way this team is winning – not scoring a lot of points – is it great for the head coach, but you might have dealt with it differently as a coordinator?

A: No. I just like to win. That’s the name of the game. It’s hard to do that in this league, and whatever we need to do for that week, you always put the team first. Whether you’re a play caller – obviously I’m the head coach now – but our whole objective is to do what we need to do that week to give ourselves a chance, coach and play well. That’s really all my focus is on.

Q: You think there will be a time this year when you will need to throw it to win – 35, 40 times? You really haven’t had to this year. Do you think you will, and is this offense built to do that if need be?

A: I don’t know. You practice that each week. You’re ready, and you try to be as ready as you can in every situation. I think you just take each game as they come, and coach and play the way you need to play for that week.

Q: Did you guys come out of that game healthy, or is there anything major that came out of that?

A: I think we’re in pretty good shape after that game. We’ll see on Wednesday, but I think it (the injury report) will be probably a little bit similar to what it was last week. (Tight end Daniel) Bellinger’s making progress. Evan’s (Neal) making progress. (We have) some bumps and bruises here and there, but (we’re) really fairly healthy.

Q: With (defensive lineman) Dexter Lawrence every stat, every metric you can find shows that his pass rush has been significantly more successful this season. I’m wondering what you attribute to that. Is there anything significantly different that he’s doing, or you guys are doing with him?

A: Well, he’s a good football player. Give credit to the player first and foremost. I think he’s worked hard at his craft since I’ve been here. He’s a great teammate, great leader, and he’s done a good job of getting better and improving his craft. So, he gets most of the credit, but I think that (defensive line coach Andre) Patterson and (assistant defensive line coach Bryan) Cox have done a great job with really all our defensive lineman, with every single one of them. They’re fantastic coaches, very good technique coaches. Have a lot of experience. I think they’ve helped the players improve. I think the players are very thankful that they have those two guys as their coaches. So, it’s been a good match.

Q: How much does him being lined up over the center as sort of a straight nose tackle you think benefit him in that regard?

A: Yeah, he’s a load and the centers whether they have their head down or they have them up they’ve still got to execute the snap. We’ve been playing him there; we haven’t moved him around maybe as much as he’s been moved around in the past, but I think he’s been very effective with what we’ve asked him to do. Obviously, we have a certain package where you see him in different spots and things like that, but he’s done a good job really wherever he’s lined up this year for us. He’s a very good teammate for us and he’s doing a good job.

Q: I don’t know how much you guys pay attention to what guys say in the locker room to the media, to us after the game’s during the week. We had a conversation with (wide receiver) Kenny (Golladay) yesterday, what you thought about his answers and if you have had a conversation with him about what his role is going to be moving forward.

A: I have conversations with our guys all the time, I’ll keep those private. Again, all I expect these guys to do is come in on Wednesday, learn from the tape, go out to practice, have a good week at practice and then by the end of the week we’ll decide where everybody fits and that’s how we approach it. Really not much more than that.

Q: On the defensive side of the ball, obviously going into last week’s game with (safety) Xavier (McKinney) out, there was so much talk about communication, relaying the signals whether it be (safety) Julian (Love) or somebody else. Now that you’re out of the game, how would you assess how that entire process went? Do you anticipate sticking the same way moving forward to the next game based on what you observed yesterday?

A: You’re talking about with Julian as the green dot wearer?

Q: Yeah, and just in terms of the communication.

A: Yeah, it was good, Julian did a great job like he did all week leading up to it. Now he understands our system and I think he’s a good communicator, he’s intelligent. I think it was smooth. Really from his point to the second level of the defense to the defensive line. I think those guys did a good job of communicating throughout the game and obviously he’s the one that’s wearing the green dot and it starts with him.

Q: Is there any more of your children who have a birthday coming up and have they asked you to make the playoffs?

A: No, the next birthday in our house is January 27th. That’s our oldest daughter.

Q: Has she asked you to go to the Super Bowl?

A: No, she’s going to be 18 she knows how the routine works. The little one was happy yesterday and so was I, because she was.

Q: I guess I’m kind of beating around the question, but have you let the playoffs get into your thought pattern yet?

A: No. Again, it’s fairly easy not to let that happen. Maybe when I was younger starting out in this league, in 2000, 2001. I remember 2000 we were 5-11 I think and then we started out 1-3 and each game we built a little bit of momentum, and I’m a young coach. Then the next year we don’t make the playoffs and then the two years after that we win two more Super Bowls, and when you’re younger a little bit and just starting out I think maybe you think about things like that. Now it’s the God’s honest truth you just worry about the next day, the meeting we were just having, practice. I know it’s boring but that’s the truth. We have to focus and stay in the moment because it really doesn’t matter. There’re so many games to be played and it’s good to be 7-2 but again it will humble you really quick when you start worrying about the wrong things or thinking about the wrong things to me in this business.

Q: Obviously Detroit is your focus Sunday, but you do have a game four days later on Thanksgiving. So as a first-year head coach can you start peeking into Dallas a little bit before Sunday or do you wait until Sunday night? How are you going to approach it?

A: We’ve had a routine here the last few years of playing on Thursday night games and you get your work done for the opponent you’re playing this particular week and then when things settle down towards the end of the week, there’s no other way to do it then to start getting ahead on the next team. That’s not big elaborate meetings, that’s just position coaches having to stay a little extra and put some work in because there’s only so much time in a day that you’ve got to be ready to go once that other game is (done), they’ll be working in here Sunday after we play. I think right now the focus for today all the way through Friday evening is really where we’ve got to stay at. There is definitely scheduling processes and conversations that need to be had to make sure you’re prepared the way you think your team needs to be prepared. That’s physically and mentally.

Q: You had an animated conversation with (guard) Jack Anderson after the false start. What makes you feel like you have to communicate in that way in that moment? What’s the purpose behind it?

A: I don’t know, I don’t think about it. You see it after and you’re like, ‘I wish I didn’t do that’, sometimes. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and I’ve told Jack that. I talk to my players all the time or my coaches. There’re some things that I like to help but I can’t help sometimes, probably how I was raised. I’ll even get that way with myself. I talk to myself when I think I’ve made a dumb decision or do something that I shouldn’t have done. Again, I don’t think about it. It just happens naturally and we’re in a critical situation of the game. Fourth and one that we were going to go for it, again I understand mistakes happen and I’ve got a lot of confidence in Jack just like I do all the other players. At that particular time, I (was) just, not happy and whatever I say I say. I think I apologized later.

Q: Do you think it’s good sometimes to try and get your message across that way?

A: I don’t know. At that particular time probably, yeah. Whatever I’m feeling I do.

Q: I think you’ve kind of alluded to this. Do you always feel the need to circle back (with the person)?

A: Yeah, no doubt about that because it’s a relationship driven business too. Look, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and I’m hard on myself. I understand that got caught on camera. Do I like it? No. There’re times where I say, ‘Man I wish I was a little more laid back?’ Probably. But that’s me.

Q: You’ve never yelled back at yourself, have you?

A: Yeah. Probably, yeah. I don’t mind it when other guys yell back either.

Q: Just wondering if (center) Jon Feliciano is going to be able to practice this week or he’ll be limited only because he seemed like he was laboring late in the game.

A: Yup. I think he’ll be good.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The players are off on Tuesday and there is no media availability to the team on that day. The Giants return to practice on Wednesday.

Oct 262022
 
Nick Gates, New York Giants (October 18, 2020)

Nick Gates – © USA TODAY Sports

NICK GATES ADDED TO 53-MAN ROSTER…
The New York Giants have added offensive lineman Nick Gates to the 53-man roster from the Reserve/Physically-Unable-to-Perform (PUP) List. Gates had returned to practice three weeks ago and Wednesday was the deadline for the team to decide to either activate him off of the PUP or keep him on the injury list for the rest of the season.

“We’ll put him out there,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll before Wednesday’s practice. “I think he’s improved every day since he’s been out there. He looks ready to go. We’ll see where that takes him. Just keep competing; whenever his number’s called, be ready… We’ve repped him at both (guard and center)… He can play all spots, but we’ve really worked him more at center and guard getting back here. I know he played tackle.”

The Giants placed Gates on Injured Reserve in September 2021 with a serious fracture to his lower left leg that he suffered in Week 2 after being shifted to left guard. The severity of the injury required seven surgeries and placed his career in jeopardy.

“It’s impressive,” said Daboll. “I mean, so many surgeries and so much rehab. You saw him when I first got here. Just a testament to the young man. It takes a lot of perseverance to go through what he’s been through and to be out here. Impressive young man.”

The Giants signed Gates as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2018 NFL Draft. He missed all of 2018 with a foot injury that caused him to be placed on Injured Reserve before the season started. In 2019, Gates was active for all 16 games with three starts (two starts at right tackle and one start at right guard). The Giants moved Gates to center in 2020. He started all 16 games and played well at the new position.

ELERSON SMITH, RODARIUS WILLIAMS, AND MATT PEART RETURN TO PRACTICE…
Outside linebacker Elerson Smith (foot), cornerback Rodarius Williams (knee), and offensive tackle Matt Peart (knee), all of whom are on Injured Reserve, have returned to practice. All three will have up to three weeks to practice with the team without counting against the 53-man roster. Once that timeframe ends, individually they must either be added to the roster or remain on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season.

Smith suffered an unspecified foot injury in training camp and was placed on Injured Reserve at the end of August. Williams tore an ACL in one of his knees in October 2021. Peart tore his left ACL in late December 2021.

GIANTS RE-SIGN DRE MILLER…
The Giants have re-signed tight end Dre Miller to the Practice Squad. The Giants originally signed Miller as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft. He was placed on Injured Reserve in August 2022 with a broken forearm that he suffered in training camp and later waived with an injury settlement. Miller was a big receiver in college with good overall athletic ability. The Giants converted him to tight end, where he was impressing and receiving first-team snaps before he was injured.

DANIEL JONES NAMED “NFC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK”…
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has been named the “NFC Offensive Player of the Week” for his Week 7 performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game, Jones completed 19-of-30 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. He also ran the ball 11 times for 107 yards and one touchdown. Jones led the Giants to victory from a fourth-quarter deficit or tie for the fifth time this season.

This is the third time Jones has been selected “NFC Offensive Player of the Week.” He won the award once in 2019 and again in 2021.

OCTOBER 26, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
WR Kenny Golladay (knee), WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring), TE Daniel Bellinger (eye), RT Evan Neal (knee), LG Ben Bredeson (knee), OLB Oshane Ximines (quad), and CB Cor’Dale Flott (calf) did not practice on Wednesday.

OL Tyre Phillips (toe), DL Leonard Williams (elbow), and S Jason Pinnock (foot) were limited in practice.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

  • QB Daniel Jones (Video)
  • NT Dexter Lawrence (Video)

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice on Thursday afternoon (12:45-2:45PM). The coordinators and select players will also address the media.

Aug 312022
 
Jason Pinnock, New York Jets (January 2, 2022)

Jason Pinnock – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS CLAIM FOUR OFF OF WAIVERS, PLACE THREE ON IR…
The New York Giants claimed the following four players off of waivers on Wednesday:

  • G Jack Anderson (Philadelphia Eagles)
  • CB Justin Layne (Pittsburgh Steelers)
  • CB Nick McCloud (Buffalo Bills)
  • S Jason Pinnock (New York Jets)

The 23-year old, 6’4”, 314-pound Anderson was originally drafted in the 7th round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bills. The Eagles signed Anderson off of Buffalo’s Practice Squad in September 2021. He played in two games with one start for Philadelphia. Anderson spent part of the 2021 season on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury.

The 24-year old, 6’2”, 192-pound Layne was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Steelers. In three years with Pittsburgh, Layne played in 43 regular-season games with no starts, being credited with 41 tackles.

The 24-year old, 6’0”, 193-pound McCloud was originally signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Bills after the 2021 NFL Draft. The Cincinnati Bengals claimed him off of waivers in September 2021 and cut him in November. The Bills then re-signed McCloud to their Practice Squad. McCloud played in two regular-season games with the Bengals.

The 23-year old, 6’0”, 205-pound Pinnock was originally drafted in the 5th round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Jets. He played in 12 games with two starts as a rookie, accruing 16 tackles, one pass defense, and two forced fumbles.

When asked about Pinnock, Head Coach Brian Daboll responded, “He’s good on teams. He had some good film out there. He’s played in the deep part of the field. We practiced against them; we played against them. He has some redeeming qualities and traits that when the guys watched him in the scouting department and our coaches, thought it would be a good claim.”

When asked about Anderson, Daboll replied, “He played (both guard and center). Smart – you know he got claimed by Philadelphia (when I was in Buffalo). So, didn’t want to lose him. I remember we didn’t want to lose him, but he had an opportunity to go and get claimed and looking forward to working with him again. He can play inside – either spot – and he can play center too.”

To make immediate room for these four, the Giants terminated the contracts of the following players:

  • TE Tanner Hudson
  • OG Max Garcia
  • DL Nick Williams
  • ILB Austin Calitro

Some or all of these four players may be back as soon as tomorrow. Players on the initial 53-man roster could not be officially placed on short-term Injured Reserve until 4PM on Wednesday. Daboll said on Wednesday that the team intends to place the following three players on short-term Injured Reserve:

  • OG Shane Lemieux (foot)
  • OLB Elerson Smith (ankle/foot)
  • CB Rodarius Williams (ACL)

These three players will have to remain on Injured Reserve for at least four games. “I think there’s a chance (all three could return this season),” said Daboll.

(Lemieux is) pretty resilient,” said Daboll. “Unfortunately, he’s been through it once, but he’s in good spirits. So, he’ll work back. He’s been already rehabbing, and he’ll be back as soon as he can.”

GIANTS SIGN 15 PLAYERS TO THE PRACTICE SQUAD…
The New York Giants have signed the following players to the team’s 16-man Practice Squad:

  • QB Davis Webb
  • RB Jashaun Corbin
  • WR C.J. Board
  • WR Jaylon Moore
  • TE Austin Allen
  • OT Will Holden
  • OT Roy Mbaeteka
  • OT Garrett McGhin
  • DL Ryder Anderson
  • OLB Quincy Roche
  • CB Harrison Hand
  • CB Zyon Gilbert
  • CB Darren Evans
  • S Trenton Thompson
  • S Nate Meadors

All 15 of these players were cut by the Giants yesterday.

Meanwhile, according to multiple media reports, safety Tony Jefferson is expected to be signed to the Practice Squad shortly. The 30-year old, 5’11”, 211-pound Jefferson was originally signed as undrafted rookie free agent by the Arizona Cardinals after the 2013 NFL Draft. He has spent time with the Cardinals (2013-2016), Ravens (2017-2019, 2021-2022), and San Francisco 49ers (2021). Robinson has played in 104 regular-season games with 66 starts. However, he has not started a game since 2019, when he tore his ACL mid-season. Robinson has only played in six regular-season games since 2019.

HEAD COACH BRIAN DABOLL…
The transcript of Brian Daboll’s press conference on Wednesday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available on YouTube.

AUGUST 31, 2022 NEW YORK GIANTS INJURY REPORT…
TE Daniel Bellinger (concussion), OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (knee), OLB Azeez Ojulari (calf), and ILB Blake Martinez (excused absence) did not practice.

Day-to-day,” said Head Coach Brian Daboll about Thibodeaux and Ojulari. “Both of those guys – I’d say him and Azeez are rehabbing and doing a good job and getting better each day… They’re getting better. I know that.”

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and on YouTube:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The Giants practice Thursday (11:45AM-1:15PM). General Manager Joe Schoen, Head Coach Brian Daboll, and select players will also address the media.

Aug 062021
 
Joe Judge, New York Giants (July 29, 2021)

Joe Judge – © USA TODAY Sports

AUGUST 6, 2021 NEW YORK GIANTS TRAINING CAMP REPORT…
The New York Giants held their ninth full-team summer training camp practice on Friday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Practices are not open to the public this year.

We’ll progress with our training camp back in pads today, moving around,” said Head Coach Joe Judge before practice. “It’ll be kind of an on and off the field type of day due to some of the numbers and availability to kind of work with some guys in some different situations. So we’ll be on the field today, progress on our install. We’ll start building a little bit more into team periods and kind of the flow of calling the plays from the sideline and get guys lined up and hearing the play in the huddle, break it and get going. We’re kind of getting away a little bit of the transition of drill to drill that you guys see in the first part of camp that we operate with. We’ve got to get in this next couple flow of weeks and just playing some football, getting out there and letting our guys operate.”

