Despite extended absence, Toney In the mix to return kicks for Blue
The Giants’ offense is such a concern that the defense and special teams aren’t commanding attention. But there is plenty happening on all three sides of the ball on Joe Judge’s team.
Here are insights into coordinator Pat Graham’s defense and Thomas McGaughey’s special teams unit as the Giants gear up to host the Denver Broncos in Week 1.
KADARIUS ON KICK RETURN?
Rookie first-round pick Kadarius Toney has barely practiced due to COVID-19 and a hamstring injury, but McGaughey said it’s possible Toney “fits in” at kick returner early in the season.
“We’ll see, we’ve got a lot of options,” McGaughey said. “We’ll see where Kadarius fits in, who knows. We’ve just got a lot of options. We’ve got a lot of different guys we could put back there.”
C.J. Board handled most kick return duties in the preseason. Jabrill Peppers has been returning punts and lined up as the kick returner on Wednesday when Board wasn’t at practice.
Whether Toney cracks the rotation or Peppers starts off in the back, it looks like the Giants will have an exciting athlete receiving the ball on kicks. That’s encouraging.
“Jabrill gives us an opportunity,” McGaughey said. “Like Joe [Judge] always says, the best players will play.”
Dion Lewis, now retired, led the Giants with 24 kick returns last season. Corey Ballentine, an unsigned free agent, was second with nine returns.
CALLS IN THE MIDDLE
Linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer told The News in mid-August that the primary quality the Giants have sought in a backup to middle linebacker Blake Martinez is “awareness.”
“Blake’s very aware as a signal caller,” Sherrer said. “We also want a guy that if he has to go out that can slide into that role to be the signal caller. So we’re dual training that type of stuff.”
Specifically, if Martinez isn’t in the game, the defensive staff would prefer not to kick play-calling duties back to a safety like Logan Ryan, as they did at times last year.
Right now, Reggie Ragland, Carter Coughlin, Tae Crowder and Justin Hilliard comprise the inside backer depth chart behind Martinez. But this roster will continue to evolve.
Ragland for now is slated to play on run downs. Coughlin has shown blitz ability but is working on the rest of the position. Crowder has been banged up and is still developing. Hilliard was just claimed off waivers from the 49ers but is supposed to be a smart and tough player.
The Giants worked out former Eagles LB Nate Gerry on Thursday. This remains a position to watch.
SPEED AT GUNNER
McGaughey never was really able to settle on two productive gunners on punt coverage last season once Cody Core tore his Achilles in training camp. The Giants cycled through guys like Ballentine, Board and Madre Harper.
Now, it appears they may have something in the duo of athletic second-year linebacker Cam Brown and speedy veteran corner Keion Crossen, who was acquired from Houston in August for a 2023 sixthround pick.
“Keion is a blazer, it jumps off the tape,” McGaughey said Thursday. “Cam is learning the position, and I think Cam has the potential to be an outstanding gunner.”
Brown, 23, has physical skills that Judge and McGaughey intend to continue unleashing on their coverage units. He has shown playmaking, from his game-saving tackle on punt return in Cincinnati last season to a stop in Cleveland this August that saved a big gain.
“We expect a lot out of him because he has a lot to give,” McGaughey said of Brown. “He’s very talented. He’s a rare bird. He’s just different. He’s a six-foot-five, 230-pound guy that can run like a deer. You don’t see a lot of guys like that, so when you have that type of skill set he poses a problem to the opponent.”
THE CORNER QUESTION
Outside corner Adoree Jackson is expected to play in Week 1 on his sprained left ankle, but he hasn’t been practicing, so what do the Giants have behind him?
Veteran Josh Jackson may enter the rotation when he’s healthy, but he’s been sidelined by a lower-body injury. Julian Love could be the safest option, with Graham calling him “a coach’s dream” due to his versatility as a corner and safety.
But for now, rookie sixth-rounder Rodarius Williams has been taking snaps opposite James Bradberry.
“We are building those young guys to be ready to play,” secondary coach Jerome Henderson said of Williams. “Right now, if we had
to play today and Rodarius is out there, I feel like Rodarius is gonna play his ass off. He’s gonna be competitive. He’s gonna make some rookie mistakes, and we’ll try to manage those by the situations we put him in.”
Henderson also joked, however, that he “still might” keep Williams on the sideline next to him to learn as a young player.
If Love doesn’t play outside corner, he might have to be the Giants’ slot corner ahead of Darnay
Holmes, who has struggled badly in his second camp, especially with defensive holding.
Rookie third-round pick Aaron Robinson’s offseason surgery has sidelined him for at least six weeks on the PUP list to start the season. That is a major loss.
Henderson said Holmes has been “solid and improving” but said of the holding that “he’s got to clean that up.”
“We used the mits [on Holmes’ hands] at certain