ZACH FULTON RETIRES…
New York Giants reserve guard Zach Fulton has retired from the NFL. He is the third Giant to retire this past week, joining linebacker Todd Davis and center/guard Joe LooneyThe Giants signed Fulton in March 2021 after he was cut by the Houston Texans. The 6’5”, 321-pound Fulton was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent four seasons with the Chiefs before signing with the Texans in 2018. In all, Fulton has played in 107 regular-season games with 90 starts. Fulton started 44 games at right guard for the Texans, including all 16 games in 2020. He has also started games at center and left guard in his career.

I had a good conversation with Zach last night,” said Head Coach Joe Judge. “He talked with me, (Offensive Line Coach) Rob (Sale), (Offensive Consultant Pat Flaherty), (Offensive Coordinator) Jason (Garrett), (General Manager) Dave Gettleman and a few other people in the organization. I would say specifically to Zach’s situation, look Zach was doing a good job for us. He’s a guy that I didn’t want to see go; however, I respect his decision. I’ll let him speak completely for himself. I would say that a lot of these older vets, they’re at a different point in their life with different things. Zach’s a guy that started a business in the offseason, he just had his son. His family is down in Texas. This is an opportunity for him to get back. We talked a lot about just the duration, a career and different things. Without going into everything, look, he indicated to us, hey listen, coming out of where he was last year, your body’s in a different point than when you’re younger. You get to the point to see do I think I have it for 16 games? And you have to respect when these guys look us in the eye and say, ‘listen, I really wanted to see if I could push through it, but I don’t think my body’s at that point,’ and you can leave this point in the game with your health.

“I’d say all three situations are different. Everyone has a different personal circumstance. I respect all three. We’ve left the door open for all three. These are three good guys who worked hard for us. Listen, I can’t tell you how much respect I have for the players who come in and work hard for us. I know this is a demanding place. I know this is a place that will want to work them, but we’re smart about how we work our players and we’re very calculated. But at the same time, we have to push our players and train them that when they go on the field, number one, they’re safe and, number two, they play effectively. It’s our job to help these players produce on the field and put them in position. It’s training camp. There’s different things that come up along with it, but I think in terms of these three vets, look, it’s not unique to the league. I know there’s been several vets that are retiring. It’s not unique to this year. One thing I’ll say that is a little different this year than previous years is there’s more people that you call that are on the street trying to get into camps calling, where the agents indicated that they’re done playing football. I’d say these are guys with varying ages, but mostly guys that I’d say have six years in the league. You call these guys this time of year normally and everyone’s training and waiting to get to training camp. This year’s just been a different year.”

INJURY REPORT…
WR Kenny Golladay (hamstring), WR Dante Pettis (unknown), TE Levine Toilolo (torn Achilles’ tendon), CB Adoree’ Jackson (unknown/possible maintenance day), LB Lorenzo Carter (calf), LB Elerson Smith (hamstring), LB Trent Harris (unknown), and WR Austin Mack (hamstring) did not practice on Friday.

DL Raymond Johnson left practice early, possibly due to a heat issue. OLB Ifeadi Odenigbo and RB Gary Brightwell also left practice early.

The following players remain on various PUP and reserve lists:

  • Reserve/COVID-19 List: TE Rysen John
  • Active/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List: RB Saquon Barkley (knee), TE Kyle Rudolph (foot), LB Oshane Ximines (hamstring), and CB Aaron Robinson (core muscle)
  • Reserve/Non-Football Injury (NFI) List: LB Ryan Anderson (back)
  • Reserve/Injured: WR Derrick Dillon (unknown) and RB Mike Weber (hip flexor)

PRACTICE NOTES…
Some snippets from various media sources:

  • WR Kadarius Toney participated in 11-on-11, full-team drills with the second-team unit.
  • Brett Heggie was working at second-team right guard with the retirement of Zach Fulton. Kyle Murphy also saw increased reps. When Heggie and Murphy were flagged with false starts, they were replaced on the second unit by Nick Gates and Jake Burton.
  • Niko Lalos received first-team reps at outside linebacker again. Azeez Ojulari was the other first-team outside linebacker.
  • CB Rodarius Williams tipped a QB Daniel Jones pass intended for WR Sterling Shepard. S Jabrill Peppers intercepted the ball off of the deflection.
  • CB Rodarius Williams, playing with the first-team defense, then undercut WR Alex Bachman to intercept another pass from QB Daniel Jones.
  • CB Quincy Wilson intercepted an overthrown pass from QB Clayton Thorson intended for WR Alex Bachman, who was well covered by CB Darnay Holmes.
  • LB Niko Lalos broke up a QB Daniel Jones pass at the line of scrimmage intended for WR Sterling Shepard.
  • LB Cale Garrett broke up another pass.
  • CB James Bradberry had excellent deep coverage on WR John Ross to break up a pass.
  • S Josh Kalu intercepted a pass from QB Mike Glennon. Kalu also broke up another pass.
  • RB Corey Clement had a few big runs.
  • DLs Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence pressured the quarterback a number of times on Friday.
  • OLs Andrew Thomas and Kenny Wiggins impressed in 1-on-1 drills.
  • WR C.J. Board continues to make receptions in practice.
  • TE Evan Engram had another big catch from QB Daniel Jones. Jones also had a big gain on a quarterback keeper.

HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The transcript of Joe Judge’s press conference on Friday is available in The Corner Forum while the video is available at Giants.com.

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
The New York Giants practice Saturday (10:45 AM-12:45 PM). Head Coach Joe Judge and select players will also address the media.

May 152021
 
Aaron Robinson, New York Giants (May 14, 2021)

Aaron Robinson – © USA TODAY Sports

MAY 15, 2021 NEW YORK GIANTS ROOKIE MINI-CAMP REPORT…
The second day of the New York Giants three-day rookie mini-camp was held on Saturday at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. With COVID protocols remaining in place, only 22 players are in attendance.

Again this is an orientation weekend,” said Head Coach Joe Judge after practice. “Our goal is to get them started so that this week coming up they can jump in with our vets and they can jump in with our full off-season program and be moving and stay healthy. Again, it’s going to be a four-day week of working this next week for them and we want to make sure we don’t take it and make it a seven-day week for them. It’s a different pace we work at for different reasons, but no, it’s not an injury case to answer that.

“In terms of rookies, what we’re looking to accomplish at this point we are just trying to get them caught up enough and physically in good enough shape that when they come back to training camp, they can compete with the vets. That’s the biggest goal right now, give them a further understanding of not just the X’s and O’s but everything associated with the league.

“We have a player development team that will meet with these guys multiple times every day. We will spend a lot of times meeting with the strength and conditioning staff not as far as just lifting weights but understanding how to best manage their bodies, recover, sleep, nutrition, everything that’s going to help them be a better pro.”

PARTICIPANTS…

2021 NFL Draft Picks (6):

  • WR Kadarius Toney
  • OLB Azeez Ojulari
  • CB Aaron Robinson
  • OLB Elerson Smith
  • RB Gary Brightwell
  • CB Rodarius Williams

2021 Signed Undrafted Rookie Free Agents (3):

  • OC/OG Brett Heggie
  • OT/OG Jake Burton
  • DE/LB Raymond Johnson

New York Giants First-Year Players (8):

  • QB Clayton Thorson
  • RB Jordan Chunn
  • RB Sandro Platzgummer
  • WR Derrick Dillon
  • TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart
  • TE Nate Wieting
  • DL David Moa
  • LB Cale Garrett

Undrafted rookie and veteran tryout players (5):

  • QB Nathan Rourke (rookie)
  • RB Corey Clement (4-year veteran)
  • RB Ito Smith (3-year veteran)
  • FB Frank Feaster (rookie)
  • TE Kelvin Benjamin (former 4-year veteran WR working at TE)

HEAD COACH JOE JUDGE…
The  transcript and video of Joe Judge’s press conference on Saturday are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

THE PLAYERS SPEAK…
Transcripts and video clips of the media sessions with the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

ARTICLES…

May 132021
 
Gary Brightwell, Arizona Wildcats (December 5, 2020)

Gary Brightwell – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS SIGN THREE 2021 DRAFT PICKS…
The New York Giants have announced that they have signed half of their 2021 NFL Draft class, including outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari (2nd round), running back Gary Brightwell (6th round), and cornerback Rodarius Williams (6th round). Remaining unsigned are wide receiver Kadarius Toney (1st round), cornerback Aaron Robinson (3rd round), and outside linebacker Elerson Smith (4th round).

GIANTS SIGN THREE UNDRAFTED ROOKIE FREE AGENTS…
The New York Giants have officially confirmed that they have signed three undrafted rookie free agents, including center/guard Brett Heggie (University of Florida), tackle Jake Burton (Baylor University), and defensive end Raymond Johnson (Georgia Southern University).

OC/OG Brett Heggie, 6’4”, 310lbs, 5.50, University of Florida (Video)
Heggie was a 3-year starter in college with experience at center and both guard spots. He lacks ideal power and athleticism for the NFL, but he is a smart, tough, feisty blue-collar lineman.

OT/OG Jake Burton, 6’6”, 312lbs, 5.35, Baylor University
Burton is UCLA transfer. He has good size, but lacks ideal overall athleticism/foot quickness. Burton is physical and plays hard.

DE/LB Raymond Johnson, 6’3”, 270lbs, 4.73, Georgia Southern University (Video)
Johnson played at defensive end in college but could project to edge linebacker for the Giants. He combines good size and overall athleticism. Johnson plays low with good leverage and initial quickness. He is physical and plays hard.

GIANTS CUT BREELAND SPEAKS…
The New York Giants have waived defensive end Breeland Speaks. The Giants signed Speaks to a future/reserve contract in January 2021. The 6’3”, 285-pound Speaks was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. As a rookie in 2018, Speaks played in all 16 regular-season games, with four starts, and was credited with 24 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. He missed all of 2019 with a knee injury and was cut by the Chiefs in early September 2020. Speaks then spent time on the Practice Squads of the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys.

May 012021
 
Elerson Smith, Northern Iowa Panthers (January 27, 2021)

Elerson Smith – © USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday, the New York Giants made three more selections on the final day of the 2021 NFL Draft, including linebacker Elerson Smith (University of Northern Iowa) in the 4th round and running back Gary Brightwell (University of Arizona) and cornerback Rodarius Williams (Oklahoma State University) in the 6th round.

LB Elerson Smith Scouting Report: Smith is a tall, lanky, athletic rush end who projects to outside linebacker in the Giants’ system. He combines good size, arm length, big hands, initial get-off quickness, bend, and closing burst. Good pass rusher who makes plays in the backfield. Raw, Smith will need some time to develop and reach his potential. He will need to continue to get stronger and be more consistent at playing off of blockers in the run game. Smith is a hard worker both off and on the football field.

Sy’56’s Take: Fifth year senior from Minneapolis, Minnesota. One-year starter that had his senior season canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 1st Team All Missouri Valley Conference and 1st Team AFCA FCS All American in 2019. Smith broke out in his redshirt junior season, netting 21.5 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 blocked kicks. He plays the game with a level of ease and smoothness in traffic. He gets off the ball in a hurry with great leverage and upper body positioning, his hands are exceptionally fast, and the foot quickness is elite. Smith is just scratching the surface when it comes to his true potential. He needs to sleep in the weight room for a year before he can be an every down asset, but he will be a solid rotational pass rusher right away and has the upside of being a solid starter in multiple schemes.

*If you haven’t seen Northern Iowa play but you want to get a feel for what this kid looks like on the field, think about Jayson Taylor. He has the really long, borderline thin frame but plays with tremendous burst and bend for a player his size. Smith impressed me a ton at the Senior Bowl in the practice tapes. Really twitchy, plays low to the ground, and easily changes direction. His 2019 tape is something else, too. Good player here that may need more time than others but presents more upside than most guys in this tier.

RB Gary Brightwell Scouting Report: Brightwell is a big, physical, no-nonsense, downhill runner with good speed and acceleration for his size. He is not a particularly creative running back, being more of a one-speed, one-cut slasher. His biggest negative is ball security. He needs to protect the football better.

Sy’56’s Take: Sizeable slasher that can put his foot in the ground a burst upfield. Will push defenders back on contact, shows decent late wiggle. Hard nosed kid that will get yards after contact. Has fumble issues, mechanical.

CB Rodarius Williams Scouting Report: Williams has good size for a corner and has experience in both press and off coverage. He is a competitor who plays a physical game. Williams lacks ideal speed and quickness but he is instinctive in coverage. He breaks up a lot of passes.

Sy’56’s Take: Smart and instinctive. Supports the run and knows how to play physical in coverage without getting flagged. Plays faster than he times because of knowledge, feel, and reaction twitch.

Media Q&A with General Manager Dave Gettleman (Video):

Opening Statement: Obviously we had three picks, the 7th round is still going, I didn’t trade back so we could get to this sooner. Elerson Smith, who we took in the fourth round, is a kid that played at Northern Iowa, didn’t play this fall obviously because of COVID. He didn’t opt out. They just didn’t play. And he played the Senior Bowl. He’s long, he’s athletic and we watched him on his Northern Iowa tape and what sold us on him is they played Iowa State and he must have played about 85, 90 snaps. He’s a real tough kid, athletic, long, has some pass rush potential and he’s instinctive, so we really liked him. With the first sixth round pick, we took a running back out of Arizona, Gary Brightwell. He’s a big kid and he’s got a heavy body, he’s a heavy body runner, he’s in the 215, 220 range and he really is a quality special teams player. So he’s got dual value. Then our last pick was Rodarius Williams out of Oklahoma State. We had a solid value on him on the board. He’s athletic. He’s fast. He can carry the vertical. He plays our style. He’s a press corner and we were just very pleased to see him there. So those are our last three.

Q: When you talked leading into the Draft and you also talked about free agency, I think Kevin Abrams said you wanted to be aggressive. Did that carry over into the Draft and maybe lead to some of the trades?

A: I think it did. You know, we’ve had that mindset. And you know we just felt like, it’s all about calculated risk. You know, you go to Vegas, go to Atlantic City and some people are aggressive and some people aren’t. It’s just sometimes it’s instinct. Sometimes it’s just looking at the board and seeing where it’s going to take you. You know, we felt we were aggressive in the off-season and in the roster building season — there’s no off-season here. We were aggressive in the roster building season in both free agency and the Draft.

Q: Didn’t make any picks on the offensive line and really weren’t aggressive in free agency, but do you think that position is good enough and why did you feel that way if so?

A: First of all, you don’t want it to be good enough, you want it to be good, plain and simple. It’s really apparent that we have a little more confidence in our offensive linemen than you guys do. So I’m just going to say we’re happy with the group that we have. Obviously you’re always trying to get better and you’re not going to take a player just to take a player, you take a player because you think he’s going to improve the value of your team. Right now, our offensive line is what it is, the players are who they are and we’re going to move forward.

Q: You’ve invested either draft picks or trades, why so many corners and does that mean somebody has to be the odd man out here?

A: As the media says, and as the public perception is, this is a passing league. So why not a lot of corners, okay. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you can never have too many good players at a position, and when everybody comes in, let the games begin.

Q: Did you realize you had to wait 80 picks?

A: I knew it was going to be awhile, and I was going to have time to do a number of things, my taxes, etc., etc. It’s a long wait, but listen, that’s the way it is. That’s the way it turned out.

Q: The perception, and you hear it already, that Joe in his second year, his influence is increasing, his fingerprints are all over some of the philosophical things with the trade that never happened before. Wondering what you think of that?

A: I think that we have a great collaborative group going here. It’s not about me. It’s not about Joe. It’s about the New York Football Giants.

Q: How much did his role change in year two?

A: We collaborate. We’ve been collaborating since he walked in the door. It’s about the New York Giants.

Q: Elerson Smith, you said he’s got some pass rush. He was a skinny kid who became a not-skinny kid, obviously, very long arms, big hands, things like that. You have a lot of guys, you drafted two of them, you have two guys coming back, X-man (Oshane Ximines) and Lorenzo Carter, where do you see that edge rush situation?

A: Well, there’s a lot of competition there. Listen, I’ve said this a million times; fundamentally, the college kids are further behind than they used to be. So at the end of the day, it’s about do they have the talent, the physical talent, the feel, the instinct, to develop as pass rushers. Both of these kids do. Elerson definitely does. That’s why we drafted him and at the end of the day, it’s about competition. It’s about competition. And we just feel like with those two draft picks, we’ve upgraded.

Q: The Giants have not done well in the last 10 years, you haven’t been here for all of that, with that third, fourth, fifth round stab at a pass rusher. Do you think with these two guys, one or two of them, you got it right?

A: I always think I got it right. Listen, we’ll know in three years whether we got this right. And that’s what it is, okay. It’s perception and it’s what the media writes about players. We put a ton of time into this. We don’t do this for a hobby, all right, and in three years we’ll know if we’re right or not.

Q: You were on ESPN earlier and said that you feel like you guys are close to being able to compete. What gives you the most optimism and how much of that is from guys you were able to pick up this weekend?

A: I felt we’ve had a very good roster building season.

Q: Anyone in particular or any philosophical —

A: We feel like we’ve added a strong group of players at a variety of positions. We’ve added playmakers. We’ve added pass rushers. We added corners. We feel good about what we’ve done.

Media Q&A with Head Coach Joe Judge (Video):

Q: In regard to the secondary and specifically, Rodarius Williams and Aaron Robinson, how much adding guys like that change what you guys can do schematically and coverage-wise?

A: Look, we are always looking for different skill sets that create versatility within our defensive schemes and look ultimately throughout the draft and free agency you’re looking for the best players available. We happened to go through the Draft and we had the opportunity to add two good corners, coming to compete with our current roster. We’ll see when they get here how it shakes out. I tell the guys all the time, truest thing I can say, it doesn’t matter how you get here; it’s what you do when you are here. We are excited to get these guys here and at the same time excited to work with everyone on our current roster, and again, look, our goal is to make every position as competitive as can be and that’s when you really get the best out of your team.

Q: You drafted five guys that were Senior Bowl participants this year and a few talked about the conversations they had with you and Rodarius mentioned. How important are those face-to-face conversations, especially in a year like this where you didn’t have the combine to meet with the guys?

A: For me, they are crucial. I don’t really like adding someone to our team or I can’t really have a strong enough opinion on someone if I have not had good enough interaction with them as a person and there’s no better opportunity to sit down with somebody and look them eye to eye and really ask them tough questions and get an answer and get a feel for them as a person. A number of guys at the Senior Bowl we came away with obviously the ability to have a strong opinion. To be honest the guys you only see on tape, if you don’t have enough interaction with, you may like them as a player and there’s just something missing that you can’t stand on the table and say, this guy fits our locker room, this guy fits our culture. So the interactions are definitely crucial for us.

Q: Is it possible at this point to gauge how much better you’ve gotten with this draft? And secondly, do you look at the other teams in your division in terms of what they have done and maybe whether you’ve gained on them or not or is that too early to do that at this point?

A: I don’t think you can ever make a team on paper. I don’t think you can ever really win in the offseason. To me it’s about adding competitive players each position. And then when training camp starts and the competition truly starts, that’s when we’ll know how much we’ve improved. We’ll know when we start the preseason games and truly know when we get into the season. It’s a fair question, I fully understand it. We are looking to add a raised level of play at every position. But by adding competition, one of two things happen: You either bring somebody in who you improve because they are good enough to take someone else’s job or you bring someone in who pushes the guys in front of him to keep their job, and either way you get a raised level of play.

Q: Gary Brightwell sounded like you talking about special teams and all the hidden yards and importance of it. What did you like about him in those roles while he was in college?

A: He’s a guy that definitely jumped out. A few weeks back, me, Tom Quinn and Thomas McGaughey were sitting in the staff room on a Saturday about 5:30am in the morning and Tom Quinn brought his name up and we watched his kick game and this dude was flying down the field and it was early enough that it woke you up and you really got excited about watching him. You start watching a lot more of his offense and start talking with our scouts who have done a lot of research on him and talking to Burton (Burns) as far as the running back value. Look, he’s a guy that jumps out from his skill set. You are always looking for good versatility and depth at those positions, running back and the kicking game. To be honest with you, the opportunity I had to really speak with him and spend some time with him even though it was over Zoom with Gary was very, very impressive. He has an tremendous story. This dude had the utmost compliments given to him from everyone who has been around him at every level. He was the guy that was available at the time and he was a guy we guy we could bring on on our roster and compete to be on the roster and make us a better team.

Q: From the outside there’s a lot of surprise that you guys didn’t address the offensive line throughout the three days of the Draft. Dave talked about this but I’m curious from your perspective on the guys that you have and whether you’re completely comfortable going into the season with the group you’ve got.

A: First off I’m encouraged by the guys we have on our roster right now. They are working hard. We don’t have them in the building just yet, not all of them. As we get closer to the mandatory minicamp and training camp, we’ll get a feel for them on the grass. I would say we are always looking to make every position more competitive, but right now we are committed to working with the guys on our roster and approving each one of those guys individually and that should help the unit collectively.

Q: Elerson Smith, lower level of competition, gained a lot of weight, big hands, good athlete. This team has been looking for an edge rusher for many years. You think you got it right with these two guys?

A: I think we added two guys between Elerson and Azeez that are going to be able to come in that have a skill set to develop and work with, both guys really fit our outside linebacker category. In our defense, our outside backers have a variety of skill set. Some guys are more stout, set the edge guys better in early down run setting and some guys are more third down sub-package pass rushers. Elerson is a guy, I got to sit down with him in Mobile at the Senior Bowl and was impressed with him down there playing. You watch his tape, the one thing I would say about guys from small schools and low level of competition, I think sometimes people over-evaluate someone because where they played in college. And this is a guy you look at his story, he weighed 195 pounds coming out of high school, was built more like a receiver. So someone obviously at Northern Iowa did a good job evaluating this guy and seeing his upside and potential. That’s what I think we did a good job as well with, and we’re going to have an opportunity to develop it. But he’s gained a lot of weight. That just shows his commitment to body and really developing over time. Some guys are late bloomers. But I know when Northern Iowa plays, whether it’s him or Spencer Brown another guys who was drafted along with other guys, those guys play tough. You watch their tape. They are a competitive team. So to me I look at a lot of lower competition, per se, quote, or smaller schools as really more of an opportunity to grow these guys as guys that really weren’t always in a program where they had great nutrition plans or maybe the top-tier strength program or assets available to them. Sometimes you get a guy from a really good program and you have to look and say, how topped out are they. They have been coached very well, had a resource at all times; what is their ceiling and how much higher can they go. A guy from a smaller school, you can say, we can really develop this guy. You know, let’s be patient with this guy, give him time, throw them in, let them compete and if they have upside, all of a sudden you really see them competing on your roster.

Q: Last year was a whirlwind. How is this year, the whole process and your involvement any different?

A: No, I think from the day I got here we all worked together very well. That’s one thing that I talked about from the very beginning. It’s been very open on both sides of the building. It’s just one building. It’s not separated personnel and coaching. Everyone is working together. Right now we have our scouts working with the coaches on the free agency process after the Draft, me and Dave (Gettleman), Kevin (Abrams), Mark (Koncz), Tim (McDonnell) and Chris (Pettit), we always talk fluidly throughout the entire process. There is more involvement because I wasn’t here last fall, or two falls ago. The ability to talk about who is in the draft, who we are targeting, what kind of bodies, change of the scheme and further understanding on both sides what we are looking for and how we work together. After going through a cycle last year, you knock off some of the newness and this time through it was a lot more fluid.

Media Q&A with Director of College Scouting Chris Pettit (Video):

Q. You drafted five guys that were at the Senior Bowl this year and a lot of those guys talked about those conversations had with them and the things you learned about them. How important was that this year, especially, when you didn’t have the combine and all the traditional visits? Was there extra value added on meeting guys there?

A: Every year, we’ve taken guys from the Senior Bowl. Senior Bowl does a great job of recruiting and bringing in really good players to get a look at. There’s, you know, every year I feel like we draft guys from there. This year, it really was — I said it the last couple nights was our really only time to be face-to-face with the prospects and how important that was to the process of just seeing them, feeling them, getting close to them. So yeah, it was super important, but every year they do a great job of bringing in really good players down there for us to evaluate.

Q. And then one guy that wasn’t at the Senior Bowl that you picked was Gary Brightwell who was a little more under the radar. Joe talked about how impressed he was with the special teams tape. Was that something that stood out to you?

A: Yeah, absolutely. Especially, one of our special teams coaches, Tom Quinn, ran into me one day in the hall and said he really saw some good traits in him. So we threw on the tape. Also as a runner, this guy will help us as a running back, as well. He’s competitive. He’s tough. He’s got good hands. Good athlete. So yeah I’m looking forward to seeing him run and also contribute on teams.

Q. Obviously Joe told us that the process was already starting with you guys trying to get together and worry about after the Draft and free agency. If you can explain what this year’s process looks like compared to obviously last year where you were not bringing guys in and going virtual. How different is this year and do you have a number in mind of how many guys you will look to sign after the Draft?

A: Between the scouts and coaches, we’re collaborative and we work together on recruiting and really trying to get these guys signed up after the Draft is over. It’s definitely been a better process this year than it was last year doing it all virtual. It was difficult. I’ll be honest, it was difficult. I’m sitting there looking, trying to organize it all with about 60 faces on the Zoom and the communication was hard. I think we did a great job last year and this year is going to be even better. We have the coaching staff here and we can communicate face-to-face. We have some of our scouts that live locally around and that’s helping out and then we have our scouts Zoomed in the room. It will be better this year but we’re not at full capacity when we are all together working as a team face-to-face.

Q. Rodarius Williams is going to be 25 in September. Some teams are drafting guys who are 20. How old — how do you look at age in the draft process? Is there a number that’s too old? Is there a number that’s too young? Are you aware if a guy is 22 versus 23? Do you know that number off the top of your head? How do you see age?

A: I mean, I think it’s a piece of the puzzle like every measurable is or every skill is. Obviously it didn’t affect us, his age and why we took him. You know, it’s case-by-case basis when it comes to the age to be honest with you. But no, I mean, actually he’s more mature. We don’t have to — some of these guys that are coming in, maybe don’t have the life skills being younger players, really straight out of high school almost. But no, it’s part of the puzzle like everything else, like I said, every measurable, every skill.

Q. You just spent the last year of your life devoted to these three days. What is your takeaway of this class and how does it compare to what you might have expected coming in?

A: This has been going since really our BLESTO meetings last May, I had my mind on this date. So it’s been good. It been a difficult year for all of us. But it’s been a great process. We’ve learned a lot. We learned new ways to scout. I think that’s going to help us going forward. I’m really excited about the class. There’s guys that we kind of targeted way back in February and we’re happy they were there for us at the time they were. So you know I feel good. I feel good about every draft class. We put a lot of work in both — all the scouts, all the personnel, all the coaches, we put a lot into this, so it’s a big day for us.

Q. When you look at a guy like Elerson (Smith), Joe was just talking about big school, small school. Is he a little more of hey, you look at him and say, he is not what he’s going to be and you project him and just what kind of potential as a pass rusher do you see him having?

A: I think there’s a lot of potential. The biggest thing with the smaller school guys, we always start at step one, do they dominate that level. They have to dominate that level of competition to get in the conversation. And the great thing about Elerson that, again, reference the Senior Bowl again, but we got to see him on the same playing field with guys from Power Five schools and the higher levels and he fit right in. He competed his butt off and looked the part. You got to compare apples-to-apples there. That was a great venue for us. There were times when he had to play a Division I team. He played Iowa State this year, played over 90 plays in that game and competed to the last whistle and it was really impressive to see. But I think there’s big upside there, with all our players, they are going to have to come in and develop and become pros.

Q. I know you’re finishing up and probably haven’t turned the page yet but you spend your whole year to get to this date. What’s the mindset you take when you are going to be leaving moving forward knowing, okay, next year now, we have all these extra first, an extra third, an extra fourth (picks in 2022 Draft).

A: Yeah, kind of what I alluded to last night with the class next year being so large, to have the extra picks is really beneficial going forward. To be honest with you it makes it fun knowing that we have all these opportunities to take players next year. So I’m looking forward to it. With a big class, it’s going to be a lot of work for us. Our scouts are going to have to be as thorough as ever and start work earlier with such a big class and guys moving all around. We know that and we are ready to take on the challenge but now at least we have the picks to hit it out of the park next year again hopefully.

Q. Did you get any directive or direction from the defensive coaching staff about the cornerbacks you were looking for as opposed to in years past and can you talk about sort of how Rodarius (Williams) and A-Rob (Aaron Robinson) line up with each other? Are they a similar type of player?

A: Number one, first day here with our coaching staff, is let’s sit down with the personnel and coaching staff and talk about what kind of players they want and what works in the scheme. The last thing we want to do is, you know, give them players that don’t fit their scheme and type of people. It’s collaborative. I’m sure Dave has said that many times but it’s true. We work together. It’s our job as personnel people to provide them the players that work. As far as Rodarius and A-Rob, they have some similar skill sets, both long, both physical and both competitive, instinctive minds. I think they fit our scheme. They both are good in press. Ball skills, they both have ball skills which we emphasize. I’m excited to see those guys work together.

Media Q&A with Elerson Smith (Video):

Q: Obviously, the Giants were at the Senior Bowl and I’m curious about how much you talked to them there? Do you remember those conversations? What was your impression of the Giants when you met with them?

A: At the Senior Bowl, I just had a brief 15-minute interview just like any other team there. I didn’t really get to know them much or meet with the other coaches and people on staff until later when we had a few meetings. First impression was. obviously, I just know that the New York Giants is a great, historically great, organization. I’m excited to be able to contribute to what they have.

Q: When you arrived in Northern Iowa, you were really thin, like 215 pounds or whatever it was. Then you put on all that weight. How would you describe what this journey has been like for you going from that skinny kid to being drafted by the New York Giants, which has a pretty rich history of pass rushers obviously?

A: It’s been a process. I’ve had to take advantage of each day early on when I wasn’t getting a lot of acknowledgement or recognition. It was a process. I was just kind of working in the dark and just making sure that I was getting the most out of every day. It has been a whirlwind the past few months. I’m excited to kind of take that same approach when I get to New York – just making sure that I’m getting better everyday and not letting days get by where I’m not getting better because if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. I’m really excited to be a part of New York.

Q: Technically, you called it an opt-out from last year, but clearly, that’s not what happened until the spring anyway. What was it like to have that senior season taken away from you?

A: It’s tough because your senior season is what you look forward to, you know, for all four years really. We had a great group of guys playing together in Northern Iowa and we really had a chance to make a run for it this year. But, obviously, with Covid and everything going on, it’s not the worst thing that could have happened to me. I just tried to go with the flow and understand that it is what it was and I had no control over the season being canceled. So, I just wanted to make sure that I was making the most out of my days and continuing to work toward the Senior Bowl and our Pro Day.

Q: How important was that Senior Bowl because nobody had been able to see you on the field since December of 2019?

A: It was huge. I think at that point, it was the only film I had where I played around 260. All my other film I was around 240 or 235. I just wanted to show teams that I could play with the new weight and to show them I was working hard on my body and my game and that I am able to contribute to an NFL team at this point. It was an important week because I didn’t have the film like everyone else had from the 2020 season.

Q: Obviously, being 6’6″, you have a size advantage off the edge over a lot of tackles, but is there a pass rush move that is kind of your go-to or one that you’ve really refined and you think is your best trait?

A: I like to work moves together. I love a good bull rush. I think my get-off is what starts all my pass rush moves. I love driving offensive linemen off the jump, get their feet moving and really get them scared of my length and my get-off. From there, depending on what the offensive line is giving me, it’s going to be a bull rush or I’m going to take the edger or coming underneath. I love pass rushing, though. I have a lot of fun doing it.

Q: I just wanted to ask you – the Giants also took an edge rusher in the second round in Azeez Ojulari. Are you a little bit surprised to land in New York? How much do you know about the edge rush situation with the team?

A: I’m not surprised to land in New York. I had a decent amount of meetings with them before. The edge rush situation is something out of my hands, but I’m excited to get to know the guys. I’m excited to work with them. I’m excited to get better with them and try to make the pass rush better as a whole unit. I don’t know much about Azeez, but I’m sure he’s a great player and I’m excited to get to know him and get after it and get to work with him, too.

Q: How much football have you played in the last like five years? It seems like ’16 and ’17, you didn’t play, ’18 was limited and ’19 was a big season. Is it only two years in the last five?

A: Yes. I mean, other than practice, which I treated like those were my games because that’s what I needed to get better at, my first few years of college, I started one year. Then, I was in a reserve pass rush role my sophomore year. I just like to make the most of my opportunities and I was able to do that my junior year. I think that’s a result of me treating those first few years like those were playing seasons for me or preparing for every game throughout those seasons, so I was ready at that point.

Q: I noticed you blocked two kicks. Are we talking about placekicks and you’re coming up the middle, I assume?

A: Yup. Just right on the ball, getting off and driving through the back.

Q: You’re being drafted as a pass rusher here, but have any teams asked you to play tight end or told you that they would like you to? I know you’re such a well-rounded athlete. You did it in high school. Is that something the Giants and other teams talked to you about?

A: No, not the Giants. I heard a joke about it, but no serious talk about me playing tight end.

Q: When the season was cancelled, I think you entered the transfer portal but then pulled your name out. What were those couple weeks like and what was that specific decision like for you? How did it go and how did you come to the decision to not transfer and not play?

A: Honestly, that was one of those things that were out of my hands again. I entered the transfer portal a few days after our season got cancelled because I thought it would be best for me to be able to boost my stock at a bigger school or maybe just find somewhere to play because I knew I wanted to enter this draft. After the FCS season, I entered the transfer portal and was talking to some schools. I had some schools in mind, but then the FBS cancelled, or postponed their season for that brief little stint there – a brief few weeks a day after I was into it – so, at that point everything was so up in the air. I was like, ‘I’m just going to declare and start training for the Pro Day and Senior Bowl.’ That’s kind of how it happened.

Q: I know you’re from the Minneapolis area. Do you know Carter Coughlin at all? I know you grew up near each other.

A: I actually don’t, not personally. I played against him in high school, football and basketball. I know he’s a great athlete. I know he did great things at the University of Minnesota and I’m excited to get to know him in New York.

Q: You probably posted him up pretty good in basketball.

A: I wasn’t very good at basketball. I was a wrestler most of my life. I played basketball a little bit later, even though it’s funny because I’m 6’6″, I’m not a basketball player.

Media Q&A with Gary Brightwell (Video):

Q: What does this moment mean for you to get drafted by the Giants and considering your journey here and everything you’ve been through? What does it mean to get picked by them?

A: This moment is special for me. My family grew up as Giants fans, so I mean this is everything I dreamed of.

Q: So does that mean you’re a Tiki Barber guy? Who was your favorite running back growing up?

A: Tiki Barber was my favorite running back.

Q: Tell us about your game, Gary. What are you going to bring to the team?

A: I’m excited to bring some special teams to the field. I’m going to bring a lot of explosive plays, but my priority right now is getting the playbook, getting on special teams and dominating.

Q: Did you talk to [Head] Coach [Joe] Judge about that already? He’s a pretty big special teams guy.

A: Nah, that’s my thing. That’s been my thing since high school. I’ve been a special teams guy.

Q: What do you like about that?

A: I feel like special teams starts the game and also finish it. Special teams has all the hidden yards. I mean, you need special teams to dominate.

Q: How can your parents be Giants fans when you’re from Chester?

A: I don’t know. I mean, my parents are not Giants fans. My mom is an Eagles fan, but obviously she’s got to be one (Giants fan) now. And my uncles and aunts are Giants fans.

Q: You didn’t get a chance to play a lot because of Covid. Is that good or bad or what?

A: I mean, it could be good or bad, but to me I think it worked out just right. I’m a Giant.

Q: How much did the Giants talk to you about special teams and how do you show them? How does the draft process go about in providing to them that you can do special teams and showing them?

A: I mean, we didn’t really talk about special teams. We broke the film down and we mentioned special teams, but honestly special teams impacts me. I like to be the guy that starts the game off like on kickoff at Arizona. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play it last year as much as I wanted to, but I feel like special teams starts the game. Without special teams, it could be a win or lose situation. It’s the hidden yards.

Q: What units did you play on at Arizona?

A: So last year, I got to play punt pro [protection] and I also played kick return because I was the starter last year. But years before, I played everything.

Q: Just your thoughts on being in the running back room with [Running Back] Saquon [Barkley].

A: Honestly, my thoughts about it is I get to play behind a guy who’s very competitive. I’m going to make him work and for sure he’s going to make me work, but I just can’t wait to see how he approaches the day because I know some guys have different ways. And he can help me a lot, honestly. I mean, he’s been there for a few years now, so he can help me a lot. He knows secrets that I might not know right now, so I want to learn from this guy.

Media Q&A with Rodarius Williams (Video):

Q: Hey Rodarius, congratulations. So you’re actually Greedy Williams older brother, but he got to the NFL two years first.

A: Yes sir.

Q: What’s that like when you’re the older brother and he’s there first? Are you thirsty to get there? Now, what’s that moment like?

A: It’s just a humbling moment, man. Everything that he felt on his day, I feel. I’m just ready to get in and get the work done.

Q: What has he told you about NFL life?

A: Stay healthy, stay on top of things and don’t get in any trouble.

Q: Hey Rodarius, congratulations. Can you describe your game a little bit? And also, a lot of guys down at the lower part of the draft have a lot of special teams value. Are you one of those kinds of guys?

A: I wasn’t a big special teamer, but I did play special teams. I’m coming from a four-year starting experience, so whatever needs be I’ll adjust. Whatever you guys need of me is what I’m going to do.

Q: What kind of player are you? How would you describe yourself? Obviously, you’re very durable. You play all the time.

A: I’d say durable like you mentioned and definitely high confidence in myself. I believe that I will go down as one of the greats.

Q: Hey Rodarius, congratulations man. You’re 24 years old if I read correctly. That’s usually on the older side, so I’m wondering what that was like throughout the process and how much teams harped on that or you heard that or you had to fight that perception of, ‘Hey, you’re already old or older,’ I should say.

A: I’ve never had any run-ins or anything as far as things like that. My coaches used to tell me, if you could play, you could play, regardless of age. Teams definitely can see my durability. I don’t miss too many games. I don’t miss too many practices. I’m a guy that’s going to show up to work.

Q: Hey Rodarius, did you speak with the Giants at the Senior Bowl and what was your impression of them when you had conversations with them?

A: Oh we had a great talk. They were one of the teams that showed a lot of interest in me when we had meetings and stuff like that, drawing up plays and stuff like that. I was just showing them my knowledge of the game. They really took a lot of interest in me and I’m just – I’m not really shocked that you guys picked me. I kind of had expectations to go to the Giants leading up to the Draft.

Q: Yeah, so I was going to say, when you left your meetings with the Giants, did you say in your head, ‘I think this team might try and draft me’? Was that in your head right away?

A: Yes, most definitely. I was like, ‘This is going to be one of the teams that definitely gives me a call.

Apr 292021
 

New York Giants 2021 NFL Draft Review

Draft Pick Scouting Reports
Rookie Free Agent Scouting Reports
Eric’s Take on the 2021 Draft

Round Pick in Round Overall Selection Player Selected Video
1 20 20 WR Kadarius Toney (Video)
2 18 50 LB Azeez Ojulari (Video)
3 7 71 CB Aaron Robinson (Video)
4 11 116 LB Elerson Smith (Video)
6 20 164 RB Gary Brightwell (Video)
6 12 196 CB Rodarius Williams (Video)

2021 Draft Pick Scouting Reports

1st Round – WR Kadarius Toney, 6’0”, 193lbs, 4.38, University of Florida

Scouting Report: Toney is an average-sized receiver who plays bigger than his size (6’0”, 193 pounds), with decent speed and outstanding balance and quickness. Versatile, Toney was used outside, in the slot, and even out of the backfield at Florida. He has tremendous acceleration and change-of-direction skills, which makes him very dangerous after the catch. He creates separation and makes defenders miss. Toney needs work on reading defenses, route running, and overall technique. Toney also has experience rushing and returning the football. He has a strong arm and can even throw the ball. Tough, Toney will play hurt but has been somewhat injury prone. He has had some off-the-field issues.

Sy’56’s Take: Senior entry from Mobile, Alabama. One-year starter that was a key part of the offense all four years. 1st Team All SEC in 2020. Toney saved his best for last as a senior. He broke out in a big way and finally translated potential into real production. He did more in 2020 than his three previous seasons combined, partially because of the amount of talent the Gators had ahead of him on depth chart before this past fall. Toney has joystick quickness and change of direction whether he is running routes or carrying the ball. He is the kind of guy that can miss contact in the phone booth and will always fight for more yards. Toney plays bigger and tougher than his frame suggests. It will be hard to find a more competitive spark plug than him. There are concerns around character and durability and he needs a specific role. The right offensive mind can make him a dangerous weapon though, one that can really elevate an offense as a whole.

There are some teams that have Toney in the top 5 according to one of the very few media resources I trust and speak with. That really surprises me. I won’t give details here but there are a few serious red flags with character, and I just don’t see Toney having a high ceiling. He is as tough as they come, and I love his stop-go quickness. He will make plays with the ball in his hands. But there is a cap to his speed, he doesn’t play very big, and there are a lot of shortcomings I see when it comes to routes/ball skills/awareness etc. Really intrigued to see where he goes.

Media Q&A with General Manager Dave Gettleman (Video):

Opening Statement: We made a trade back. Obviously it was too good an opportunity. It added too much value, and we felt very comfortable with where our board was and we felt comfortable with who would be there, who would be available in that slot. So we made it. We did it. So we added a 1 and a 4 next year. Another pick for this year and another pick for next year. We were very pleased we were able to make the play.

As far as Kadarius is concerned, one of the off-season goals was to add weapons on offense and Kadarius, certainly he’s a good-size kid. He’s strong. He can run. He catches the ball well and he’s a very tough kid and he’s got return skills. So we were thrilled that he was there for us at that spot. So that’s where we’re at.

Q. How surprised are you by the Eagles making a trade with the Cowboys to get ahead of you? I know you mentioned division teams don’t really trade. The way they got Smith, how much did that influence your decision to move back?

A: That was part of it. Howie (Roseman) is not afraid to trade with anybody. I had a conversation with him earlier in the week and he said, ‘Dave, do you have any problems trading with me?’

I said, ‘No, if it works for both of us, it works for both of us.’ They made the trade and we decided to trade back.

Q. How much stronger do you guys view next year’s class compared to this one and how important was it for you to get that additional first-round pick next year?

A: It was very important. It was very important to get the first round pick next year. As I told you guys at my pre-draft presser, there’s a lot of unknowns here with this group and plus a lot of kids went back and took advantage of the NCAA giving them an additional year of eligibility. That obviously played into our thinking.

Q. Can you explain how things worked with Chicago? How did it work when you guys were actually on the clock?

A: What happened was we had called around and you do that calling and I had spoken to Ryan Pace, and I had heard he was interested in moving up, so I called him. When I spoke to him, he said, ‘Yes, we’re very interested.’ And then the conversations begin.

I spoke to Ryan today before the Draft and I spoke to him again. He called me again somewhere around the 7th pick, somewhere in there, and then we got on the clock and from there, Kevin Abrams took over and finished off the trade.

Q. How close was your group at 20? Was it an obvious choice? Were there three or four guys?

A: No, he was the next guy up for us. He was the next guy.

Q. If there were other people at 11, you would not have made the trade. Did the fact that there were only three quarterbacks taken kind of force your hand here a little bit and is it a little bit disarming when you see two cornerbacks come off the board, two Alabama receivers come off the board and you’re thinking, I’m going to get this guy, I’m going to get this guy and you realize, I’m not getting any of them, we have to pivot to Plan B here.

A: We had really talked this through, me, Joe, Chris Mara, Tim McDonnell, Kevin Abrams and Mark Koncz, we had all discussed thoroughly, really looked at our board. We had a lengthy meeting on Monday and we followed it up with another meeting on Wednesday and so we really — we knew what we wanted. We knew where we wanted to go and we knew at which point we would consider a trade back and that’s where you get the other piece of it where we’re calling teams behind us.

So we had thoroughly — and then we met again at 6 o’clock tonight to just constantly review and talk it through and it was a great group effort and we all felt very — we all felt very together on the decision. And we made it.

Q. Do you think Toney is a step down from that cluster of Alabama receivers? Is he close?

A: We’re thrilled to have him. We’re thrilled to have Kadarius Toney, okay. He is a big kid. He’s a good-sized kid who can fly. He’s got really good hands. He’s got great run-after-catch skills. We’re thrilled to have him.

Q. When a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers is pressuring his team to trade him, do you call over to a team and say, what’s going on, just due diligence?

A: No, it’s none of my business. Very frankly, we’ve told you guys over and over and over again, we believe in Daniel. It would have cost — it’s going to cost a motherload for anybody to get him — even though he’s 37 years old.

Q. Were you surprised by the Eagles moving up ahead of you, but not only moving up ahead of you, but with the Cowboys? Seems like it’s rare in-division like that and going for a receiver and taking one right there.

A: I think I said it earlier. Howie is not afraid to trade with people in the division. Howie called me and I told him, I said, ‘Yeah, I got no problem trading with you.’ It’s a business deal. That’s what it is. It’s a business deal. And one hand washes the other, so obviously Dallas was happy with their return. So they made the trade with Philly. It’s not a big deal.

Media Q&A with Head Coach Joe Judge (Video):

Q. With Kadarius (Toney), do you see him as a finished product or is this a receiver that you can bring in your building and go from where he was last year to reach a ceiling that maybe you guys are projecting going forward?

A: Look, every pick in this draft is a projection. There’s not a single player who is NFL ready. Let’s not make that mistake. Everybody here needs development and part of the evaluation is identifying how high their ceiling is. We’re excited about adding him to our team. There’s a lot of things he can do and has a lot of versatility, but like every rookie coming in here, they’ve got to earn what they get and we’re going to work them multiple positions to find their strengths. We can’t assume what we saw on college tape is the best fit for them.

Q. Joe, can you speak to the roller coaster of emotions as the first round was unfolding, and I know Dave just addressed the fact that you guys addressed the possibilities, and the fact that it was Philadelphia, as you know as well as anybody are not very well liked in these parts that made that trade a jump ahead of you, that dynamic, can you speak to that?

A: Yeah, just first on the trade, trades happen a lot. Normally doesn’t happen within the division but hey, look, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They made a move that worked for them and that was a good business move. That being said, in terms of the roller coaster of emotions, you just let the round play out. Evaluate all these players for a reason. You never know how it’s going to shake out. You know where you want to take certain guys. You know what you’re looking to fill in terms of best player available and some positions of need. We are very happy how it turned out but we added great value.

Let’s not mistake that these picks, they are people, so let’s not forget about that. You’re adding people to your team. You know, you talk about the value of having good, young developmental players to work with, and we just went through a season of free agency, okay, where we invested a lot in a team by adding veterans to our team and this is an opportunity to get more picks to add good young developmental players to our team, whether it’s this year or next.

Q. Curious if you had a point where you wouldn’t have felt comfortable going back, was 20 as far as you would go and did you expect that Toney would be there or were you not sure when you made the move?

A: Yeah, you know what to be honest with you, you evaluate the players, you’ve got their value to the team. You can never assume anyone is going to be there. There’s a lot of good players in this draft and there’s a lot of teams that want those players for one reason or another. In terms of a point we wouldn’t go back, again, we’re always willing to listen to whatever comes our way. It’s the value of the trade relative to who you’re looking at right there. For us it was a good move. We’re pleased the way it turned out. We got a good player that’s going to be able to come in and compete with our team and we have more assets to use in the future.

Q. Most people thought three quarterbacks, four quarterbacks would go before you picked and obviously only three did. Once you saw that happening, did you get a sense, oh, these two or three guys, we thought one of them would definitely be there was not going to be there?

A: No, we played out every scenario beforehand, as Dave alluded to, we have lengthy meetings and a lot of ‘what ifs’, and that’s the way we operate, as well as the coaching staff throughout the season. It’s our job to talk through the scenarios, so when a situation arises we have a course of action and plan we can go and execute.

Q. Kadarius had some injury issues at Florida and “character” issues, some things that needed to be investigated. You couldn’t get him in your building and really get to know him, how did you figure that out and figure he’s a guy that’s worth a 20th pick?

A: You know, the skill and the person has to add up together. We fully vetted every player on this board. We are very comfortable bringing him to New Jersey. We are very comfortable adding him to our roster to compete with other players on the team. Listen, we use every resource we have, okay, Jeremy Pruitt who is in our building, Jeremy recruited him out of high school. So we have people in this building with established relationships who have known this guy through the course of not only being in college, but going back to when they were in high school developing as a player.We have numerous coaches that spent a long time recruiting, have had this guy in summer camps for multiple days at a time and had extended exposure to him. We had guys at the pro day. We had Zoom meetings that were allotted by the league; we used those, phone calls. We have a great medical staff and we trust them to decisions for by the medical. I’m not a doctor, so I trust Ronnie Barnes and his staff. In terms of anything else off the field, again, look, it’s no secret I’m pretty particular about who I bring into this building, okay. I think sometimes you have to understand the person, and you have to understand the character on a deeper level than what just may be Tweeted out.

Q. Joe, we haven’t spoken to you in a while, can you talk about the offensive overhaul going back to the middle of March?

A: We are looking to improve our team in all three areas, offense, defense, and the kicking game. Working through free agency there were some offensive players that were available we thought could come in here and compete with our team and possibly improve us through competition. We are looking to do the same thing with defense and the kicking game as well. We are not a finished product by any means in any area and we are always looking to improve. If there’s a good player out there, we are looking to add them if they fit what we are looking to build.

Media Q&A with Director of College Scouting Chris Pettit (Video):

Q. A lot of scouting reports about Kadarius [Toney] describe him as a gadget player. How do you describe his skill set?

A: He’s a playmaker. He’s instinctive, he’s tough, makes a lot of plays with the ball in his hands. We feel he has flex inside and out. He also has value as a returner for us. Like I said, this is an instinctive, tough guy with very good athletic ability and speed.

Q. There were some character concerns in the background. Joe said you dug into that, talked to him and people who knew him. What’s that process like when you’re trying to dig into a prospect like that and are you just talking to a lot of people? How does that work exactly?

A: Well, our scouts in the fall talk to everyone they know on campus via Zoom and phone calls, we work them, every player, all fall. We had a chance to meet [Kadarius] down at the Senior Bowl. We spent time with him in person to get to know the person there and that continues. Then our security staff goes through every check that we do on every player.

Listen, if there was a concern with him, he wouldn’t have been on our board. And like Joe [Judge] said, we thoroughly vetted him through Zooms and phone calls throughout this process of the spring.

Q. This kid was a high school quarterback I believe. How is he as a receiver and can he play some gadget plays for you at quarterback?

A: Gadget plays at quarterback? That’s up to Joe and Jason [Garrett] and his staff. But he did; he has excellent athletic ability. He’s versatile. That’s what we like about him but like every player in the draft, he’s raw, every player in the draft and every player has to develop into a pro. So, it will take some time but this guy is a playmaker with the ball in his hands.

Q. The natural comp, he went to the same school as Percy Harvin; how similar or different they are?

A: Percy is a little before my time but both fast and playmakers. There’s a comp there, I’m sure.

Q. Is he a guy that you envisioned when you look at him as being in the backfield or the guy that can do that?

A: Again, that’s up to Jason and Joe and their staffs, what they do with him. He’s instinctive and smart enough to do that but like we said, the best thing about him, we feel he can play inside and out and add another weapon to our offense.

Q. Obviously so much was made about the top three receivers in this class. I’m just curious from your perspective, how do you see Kadarius in that second group or how close is he to the top three guys?

A: He was close enough, we felt like he was the best player available at the time we took him. I don’t know if there was a big separation, if I can say that, but like I said, he’s right up there and he was worthy of a first-round pick, so that shows you what we think of him.

Q. Last week you and Dave [Gettleman] talked about how there’s development but also when you bring in a guy, you want him to contribute. Is Kadarius close enough to being a polished receiver where you think he could come in or is there still developmental stage? I know that is for all rookies, but how close is he to being a part of this offense from the jump?

A: He’s close. He’s played at a high level at Florida. Made a lot of big plays on a big stage, so I think he’s ready mentally. He’s tough. He’ll be ready to go.

Q. I know he was down at Senior Bowl. Did getting in front of him in person, is that an important part of vetting a guy like this and actually looking him in the eyes, especially this year?

A: Absolutely. We actually met with him the first night down there, one of our last interviews and we got to spend a lot of time with him. Really great to meet him and get that face-to-face at that point in the scouting process and then watch him throughout the rest of the spring throughout the Zooms, more and more time, really get to know him and get to know the person and feel really good about him.

Q. Did you take extra time on the Friday or did you have a long meeting?

A: We had a long meeting, it was one of the last ones of the night, like I said, and we got to spend a little extra time than was allotted. So, it was really good.

Q. What do you remember about that meeting? What struck you and did you come out of that meeting saying that this is a guy that we could see on our team?

A: Yeah, it was, we were all tired, that process down there was pretty strenuous of going back-to-back to back of these long interviews which was great. But it was late in the night and we were tired. We were talking through plexiglass and everyone had masks on, and he brought energy at that point. We love that. He brought energy to the room, to the conversation. Was easy to talk to. Was open and honest and we loved everything about that conversation.

Q. That was the first time you got to meet him person-to-person?

A: That’s the only time, actually, person-to-person throughout this process with the rules the league set out.

Q. I would imagine in your evaluation of him, you’re thinking of him as a guy if he’s in the second round, because if there’s no trade you’re not taking him at 11. Two questions; is that true? Do you look at him and say, we love it if he’s in the second round for him?

A: Obviously we had a first-round grade on him. That’s the value. I did not think he would be there in the second round. Any time you get him, it’s a great value for him.

Q. For someone like you who evaluates all the players, when you see the players coming off the board, what is your sense as a guy who is thinking, okay, we are going to get the cornerback, this receiver, and then the trade? Is there a sense of deflation, like, okay, now we have to do this all over again in a half hour?

A: No. No. Because again, you let the board come to you, and I think that trade was an excellent trade to get assets for us for the future. You know, we get another first round player, which is potentially another first round starter. That’s an excellent, excellent opportunity for us. We had to take advantage of that.

Media Q&A with Kadarius Toney (Video):

Q: We were talking to Joe Judge and the front office and they were talking about how you guys spoke for a while at the Senior Bowl. What do you remember about those conversations? What was your impression of the Giants coaches? And what did you think when they picked you?

A: Really, the conversation back then was just trying to figure me out and stuff. It was so early in the process. What I thought about the coaches, I kind of took them as they came. They were very serious, so I made sure on my end that I was up to par, like on point.

Q: Where did you think you were going to go? Obviously, there was a cluster of the Alabama receivers and [Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr] Chase and then there was maybe a group after that. How do you look at them compared to you? Do you think you’re in like the second tier or do you think you’re as good as anybody in this draft? Where did you kind of get a sense of where you fit in?

A: Really, I don’t even like try to compare myself to nobody, I just try to be the best version of myself that I can. Throughout this process, I didn’t really envision myself going anywhere but a place that I was wanted. By them really just taking a chance on me it shows me like who was really in my corner the whole time.

Q: Did you think you were a first round pick the whole way?

A: Yeah, for sure. I feel like ever since I was little this was my dream, so I’ve been striving to be that ever since.

Q: For people who don’t play, what do you bring to the Giants offense?

A: A lot of dynamic versatility.

Q: During the process, how many questions did teams have about some of the off-field stuff you had early in your career at Florida?

A: Right now, everybody’s not really concerned about anything that happened off the field because that was like two, three years ago.

Q: If somebody gives you a call later tonight, a good friend, somebody from the family, what are you going to tell them about this experience tonight and what it’s going to mean to you to be a New York Football Giant?

A: I would say this whole experience was kind of special, kind of eye-opening, too. I really can’t even describe the kind of feeling that I felt once my phone started ringing. Just emotion. It was really a lot to digest.

Q: Do you feel like you’re joining an iconic franchise?

A: It’s kind of crazy. Growing up watching NFL football sometimes, like me just going to a team that – Eli Manning was there, Odell [Beckham Jr.] was there, Tiki Barber, everybody. A lot of people were a part of this franchise and I’m just next in line to do something special.

Q: You have a history of playing quarterback in high school. What has that done for your game? Do you feel that that’s helped you maybe grasp the receiver routes and all the stuff that receivers do a little bit better than if you didn’t have that experience?

A: I really feel like it helped me as far as learning plays, learning the offense, seeing things and defenses, and recognizing coverages on the run and on the move. I think it helped a lot in my game.

Q: Who were some of the players that you sort of modeled your game after that we would know of obviously in the NFL? And how do you envision yourself fitting into an offense that already has a lot of weapons on offense at wide receiver?

A: I’d say my game is kind of like Davante Adams, (Alvin) Kamara, like just quick, dynamic, explosive. Because Kamara, he’s really explosive and really elusive. Really coming into an offense that’s already full or packed, I want to just play my role. Whatever my job is, do it to the best of my ability.

Q: There aren’t a lot of wide receivers who would name a running back as a comparison to themselves.

A: Because I’m versatile. A lot of people can’t play running back.

Q: A lot of people say that you still have room to develop as a route runner and things like that. Where do you feel like you have room to grow as a player?

A: I mean, I’d agree. I’m really just embarking on my journey of really playing receiver – like my third-and-a-half year really just grasping receiver, so I feel like I’ve got a lot to really learn and a lot to grasp. I feel like I’m in the right position, the right system and the right organization to really learn and grasp a lot of things early.

Q: Can you take us through who called you first to let you know they were taking you?

A: I won’t get into names, but I’m just thankful. I won’t get into the names, I don’t want you to know everything.

Q: What was the message from Joe Judge when you spoke to him tonight?

A: It was more of comforting. If he didn’t believe in me he would not have took a risk, took a chance on me, so really thankful for that right now.

Q: Have you spoken to any future teammates? Has anybody reached out to you yet?

A: No, not yet.

Q: What do you know about New York and what do you know about the Giants in general?

A: I know New York is kind of big, it’s crazy, the ‘Big Apple.’ I don’t really know a lot about New York because I’ve never been. I never traveled a lot. But I feel like it’s a lot to learn about the Giants that I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know anything right now. Right now, I’m trying to find the quickest thing I can learn and move forward. Honestly, I’m thinking about the playbook right now, as far as learning right now.

Q: What about living here, coming here, changing your life, uprooting yourself?

A: I’m always on the move regardless anyway. I was never like an at home person, I’m always moving around, so I don’t think it’s really going to be tough for me to adjust. You got to get used to waking up earlier to get wherever I got to go and stuff, but it ain’t no problem.

Q: Were you overshadowed at all in this process by your teammate [Falcons Tight End] Kyle Pitts and obviously how high he was drafted? And with how exciting of a player he is, do you feel like you flew under the radar a little bit here and what was it like seeing him go that high as well?

A: I was really happy for Kyle to go that high. Like I expected him to go high. I expected Kyle Trask to go high, too. Like I expected a lot of people to go high from my team because that’s the kind of players we are. We just work and are dedicated, but I didn’t feel like I was overshadowed or anything. I just feel like I played my part well and did what I had to do when I had to do it.

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2nd Round – LB Azeez Ojulari, 6’2”, 249lbs, 4.63, University of Georgia

Scouting Report: Ojulari is an edge rusher who combines good size (6’2”, 249 pounds) with excellent overall athleticism. Natural pass rusher who also plays hard. He threatens tackles with his initial quickness, bend, rip move, and closing burst. Ojulari has long arms for his size and is physical with his hands. Ojulari needs to disengage from blockers more consistently and will need to add inside pass rush moves to his arsenal. He flashes pass coverage skills but he will need work in this area. Improving player who has a big upside.

Sy’56’s Take: Third year sophomore entry from Marietta, Georgia. A two-year starter that earned 2nd Team All SEC honors in 2020. The semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award led the SEC in tackles for loss and sacks in 2020, a year after leading the Bulldogs in sacks and pressures. Ojulari is a mature, hardworking kid that gets the most out of his talents. He won team-awards for most improved player in 2019 as well as one for his efforts during the offseason strength and conditioning program. Ojulari was also a team captain in 2019, the first time a freshman has earned that honor in the Coach Smart era. This is a kid that has high-end talent that can be used in multiple ways for a defense, and it is paired with top notch intangibles. His game really started to blossom as the 2020 season came to a close. He finished with 5 sacks over his last 3 games. Ojulari still has more physical development to achieve, as he will need to add functional weight to play the every down edge in the NFL, but his versatility, talent, and intangibles will make him a dangerous defensive weapon and he can be one of the best when things come together.

No inside information here. I think Ojulari is on the NYG short list for #11 overall. I’m not exactly sure what NYG is looking to add to their outside pass rush. Do they want a pure burner (what Carter was supposed to turn into, and still can), or do they want an inside-out versatile piece? If it is the former, Ojulari is a very strong possibility. I think he has the best get off in the group. That is a great place to start. I also believe who he is as a person will be exactly what NYG wants to add.

Media Q&A with General Manager Dave Gettleman (Video):

So we traded back to 50. We got a third round pick in ‘22 and picked up Azeez Ojulari, who we are really thrilled to get. He’s an edge pass rusher. He’s instinctive. He’s very bright. He plays hard, and he’s got pass rush ability and he’s also a solid run player. We’re really thankful to get him. 

Media Q&A with Head Coach Joe Judge (Video):

Q: Can you speak about the importance of getting some edge pass rushing in there? The Giants defense for years, it used to be an automatic with pass rushers and it’s been an issue for you particularly on the outside?

A: First off, I was pleased with the progress we made on defense last year with the guys on our roster. We had injuries that affected guys like Zo (Lorenzo Carter) and X-man (Oshane Ximines), and we had some rookies. And obviously we had some rookies had to come in and step up and got good contribution from guys like Jabaal Sheard when they were on the team. So we didn’t look at this in the nature of, you know, that we had to absolutely go out there and address something, or else it was going to be dire. We have confidence in the guys we have on our roster. We like Azeez (Ojulari) as a player. We have a lot of experience with him throughout this organization. Marcus Cooper one of our scouts has great relationships with these guys. We put a lot of trust in his evaluations because he gets it know these guys on a deep basis and coincidentally actually three picks came from Coop’s area and he has a lot of inside info on these guys. On top of that, you talk about Azeez, the coach he’s going to play for, Kevin Sherrer, recruited and signed him at the University of Georgia before he was a freshman. You talk about the other coaches that we have on staff that had to play against him in the SEC, he’s always a guy that stood out to them on the field as someone they had to account for. I have a lot of respect for the way (Georgia Head Coach) Kirby (Smart) runs his program. I love those guys down there. I think they play tough and they are well-coached. To be able to add a guy to our team to compete with our current roster, he was a good fit for us. We are excited to have him here but like all other rookies, he’s got to come in and compete when he gets here.

Q. With Azeez, it’s out there that there was a knee problem and some teams actually flagged him. Where did you guys stand on that?

A: Yeah, listen, I don’t think there’s a player in this draft or any draft for that matter that doesn’t have something that shows up on a board. I trust our medical team, Ronnie (Barnes) and his guys do a great job. We have some of the best doctors in the world who look in these guys and constantly update us on what they think the current risk is. All I can go back to is this guy came back, he played, this guy doesn’t miss practices at Georgia. He played with very high effort, high intensity. I’m very pleased with what you saw on tape in terms of the medical expertise. I leave that on Ronnie Barnes and his staff and I let them go ahead and give us the information, and with that information make the decisions.

Q. We know about your connection with Kirby and talking about that Georgia program, how much does that help with transition, and is what they do similar to what you do schematically?

A: I would say the answer in terms of the terminology or maybe some of the concepts of the defense, there are similarities to that. It’s all basically off the same branch of the defensive tree and philosophy from different coaches in the past. However, it doesn’t matter where you come from. None of these rookies have a leg up on anyone. They come in and have to learn our league and system and compete with our vets from on the roster. Just being from a certain school doesn’t give anyone a leg up on anything. You have to come in — the National Football League is completely different from college. You have to learn a lot of things about it: The speed of the game, the tempo of the game. So it’s nice that he’s from a familiar system, but past, you know, day one install meetings and basic terminology, that’s the only jump he’ll have on anybody else.

Q. What is your relationship like with Kirby Smart and is there a quality in the players that he coaches that stands out? Because you have drafted three guys from there in the last year, whether that’s a coincidence or not.

A: Well, I think the coincidence would be that he just coaches really good players. They do a great job of recruiting top talent and develop them over the course of time they are there. Those players work hard and player hard and understand the value of playing old school, fundamental, physical football. That’s really what draws to us. Me and Kirby we worked three years at Alabama. I have a lot of respect for him as a person and I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. When you know where someone is coming from, you have a little bit of insight in how you can coach them, okay, what really makes them tick and how they respond in adverse situations.

Media Q&A with Director of College Scouting Chris Pettit (Video):

Q. What’s that moment like when you trade back from 42 to 50, and Azeez is very much in the conversation at 42, are you waiting every pick or were you sweating it out?

A: We had a bunch of guys that we really liked there and like I said before, you’ve just got to be patient. You can’t get too high or too low and the board will come to you. You have to trust it. When you have a group of guys there, it makes you feel better as the time and picks go by. Azeez was 1 in the group and he was there and he was the right player for us.

Q. You hear a bunch of things about Azeez as a pass rusher, and some people say he’s the best pass rusher in the Draft. They don’t usually last till 50. So where do you see him as a pass rusher and is he a legitimate edge guy now that you guys added to your team?

A: Yeah, I believe so. The thing that separated I think Azeez from others was he’s pro-ready with his hands. He had real good hand use. He’s instinctive. The guy has the ability to make big plays in big spots. He’s ultra competitive. He has good instincts. He had good hand use for being an underclassman that we liked.

Q. Curious what you would have thought if I told you on like Thursday morning that Azeez would be there at pick 50? Is that something you expected or were surprised by?

A: I wouldn’t say I was surprised or expected. I was wishful. I’d be wishful that was a possibility, along with the other players we had in the group there. But I’m really excited to have Azeez. To bring a pass rusher to our defense, another one, another young pass rusher that we can develop, I’m excited.

Media Q&A with Azeez Ojulari (Video):

Q: A lot of people thought you would go a lot earlier for you. How has this process been for you and how is your knee?

A: This process was a great process, just talking to teams, building those relationships and just being able to be a Giant. I’m just happy to be here. I’m just ready to get to work. My knee is good. Everything is good and solid. Everything is perfect.

Q: Hey Azeez, congratulations. Just caught a little bit of a snippet when you were announced on TV from an old buddy, Andrew Thomas, who is now your teammate again. What was that like tonight? The wait? Did you know it would be the Giants? What was your reaction – describe it when it happened.

A: It was crazy when I got the call, man. I saw a New York on it so I just picked it up. I was just so happy to be on the phone with the Giants. It was electric. It was a great moment for me and my family and Drew (Andrew Thomas) being in the house, too.

Q: You and Drew were pretty close, right? Did I read that?

A: Yes, he was my roommate.

Q: He was the toughest tackle you ever gone against?

A: Definitely. Definitely was.

Q: Hi Azeez, congratulations. Sorry, I’m sure you thought you got away from me down here in Athens. Was it excruciating at all having to wait? I guess you ultimately don’t really know when you’re going to go, but projections were really high for you. Were you hurting there for a while or confused?

A: No. I just know I’m blessed to be here. I’m blessed to be a Giant. I just waited my turn and wait for my opportunity to come and now it’s here. Now, I’m just happy and ready to be a Giant, for sure.

Q: Azeez, I know (Georgia Head Coach) Kirby Smart and Joe Judge have connections. Have you heard anything about what you’ll be coming into?

A: Definitely. Georgia has some similarities to the Giants defense. I’ve been through it a lot. I feel like I’ll be good with the scheme and everything coming in. I’m just ready to get to work and learn – learn from the best.

Q: Hey Azeez, congratulations. There are some people who say you are the best past rusher in this draft. First question, what do you think about that?

A: Definitely. I mean, everyone has their own opinions, but definitely I believe that. I’m just confident in my game. I’m just ready to go to work with the New York Giants and show everybody what I can do.

Q: Second question, real quick. If you are the best pass rusher, they don’t normally last to number 50. What does that say to you? Does that kind of anger you or do you care about that at all?

A: I’m just blessed to be a Giant. I’m ready to work. When I get there, I just have to go get in the playbook to learn the scheme and everything. I’m just ready to show them what I can do. That’s it.

Q: Hey Azeez, what does it mean to you to go to a team that has your college roommate in Andrew Thomas, Tae Crowder is there, Lorenzo Carter is a Georgia alum – what does it mean to you to be joining up with all these guys that I imagine you’re pretty familiar with?

A: It’s just great just having my brothers up there already. They’re people that I have conversations with. It would be great for me to come in there and learn from them. They’ve been there, so they can teach me and tell me things. So, I just can’t wait to get up there with those guys and be ready to work.

Q: How would you describe what type of player you are to Giants fans who maybe aren’t familiar with you?

A: I’m definitely relentless. Effort is never a question. I’m an all-around player. I can rush the passer, stop and run, drop in coverage or whatever I have to do to help the team, I can do it.

Q: Azeez, congratulations man. What did you think – I mean you’re a guy who has played, you practiced, and then they tell you, or did you even know – that your knee was going to be a problem for teams?

A: No. I didn’t know at all. I was fully healthy the last two seasons at Georgia. I didn’t know anything. I just didn’t know. I’m blessed to be a Giant. I’m happy and ready to get to work.

Q: What was your interaction with Kevin Sherrer? Was he your coach? Did you work for him a lot? How well do you know him?

A: Oh yeah, Coach Sherrer. He recruited me when I was coming into Georgia, so our relationship is already there, for sure. I’ve learned things from him, from watching film and tape and coming into Georgia. We really have a good bond going in, for sure.

Q: Hi Azeez, congratulations. I just got in a little late. I apologize if this is a repeat, but could you describe your pass rushing ability and how you feel it’ll translate immediately in the NFL given what you’ve seen?

A: I have good speed and strength. I can convert speed to power. I can beat the guy off the edge and beat him inside. I can affect the quarterback a lot. I’m just coming in knowing I’m ready to work and contribute and I’m ready to do whatever I have to do.

Q: Just as a quick follow up, in your conversations with Coach Judge and what not and whomever it is you spoke to, what amount did you speak to him about how much they are in need of pass rushing help? How aware are you of that?

A: It was one of the needs, for sure. We definitely had conversations throughout the whole process, daily. I’m blessed to be here. I’m blessed to be a Giant today. I’m ready to get there and contribute.

Q: Azeez, congrats. A lot of the best players in Giants history, most revered players, are pass rushers – Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, etc. What do you think of trying to live up to those expectations and live up to those kinds of names putting on this jersey at that position?

A: Seeing all of those great Giants that came through there, I just know I have to come in ready to work and put it all on the table to give it all you got. Give it all you got for those great guys that played before us. I just have a lot of respect for those players, so you have to give it all you got and do what I can do.

Q: Real quick, Kadarius Toney, did you – I didn’t have time to double check on this schedule – but what do you think of him as a player and a fellow SEC guy, offensive weapon? What do you think of him as a player and a weapon?

A: Man, Kadarius Toney is a beast. He’s shifty. He can shake anything. He can beat you. He has speed. Man, I can’t wait to see him play. Just know he’s a dog, for sure.

Q: Azeez, you said you knew the Giants needed an edge rusher. When they’re on the clock at number 42, are you waiting for your phone to ring right there?

A: I was waiting. I was waiting on it all day.

Q: When in your conversations with Andrew did you guys start talking about becoming teammates and when did it become more and more realistic for you guys?

A: Just basically when he got drafted. When he got drafted, we thought about it. It could happen one day. So, we were like, ‘It would be cool for us to be teammates coming from Georgia. That would be nice.’ And look at us now, teammates.

Q: Hey Azeez, just on a personal level, what do your friends call you? Do they call you Z? They call you AO? They call you Zeez, or what?

A: Yes, they call me Z. Sometimes they call me vibranium. No, they call me mostly Z, though. It’s what it is the most times, Z.

Q: Okay, and the other question I have is, one of the guys you’ll probably be competing with for time is Lorenzo Carter. How close are you with him?

A: Lorenzo is my brother, definitely, for sure. He played at Georgia. I’m ready to get there and work with him and just learn things from him and just ready to get to work.

Q: Hey Azeez, congratulations man. Azeez, I noticed you have that one signature move that you love to go to, to get the quarterback. I’m curious, who helped you develop your moves in rushing and what’s one part of your game that you feel you need to improve at?

A: I’d say my time at Georgia, just working there every single day since I was a freshman. I was finding the move that worked for me and I just kept doing that. Once I found it, I just kept going to it and adjusting off of it when I had to. Thanks to Georgia and my time there, it just helped me with everything I need to do. I will definitely be using it for sure.

Q: Azeez, quickly, did you get better competing with Andrew Thomas in practice a lot?

A: Definitely, every day. Every single day competing. Good on good, everyday.

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3rd Round – CB Aaron Robinson, 6’0”, 190lbs, 4.39, University of Central Florida

Scouting Report: Robinson is a tough, aggressive, athletic slot corner with decent size (6’0”, 190 pounds). He plays a physical game. Speedy, he can run with receivers deep. Robinson is better in press man coverage than off coverage. He will play the run but needs to be a more consistent tackler.

Sy’56’s Take: Fifth year senior from Deerfield Beach, Florida. Began his career at Alabama in 2016 where he played in 13 games. Transferred to Central Florida in 2017 and redshirted. Two-year starter that earned 2nd Team All AAC honors in both 2019 and 2020. Robinson has the pro-caliber foot speed and burst that enables him to stay sticky to his man on all levels of the route tree. He can play the game with his feet rather than getting too grabby with his hands. Robinson has a lot of dog in him. He is always one of the toughest players on the field and he knows it. Even though he needs to control where he gets aggressive and where to gamble, he is the kind of player that elevates the energy of a defense. That doesn’t occur much from cornerbacks. His size may keep him at nickel but he can play both.

There are some corners that elevate their game with swagger. They are constantly getting in fights, constantly running their mouth. I understand that isn’t an approach for everyone to get behind, but I personally love it. Much prefer that than guys on opposing teams laughing with each other all game and trading jerseys afterward. Robinson hates his opponent every week, and he plays like it. He also has really well developed technique and footwork. Little gamble here, but I think he is starting in the league within a year or two.

Media Q&A with General Manager Dave Gettleman (Video):

In the third round, we swapped spots with Denver and wanted to move up. Obviously we’re working on defense and we picked Aaron Robinson, who is a nickel, who has got the ability to play nickel and outside the perimeter, and he’s an excellent tackler, ball hawk. He’s got all the stuff… And then with the value we had on Aaron, I just didn’t want to sit and wait. We just felt — he’s a press corner and really fits what we want to do and who we want to be on defense. 

Q. You guys have invested some real resources in the secondary since last year, the draft picks you brought in, James Bradberry, obviously this year with Adoree’ and now Aaron Robinson. How does Aaron fit in there and how close are you to being a finished product on the back end?

A: Where Aaron fits in is he gives us more perimeter muscle, so to speak, and he’s also got that flexibility to play the nickel and play the star. We think he’s a great fit, obviously, because we traded up, hello, stating the obvious. Captain Obvious. We think he’s a great fit for our defense and our back end and we feel like you can never have too many assets back there because players come and go. You have injuries. People will say it’s a passing league and it is to a degree. And the other thing that we really liked about Aaron is you do the studies, you do the analytics — I do do it, people — and the best defenses have the best tackling secondaries, and Aaron Robinson is a really good tackling corner.

Media Q&A with Head Coach Joe Judge (Video):

Q. What did you like about (Aaron) Robinson?

A: A-Rob is a good player. Again we are excited to add him to the program. Going to come in and compete. There’s going to be a lot of competition with defensive backs, corners and safeties.

Look, this is a guy that jumped out to us on tape and as well as when we were down at the Senior Bowl got to see him in person, sit down, meet with him; I had multiple meetings that week. Got the Zoom throughout this process. So we had a lot of exposure with this guy as a person, and this guy really does, he’s got a good personality, he really lights up. This is a guy, he plays on the field and you see when he makes a play, his teammates immediately sprint to him. There’s a lot of excitement. You can tell he’s got a bond with his teammates, and that stands out with the energy his teammates play with as well.

In terms of him as a player, he’s a physical player with good traits and gives us versatility to play inside, outside. This guy has some value to play in the kicking game as well. Just the demeanor he plays with, the physicality and his ability to play in both press and off, he’ll give us some options how we can use him.

Q. This is obviously not a new world for the Giants, but the way the draft was manipulated the last two days, moving down, you had a fifth round pick you gained and you just traded away, was with the Giants for about 12 hours or something like that. Do you like this a little bit more rock and roll and keeping everybody on their toes?

A: It’s making the best decision for the team at the time. We had an opportunity to move down and gain more value because there are a number of players we feel in that range are going to be available, we’ll go ahead and look at that option. As you saw with A-Rob, we didn’t want to give somebody else a chance to take him at that point; he was a priority for us to get, so we used the pick to trade on up. As I said yesterday, these picks are people and make calculated risks whether you acquire them or give them up. I feel good about what we did today in the draft. I’m sure Dave has got a concussion or something, so make sure we check on him overnight and we’ll get back to work tomorrow.

Q. What do you remember particularly about the one with Robinson?

A: I just remember he had a very direct personality. You talk to him, he lit up when you start talking football. That’s important, again, the passion for the game. I just like direct, honest people and he’s got that to him.

Media Q&A with Director of College Scouting Chris Pettit (Video):

Q. What’s your report on (Aaron) Robinson? What did you like about him?

A: A-Rob jumped off, I remember I was sitting here through the pandemic in the office, threw on the UCF tape and his instincts, his toughness and his tackling jumped out to me immediately as I was watching the tape. A little unknown about him, didn’t know much, threw the tape on one day and really caught my eye with his competitiveness and instincts.

Then we’ve kind of followed him throughout the process. We had two interviews with him down in Mobile which got to help us know him as a person, most importantly, and then I went down and saw him at his pro day as well to really spend a lot of time with him.

I think what immediately jumped off was his instincts, toughness, competitiveness.

Q. Aaron Robinson started his career at Alabama, so that’s SEC ties for all three guys this year, most of the guys last year. I think it’s pretty universally accepted that’s the best conference. Is that why you guys keep going to the SEC or do you have stronger relationships there? More scouts in that area? Why is it the SEC?

A: I don’t think we say, all right, this is the SEC we are going to scout it differently than any other part of the country. It’s just the way the board has fallen that the SEC players at the time we are ready to pick are the ones we feel best to be Giants. It’s a very good conference. There’s big people that play fast and tough and we like that. But I don’t think it’s any different — we don’t scout it any different than any other conference in the league.

Media Q&A with Aaron Robinson (Video):

Q: Saw that tweet from [Safety] Xavier McKinney. I guess even though you transferred, you’re still viewed by some of these guys as an Alabama guy. Just curious, what’s it like to reunite with a lot of guys with Alabama ties?

A: You know, X specifically, I remember him when he first got up to school just trying to connect and bond with him. He’s a great guy. I’m ready to get up there and get to work with some great dudes, get around some great coaching, pretty much just set the standard with the brotherhood up there and go to work.

Q: What do you think you bring to the table?

A: Definitely a competitive edge about myself. A guy who’s willing to take it from every angle, vets, coaching and excel at it in my own game. Really just want to bring guys along, including myself, to create something special.

Q: Hey Aaron, I think one of things the Giants really like about you is how physical you are and that you can play man-to-man. That’s something they weren’t able to do as much last year. What does it take to be as consistently physical and effective as you are at that position on the outside?

A: Yeah, you know that pretty much comes with the game of football. I feel like I always favored the defensive side of the ball a little bit more growing up playing it. And that’s pretty much a plus in my game that I take advantage of and come with to every play 150 percent. That’s pretty much it.

Q: Aaron, how important was it for you to get to the Senior Bowl and have that opportunity to meet with the various teams? And to follow up on that, what do you remember about your meeting with the Giants?

A: Having that opportunity to get up there in Mobile to compete against some of the best in college football this past year was a great opportunity for me to pretty much expose myself a little bit more, and have that great opportunity to earn those reps, get those reps on the outside and showcase those skills as well during those practices. So it was definitely a great opportunity for myself. What I remember from meeting with the Giants was the laughs through conversation, pretty much just enjoying that moment with those coaches up there and pretty much coming off natural, it felt like.

Q: Were you on [Wide Receiver] Kadarius Toney’s team at the Senior Bowl or did you go against him at all?

A: I was on Kadarius’s team. We pretty much had one great rep of one-on-ones and a couple more reps during team reps. Pretty much just competing against one another trying to earn something, so respect to him as well.

Q: The fact that the Giants traded up to get you, does that mean something extra to you?

A: Yeah, definitely, just another great opportunity. Thank those guys up there for believing in me and that just pushes me to want to get up there and work 10 times harder for some guys that definitely believed in me. I’m going to take advantage of that and run with it, for sure.

Q: Hey Aaron, you’ll have to kind of forgive me for doing my scouting report on the fly, but did you play mostly in the slot in college?

A: Correct.

Q: And so you were saying playing at the Senior Bowl gave you the chance to play outside?

A: Correct.

Q: So, do you feel like you can play both at the next level? Are you more comfortable at one or the other?

A: Wherever I’m needed. Wherever I’m needed, I’m willing to learn that playbook, get in with my coaches, spend a lot of time around those guys, around those guys in the locker room as well to really learn it and go out and perform to the best of my ability.

Q: Did you guys play a lot of man or zone in college?

A: We mixed it up. [Defensive Coordinator] Coach [Randy] Shannon definitely mixed it up for us, gave a lot of looks and pretty much helped us a lot as well.

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4th Round – LB Elerson Smith, 6’6”, 262lbs, 4.75, University of Northern Iowa

Scouting Report: Smith is a tall, lanky, athletic rush end who projects to outside linebacker in the Giants’ system. He combines good size, arm length, big hands, initial get-off quickness, bend, and closing burst. Good pass rusher who makes plays in the backfield. Raw, Smith will need some time to develop and reach his potential. He will need to continue to get stronger and be more consistent at playing off of blockers in the run game. Smith is a hard worker both off and on the football field.

Sy’56’s Take: Fifth year senior from Minneapolis, Minnesota. One-year starter that had his senior season canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 1st Team All Missouri Valley Conference and 1st Team AFCA FCS All American in 2019. Smith broke out in his redshirt junior season, netting 21.5 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, and 2 blocked kicks. He plays the game with a level of ease and smoothness in traffic. He gets off the ball in a hurry with great leverage and upper body positioning, his hands are exceptionally fast, and the foot quickness is elite. Smith is just scratching the surface when it comes to his true potential. He needs to sleep in the weight room for a year before he can be an every down asset, but he will be a solid rotational pass rusher right away and has the upside of being a solid starter in multiple schemes.

*If you haven’t seen Northern Iowa play but you want to get a feel for what this kid looks like on the field, think about Jayson Taylor. He has the really long, borderline thin frame but plays with tremendous burst and bend for a player his size. Smith impressed me a ton at the Senior Bowl in the practice tapes. Really twitchy, plays low to the ground, and easily changes direction. His 2019 tape is something else, too. Good player here that may need more time than others but presents more upside than most guys in this tier.

Media Q&A with General Manager Dave Gettleman (Video):

Elerson Smith, who we took in the fourth round, is a kid that played at Northern Iowa, didn’t play this fall obviously because of COVID. He didn’t opt out. They just didn’t play. And he played the Senior Bowl. He’s long, he’s athletic and we watched him on his Northern Iowa tape and what sold us on him is they played Iowa State and he must have played about 85, 90 snaps. He’s a real tough kid, athletic, long, has some pass rush potential and he’s instinctive, so we really liked him.

Media Q&A with Head Coach Joe Judge (Video):

Q: Elerson Smith, lower level of competition, gained a lot of weight, big hands, good athlete. This team has been looking for an edge rusher for many years. You think you got it right with these two guys?

A: I think we added two guys between Elerson and Azeez that are going to be able to come in that have a skill set to develop and work with, both guys really fit our outside linebacker category. In our defense, our outside backers have a variety of skill set. Some guys are more stout, set the edge guys better in early down run setting and some guys are more third down sub-package pass rushers. Elerson is a guy, I got to sit down with him in Mobile at the Senior Bowl and was impressed with him down there playing. You watch his tape, the one thing I would say about guys from small schools and low level of competition, I think sometimes people over-evaluate someone because where they played in college. And this is a guy you look at his story, he weighed 195 pounds coming out of high school, was built more like a receiver. So someone obviously at Northern Iowa did a good job evaluating this guy and seeing his upside and potential. That’s what I think we did a good job as well with, and we’re going to have an opportunity to develop it. But he’s gained a lot of weight. That just shows his commitment to body and really developing over time. Some guys are late bloomers. But I know when Northern Iowa plays, whether it’s him or Spencer Brown another guys who was drafted along with other guys, those guys play tough. You watch their tape. They are a competitive team. So to me I look at a lot of lower competition, per se, quote, or smaller schools as really more of an opportunity to grow these guys as guys that really weren’t always in a program where they had great nutrition plans or maybe the top-tier strength program or assets available to them. Sometimes you get a guy from a really good program and you have to look and say, how topped out are they. They have been coached very well, had a resource at all times; what is their ceiling and how much higher can they go. A guy from a smaller school, you can say, we can really develop this guy. You know, let’s be patient with this guy, give him time, throw them in, let them compete and if they have upside, all of a sudden you really see them competing on your roster.

Media Q&A with Director of College Scouting Chris Pettit (Video):

Q. When you look at a guy like Elerson (Smith), Joe was just talking about big school, small school. Is he a little more of hey, you look at him and say, he is not what he’s going to be and you project him and just what kind of potential as a pass rusher do you see him having?

A: I think there’s a lot of potential. The biggest thing with the smaller school guys, we always start at step one, do they dominate that level. They have to dominate that level of competition to get in the conversation. And the great thing about Elerson that, again, reference the Senior Bowl again, but we got to see him on the same playing field with guys from Power Five schools and the higher levels and he fit right in. He competed his butt off and looked the part. You got to compare apples-to-apples there. That was a great venue for us. There were times when he had to play a Division I team. He played Iowa State this year, played over 90 plays in that game and competed to the last whistle and it was really impressive to see. But I think there’s big upside there, with all our players, they are going to have to come in and develop and become pros.

Media Q&A with Elerson Smith (Video):

Q: Obviously, the Giants were at the Senior Bowl and I’m curious about how much you talked to them there? Do you remember those conversations? What was your impression of the Giants when you met with them?

A: At the Senior Bowl, I just had a brief 15-minute interview just like any other team there. I didn’t really get to know them much or meet with the other coaches and people on staff until later when we had a few meetings. First impression was. obviously, I just know that the New York Giants is a great, historically great, organization. I’m excited to be able to contribute to what they have.

Q: When you arrived in Northern Iowa, you were really thin, like 215 pounds or whatever it was. Then you put on all that weight. How would you describe what this journey has been like for you going from that skinny kid to being drafted by the New York Giants, which has a pretty rich history of pass rushers obviously?

A: It’s been a process. I’ve had to take advantage of each day early on when I wasn’t getting a lot of acknowledgement or recognition. It was a process. I was just kind of working in the dark and just making sure that I was getting the most out of every day. It has been a whirlwind the past few months. I’m excited to kind of take that same approach when I get to New York – just making sure that I’m getting better everyday and not letting days get by where I’m not getting better because if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. I’m really excited to be a part of New York.

Q: Technically, you called it an opt-out from last year, but clearly, that’s not what happened until the spring anyway. What was it like to have that senior season taken away from you?

A: It’s tough because your senior season is what you look forward to, you know, for all four years really. We had a great group of guys playing together in Northern Iowa and we really had a chance to make a run for it this year. But, obviously, with Covid and everything going on, it’s not the worst thing that could have happened to me. I just tried to go with the flow and understand that it is what it was and I had no control over the season being canceled. So, I just wanted to make sure that I was making the most out of my days and continuing to work toward the Senior Bowl and our Pro Day.

Q: How important was that Senior Bowl because nobody had been able to see you on the field since December of 2019?

A: It was huge. I think at that point, it was the only film I had where I played around 260. All my other film I was around 240 or 235. I just wanted to show teams that I could play with the new weight and to show them I was working hard on my body and my game and that I am able to contribute to an NFL team at this point. It was an important week because I didn’t have the film like everyone else had from the 2020 season.

Q: Obviously, being 6’6″, you have a size advantage off the edge over a lot of tackles, but is there a pass rush move that is kind of your go-to or one that you’ve really refined and you think is your best trait?

A: I like to work moves together. I love a good bull rush. I think my get-off is what starts all my pass rush moves. I love driving offensive linemen off the jump, get their feet moving and really get them scared of my length and my get-off. From there, depending on what the offensive line is giving me, it’s going to be a bull rush or I’m going to take the edger or coming underneath. I love pass rushing, though. I have a lot of fun doing it.

Q: I just wanted to ask you – the Giants also took an edge rusher in the second round in Azeez Ojulari. Are you a little bit surprised to land in New York? How much do you know about the edge rush situation with the team?

A: I’m not surprised to land in New York. I had a decent amount of meetings with them before. The edge rush situation is something out of my hands, but I’m excited to get to know the guys. I’m excited to work with them. I’m excited to get better with them and try to make the pass rush better as a whole unit. I don’t know much about Azeez, but I’m sure he’s a great player and I’m excited to get to know him and get after it and get to work with him, too.

Q: How much football have you played in the last like five years? It seems like ’16 and ’17, you didn’t play, ’18 was limited and ’19 was a big season. Is it only two years in the last five?

A: Yes. I mean, other than practice, which I treated like those were my games because that’s what I needed to get better at, my first few years of college, I started one year. Then, I was in a reserve pass rush role my sophomore year. I just like to make the most of my opportunities and I was able to do that my junior year. I think that’s a result of me treating those first few years like those were playing seasons for me or preparing for every game throughout those seasons, so I was ready at that point.

Q: I noticed you blocked two kicks. Are we talking about placekicks and you’re coming up the middle, I assume?

A: Yup. Just right on the ball, getting off and driving through the back.

Q: You’re being drafted as a pass rusher here, but have any teams asked you to play tight end or told you that they would like you to? I know you’re such a well-rounded athlete. You did it in high school. Is that something the Giants and other teams talked to you about?

A: No, not the Giants. I heard a joke about it, but no serious talk about me playing tight end.

Q: When the season was cancelled, I think you entered the transfer portal but then pulled your name out. What were those couple weeks like and what was that specific decision like for you? How did it go and how did you come to the decision to not transfer and not play?

A: Honestly, that was one of those things that were out of my hands again. I entered the transfer portal a few days after our season got cancelled because I thought it would be best for me to be able to boost my stock at a bigger school or maybe just find somewhere to play because I knew I wanted to enter this draft. After the FCS season, I entered the transfer portal and was talking to some schools. I had some schools in mind, but then the FBS cancelled, or postponed their season for that brief little stint there – a brief few weeks a day after I was into it – so, at that point everything was so up in the air. I was like, ‘I’m just going to declare and start training for the Pro Day and Senior Bowl.’ That’s kind of how it happened.

Q: I know you’re from the Minneapolis area. Do you know Carter Coughlin at all? I know you grew up near each other.

A: I actually don’t, not personally. I played against him in high school, football and basketball. I know he’s a great athlete. I know he did great things at the University of Minnesota and I’m excited to get to know him in New York.

Q: You probably posted him up pretty good in basketball.

A: I wasn’t very good at basketball. I was a wrestler most of my life. I played basketball a little bit later, even though it’s funny because I’m 6’6″, I’m not a basketball player.

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6th Round – RB Gary Brightwell, 5’11”, 218lbs, 4.62, University of Arizona

Scouting Report: Brightwell is a big, physical, no-nonsense, downhill runner with good speed and acceleration for his size. He is not a particularly creative running back, being more of a one-speed, one-cut slasher. His biggest negative is ball security. He needs to protect the football better.

Sy’56’s Take: Sizeable slasher that can put his foot in the ground a burst upfield. Will push defenders back on contact, shows decent late wiggle. Hard nosed kid that will get yards after contact. Has fumble issues, mechanical.

Media Q&A with General Manager Dave Gettleman (Video):

With the first sixth round pick, we took a running back out of Arizona, Gary Brightwell. He’s a big kid and he’s got a heavy body, he’s a heavy body runner, he’s in the 215, 220 range and he really is a quality special teams player. So he’s got dual value.

Media Q&A with Head Coach Joe Judge (Video):

Q: Gary Brightwell sounded like you talking about special teams and all the hidden yards and importance of it. What did you like about him in those roles while he was in college?

A: He’s a guy that definitely jumped out. A few weeks back, me, Tom Quinn and Thomas McGaughey were sitting in the staff room on a Saturday about 5:30am in the morning and Tom Quinn brought his name up and we watched his kick game and this dude was flying down the field and it was early enough that it woke you up and you really got excited about watching him. You start watching a lot more of his offense and start talking with our scouts who have done a lot of research on him and talking to Burton (Burns) as far as the running back value. Look, he’s a guy that jumps out from his skill set. You are always looking for good versatility and depth at those positions, running back and the kicking game. To be honest with you, the opportunity I had to really speak with him and spend some time with him even though it was over Zoom with Gary was very, very impressive. He has an tremendous story. This dude had the utmost compliments given to him from everyone who has been around him at every level. He was the guy that was available at the time and he was a guy we guy we could bring on on our roster and compete to be on the roster and make us a better team.

Media Q&A with Director of College Scouting Chris Pettit (Video):

Q. And then one guy that wasn’t at the Senior Bowl that you picked was Gary Brightwell who was a little more under the radar. Joe talked about how impressed he was with the special teams tape. Was that something that stood out to you?

A: Yeah, absolutely. Especially, one of our special teams coaches, Tom Quinn, ran into me one day in the hall and said he really saw some good traits in him. So we threw on the tape. Also as a runner, this guy will help us as a running back, as well. He’s competitive. He’s tough. He’s got good hands. Good athlete. So yeah I’m looking forward to seeing him run and also contribute on teams.

Media Q&A with Gary Brightwell (Video):

Q: What does this moment mean for you to get drafted by the Giants and considering your journey here and everything you’ve been through? What does it mean to get picked by them?

A: This moment is special for me. My family grew up as Giants fans, so I mean this is everything I dreamed of.

Q: So does that mean you’re a Tiki Barber guy? Who was your favorite running back growing up?

A: Tiki Barber was my favorite running back.

Q: Tell us about your game, Gary. What are you going to bring to the team?

A: I’m excited to bring some special teams to the field. I’m going to bring a lot of explosive plays, but my priority right now is getting the playbook, getting on special teams and dominating.

Q: Did you talk to [Head] Coach [Joe] Judge about that already? He’s a pretty big special teams guy.

A: Nah, that’s my thing. That’s been my thing since high school. I’ve been a special teams guy.

Q: What do you like about that?

A: I feel like special teams starts the game and also finish it. Special teams has all the hidden yards. I mean, you need special teams to dominate.

Q: How can your parents be Giants fans when you’re from Chester?

A: I don’t know. I mean, my parents are not Giants fans. My mom is an Eagles fan, but obviously she’s got to be one (Giants fan) now. And my uncles and aunts are Giants fans.

Q: You didn’t get a chance to play a lot because of Covid. Is that good or bad or what?

A: I mean, it could be good or bad, but to me I think it worked out just right. I’m a Giant.

Q: How much did the Giants talk to you about special teams and how do you show them? How does the draft process go about in providing to them that you can do special teams and showing them?

A: I mean, we didn’t really talk about special teams. We broke the film down and we mentioned special teams, but honestly special teams impacts me. I like to be the guy that starts the game off like on kickoff at Arizona. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play it last year as much as I wanted to, but I feel like special teams starts the game. Without special teams, it could be a win or lose situation. It’s the hidden yards.

Q: What units did you play on at Arizona?

A: So last year, I got to play punt pro [protection] and I also played kick return because I was the starter last year. But years before, I played everything.

Q: Just your thoughts on being in the running back room with [Running Back] Saquon [Barkley].

A: Honestly, my thoughts about it is I get to play behind a guy who’s very competitive. I’m going to make him work and for sure he’s going to make me work, but I just can’t wait to see how he approaches the day because I know some guys have different ways. And he can help me a lot, honestly. I mean, he’s been there for a few years now, so he can help me a lot. He knows secrets that I might not know right now, so I want to learn from this guy.

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6th Round – CB Rodarius Williams, 6’0”, 189lbs, 4.53, Oklahoma State University

Scouting Report: Williams has good size for a corner and has experience in both press and off coverage. He is a competitor who plays a physical game. Williams lacks ideal speed and quickness but he is instinctive in coverage. He breaks up a lot of passes.

Sy’56’s Take: Smart and instinctive. Supports the run and knows how to play physical in coverage without getting flagged. Plays faster than he times because of knowledge, feel, and reaction twitch.

Media Q&A with General Manager Dave Gettleman (Video):

Then our last pick was Rodarius Williams out of Oklahoma State. We had a solid value on him on the board. He’s athletic. He’s fast. He can carry the vertical. He plays our style. He’s a press corner and we were just very pleased to see him there.

Media Q&A with Head Coach Joe Judge (Video):

Q: In regard to the secondary and specifically, Rodarius Williams and Aaron Robinson, how much adding guys like that change what you guys can do schematically and coverage-wise?

A: Look, we are always looking for different skill sets that create versatility within our defensive schemes and look ultimately throughout the draft and free agency you’re looking for the best players available. We happened to go through the Draft and we had the opportunity to add two good corners, coming to compete with our current roster. We’ll see when they get here how it shakes out. I tell the guys all the time, truest thing I can say, it doesn’t matter how you get here; it’s what you do when you are here. We are excited to get these guys here and at the same time excited to work with everyone on our current roster, and again, look, our goal is to make every position as competitive as can be and that’s when you really get the best out of your team.

Media Q&A with Director of College Scouting Chris Pettit (Video):

Q. Rodarius Williams is going to be 25 in September. Some teams are drafting guys who are 20. How old — how do you look at age in the draft process? Is there a number that’s too old? Is there a number that’s too young? Are you aware if a guy is 22 versus 23? Do you know that number off the top of your head? How do you see age?

A: I mean, I think it’s a piece of the puzzle like every measurable is or every skill is. Obviously it didn’t affect us, his age and why we took him. You know, it’s case-by-case basis when it comes to the age to be honest with you. But no, I mean, actually he’s more mature. We don’t have to — some of these guys that are coming in, maybe don’t have the life skills being younger players, really straight out of high school almost. But no, it’s part of the puzzle like everything else, like I said, every measurable, every skill.

Media Q&A with Rodarius Williams (Video):

Q: Hey Rodarius, congratulations. So you’re actually Greedy Williams older brother, but he got to the NFL two years first.

A: Yes sir.

Q: What’s that like when you’re the older brother and he’s there first? Are you thirsty to get there? Now, what’s that moment like?

A: It’s just a humbling moment, man. Everything that he felt on his day, I feel. I’m just ready to get in and get the work done.

Q: What has he told you about NFL life?

A: Stay healthy, stay on top of things and don’t get in any trouble.

Q: Hey Rodarius, congratulations. Can you describe your game a little bit? And also, a lot of guys down at the lower part of the draft have a lot of special teams value. Are you one of those kinds of guys?

A: I wasn’t a big special teamer, but I did play special teams. I’m coming from a four-year starting experience, so whatever needs be I’ll adjust. Whatever you guys need of me is what I’m going to do.

Q: What kind of player are you? How would you describe yourself? Obviously, you’re very durable. You play all the time.

A: I’d say durable like you mentioned and definitely high confidence in myself. I believe that I will go down as one of the greats.

Q: Hey Rodarius, congratulations man. You’re 24 years old if I read correctly. That’s usually on the older side, so I’m wondering what that was like throughout the process and how much teams harped on that or you heard that or you had to fight that perception of, ‘Hey, you’re already old or older,’ I should say.

A: I’ve never had any run-ins or anything as far as things like that. My coaches used to tell me, if you could play, you could play, regardless of age. Teams definitely can see my durability. I don’t miss too many games. I don’t miss too many practices. I’m a guy that’s going to show up to work.

Q: Hey Rodarius, did you speak with the Giants at the Senior Bowl and what was your impression of them when you had conversations with them?

A: Oh we had a great talk. They were one of the teams that showed a lot of interest in me when we had meetings and stuff like that, drawing up plays and stuff like that. I was just showing them my knowledge of the game. They really took a lot of interest in me and I’m just – I’m not really shocked that you guys picked me. I kind of had expectations to go to the Giants leading up to the Draft.

Q: Yeah, so I was going to say, when you left your meetings with the Giants, did you say in your head, ‘I think this team might try and draft me’? Was that in your head right away?

A: Yes, most definitely. I was like, ‘This is going to be one of the teams that definitely gives me a call.

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Rookie Free Agent Scouting Reports

OC/OG Brett Heggie, 6’4”, 310lbs, 5.50, University of Florida (Video)
Heggie was a 3-year starter in college with experience at center and both guard spots. He lacks ideal power and athleticism for the NFL, but he is a smart, tough, feisty blue-collar lineman.

OT Jake Burton, 6’5”, 315lbs, 5.35, Baylor University
Burton is UCLA transfer. He has good size, but lacks ideal overall athleticism/foot quickness. Burton is physical and plays hard.

DE/LB Raymond Johnson, 6’3”, 270lbs, 4.73, Georgia Southern University (Video)
Johnson played at defensive end in college but could project to edge linebacker for the Giants. He combines good size and overall athleticism. Johnson plays low with good leverage and initial quickness. He is physical and plays hard.

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Eric’s Take on the 2021 Draft

The 2021 NFL Draft was a wild ride for New York Giants fans conditioned to the usually staid approach of the conservative franchise. I repeatedly warned fans before and during the early stages of the 1st round that New York’s obvious interest in the two Alabama receivers was going to cause another team to jump ahead of the Giants. Many Giants fans had become invested in these two players because the belief that Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith were 1a and 1b (or visa versa) on the team’s wish list, assuming tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, and offensive tackle Penei Sewell were gone. Pitts went 4th, Chase 5th, Waddle 6th, and Sewell 7th. Giants fans became justifiably nervous. There were still three more selections before the Giants’ pick at #11. The two top corners went next, raising hopes with only one pick to go. However, the Dallas Cowboys lost their shot at Patrick Surtain and Jaycee Horn, and were now willing to trade down. They did. With the annoying Philadelphia Eagles, who most likely stole Smith from the Giants. Fans were pissed. Once again another team traded ahead of the Giants to take a player everyone knew they liked. And this time it was the fucking Eagles! It seemed like the entire draft was already disaster for the Giants.

Who would the team pick? Many fans had been lobbying for offensive lineman Rashawn Slater and linebacker Micah Parsons. There were rumors the Giants might select defensive lineman Kwity Paye or offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker. Arguments could have been made for each of these players, but the trade up by the Eagles seemed to take the luster off of any consolation prize.

Then all of the sudden, word came the Giants traded down. What? Dave Gettleman never trades down. And his predecessor didn’t either. And nine spots?!! All the way to the 20th pick?!! That’s a big drop. What did they get in return? It had better be good! It was. They got a 5th round pick in this draft and a #1 and #4 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Life was good again. Giants fans celebrated.

But who to pick at #20? The obvious blue chippers were long gone. So were Parsons, Slater, and Vera-Tucker. No other offensive lineman seemed worthy of the pick. Kwity Paye or linebacker Azeez Ojulari seemed like obvious options. But lurking in the back of my mind were two considerations: (1) this was widely regarded as a very deep draft at wide receiver, and (2) this was widely regarded as a not-so-impressive draft for edge pass rushers. Might the Giants look at Rashod Bateman? The Giants surprised most when they took wide receiver Kadarius Toney with the 20th overall selection.

It’s not that Toney wasn’t viewed as a 1st-round pick. He was. Urban Meyer has already said the Giants broke his heart because the Jaguars intended to draft him at #25. Toney’s “issues” fall into two categories: (1) some off-the field incidents related to guns and his interest in pursuing a music career, and (2) whether a “gadget” player – no matter how good – was worthy of a 1st-round investment. Many felt that with Joe Judge’s obsession with team culture, combined with the fiasco with cornerback Deandre Baker, would cause New York to not even consider Toney. Right or wrong, the team is clearly not overly concerned with Toney’s “character.” They met with him at the Senior Bowl and came away impressed.

The second “issue” is more of my own personal baggage. I’m still a bit of a mental prisoner to old-fashioned football. When you draft a wideout in the 1st round, I have held the belief that the guy has to start at the X or Z (outside) positions. A slot guy? Used much more in 2021 than 1991, but he had better be damned good! And a “gadget” player? Forget about it. A 1st-rounder on a player who may get 10 snaps a game?! Not a good investment.

This is where the game has changed. Depth charts mean less and less with each passing day, both on offense and defense. Not just because of who actually receives more snaps but also because “traditional” formations (i.e., one running back, one fullback, one tight end, two wide receivers) no longer apply. What matters is this: can Judge, Jason Garrett, and Freddie Kitchens figure out a way to best use Toney in combination with Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, Evan Engram, and Saquon Barkley? Because Toney needs to touch the football. But so do the other five players. Beyond 2021, one could see Toney replacing Shepard in the slot given Shepard’s contract vis a vis performance to date.

So what do the Giants have in Toney? He has average size (6’0”, 193 pounds) and doesn’t seem to play as fast as he times (sub-4.4). But the guy is the very definition of a “make-you-miss” player. Toney plays bigger than his size, has the toughness of a running back, and miraculously gets away from tacklers on a consistent basis. His balance and run-after-the-catch ability are jaw dropping. Again, it’s not him running away from people the way Waddle does, but the way he jukes and contorts himself to avoid defenders. Some draft pundits questioned his hands, but he only had three dropped passes during his entire career at Florida. Many say he needs to work on the mental aspects of the game – reading defenses, route running. Those are not insignificant concerns, and if he is going to be a “regular” wide receiver, he will have get better at both. To justify this selection, Toney has to play more than a few snaps per game. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff game plans for him. He can be used outside, in the slot, out of the backfield, on jet sweeps, on bubble screens, etc. A former high school quarterback, he can (and has) even throw the football on trick plays. Toney should also be strongly considered in the return game.

So scratch one need off of the wish list. It might not have been Waddle or Smith, but the Giants drafted a play-making wide receiver in the 1st round. Onto the other apparent needs – outside pass rushers and offensive linemen.

Day two arrives with the Giants picking 10th in the second round. Things appear to go New York’s way as three defensive backs, two defensive tackles, one wide receiver, one running back, and only two offensive linemen go in the first nine picks. The only “oh crap” moment comes when the Eagles draft center Landon Dickerson (who could also project to guard). Fucking Eagles. None of the edge rushers went. Giants are going to draft Ojulari, right?! What?! Another trade down?! What’s going on?! This is both exciting but also nerve-wracking. I want Ojulari and now we are going to lose him. What did we get in return for dropping down eight spots? Miami’s 3rd rounder in 2022. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. All of the sudden, we’ve added an additional #1, #3, and #4 in next year’s deeper and better-researched draft. That’s cool. But I wanted Ojulari.

Four more offensive linemen go. So if the Giants wanted to go that route, forget about it in round two. The run on that position started before #18. Three more defensive backs and another wideout. No big loss. Holy crap! Ojulari is still there. Something about concerns about a degenerative knee condition? If the Giants doctors are OK with it, I am. Draft him! They do. Now, I’m really happy. Ojulari is a guy who I thought would go in the 1st round was the best fit for what the Giants needed – a true 3-4-type pass rushing outside linebacker. If you told me the Giants would get him with the 50th overall selection, I would have laughed at you. Ojulari has to refine additional pass rush moves, but the one he is a master of is damn good… his initial get off, hand slap, bend, and closing burst is very difficult for offensive tackles to handle. The major question on him is can he become a consistent pass-rush presence against big NFL tackles with quick feet. If he can, the Giants addressed a major need.

Round 3. Have to go offensive line, right? Not so fast. There have been whispers for weeks that the Giants don’t think their line is the train wreck. Do they want to add talent at the position? Yes. But they are not going to force the pick. The Giants still could use help at RB, DT, another edge rusher, linebacker, and maybe even in the secondary where they are one injury away from being in trouble. The League and the NFC East is loaded with good receivers. The Giants could use another corner. Aaron Robinson, who was supposed to be long gone, is still here. However, the other three teams in NFC East pick right before the Giants. Dallas and Philly still need help at corner. Wait?! What’s this?! Trader Dave Gettlemen is moving ahead of all three NFC East teams, giving up his newly-acquired 5th rounder, to select Robinson! What the hell is going on!? We learn later that the Eagles are damned pissed off they missed out on someone here. Revenge!

Robinson is a stud. He can play slot corner if Darnay Holmes remains too grabby or gets hurt. He and Holmes can both play slot corner if teams go four wide. He can also play outside. Robinson is an athlete, but he’s also a cocky son-of-a-bitch who hates the guy lining up over his head. Giants fans will love him. Fans of other teams will hate him. A strong New York secondary just became stronger. Isaac Yiadom is less likely to see the field.

Day three. Rounds 4-7 but the Giants only have three picks…one 4th rounder and two 6th rounders. Have to address the offensive line today, right? Nope. Giants go defense again, selecting edge rusher Elerson Smith, who didn’t play in 2020 because his team didn’t play due to COVID. Smith has an unusual build, very tall (6’6”) and lanky. He’s listed in the 260-pound range but looks too thin (similar in build to Jason Taylor of the Dolphins many years ago). However, he is another guy with a good initial quickness, bend, and closing burst. The Giants didn’t need one edge rusher, they needed two. Hopefully the got them in Ojulari and Smith. The competition for a roster spot and playing time will be fierce with Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Ryan Anderson, Cam Brown, and Carter Coughlin. Carter and Ximines – the opening day starters who missed most of the season due to significant injuries – are definitely on the hot seat.

About 80 more players went off the board before New York picked again in the 6th round. The Giants take a running back, addressing a big depth need, but not a name that was expected. However, Judge makes it clear that Gary Brightwell was a special teams stud in college so the pick makes sense. He’s also an ascending player who was just beginning to receive more playing time but Arizona’s schedule was abbreviated to five games. He’s a no-nonsense, big back with some wiggle to his game, however he has to stop fumbling. Brightwell has a great shot to make the team because there isn’t much behind Barkley and Devontae Booker.

The last pick was a pure value pick. Rodarius Williams was supposed to be long gone. I’ve seen talk in The Forum that the soon-to-be 25-year old won’t be around a long time, so don’t worry about his age. I will tell you what, Williams is the kind of guy who could have a long NFL career. He’s another physical, aggressive corner who plays with a chip on his shoulder. I feel 100 percent better about our corner situation with both Robinson and Williams at the position. Knock on wood, but the Giants may have the best secondary in the NFL.

Summary: A few months ago, I whined (yes, literally whined) about how bad this roster was, especially on the offensive side of the ball. In a few months, the Giants have added:

  • Two new back-ups behind Saquon Barkley (Devontae Booker and Gary Brightwell).
  • Three new wide receivers (Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, and John Ross).
  • One new tight end (Kyle Rudolph)
  • Two new offensive linemen (Zach Fulton and Jonotthan Harrison)
  • A new nose tackle to help ameliorate the loss of Dalvin Tomlinson (Danny Shelton)
  • Four new edge players (Azeez Ojulari, Elerson Smith, Ifeadi Odenigbo, Ryan Anderson)
  • A new inside linebacker (Reggie Ragland)
  • Three new corners (Adoree’ Jackson, Aaron Robinson, Rodarius Williams)

Holy shit. I always tell you guys that teams can only do so much in one offseason. Somehow the Giants crammed two offseasons into one, and also picked up an extra #1, #3, and #4 for next year’s draft.

The glaring omission? The offensive line. Gettleman said they were considering offensive line in the draft but they went before the team selected. So they do want to add more help there. But both Gettleman and Judge publicly say they are not as worried about the position as others. PR? Blind optimism? Or just maybe justifiable confidence? We shall see. The Giants do appear to have two starters at tackle with vet insurance (Andrew Thomas, Matt Peart, Nate Solder). They also seem to be set at center with Nick Gates and former starter Harrison. Guard is more of a question mark. The Giants signed veteran Fulton to compete with Will Hernandez and surprise starter Shane Lemieux. Kyle Murphy also quietly lurks in the wings.

My only other “wish list” position not addressed was defensive tackle, but the Giants are in decent shape with Shelton and Austin Johnson. In a crunch, Dexter Lawrence could also handle the position.

Overall, you have to hand it to the Giants. They have completely remade this roster in just a few months.

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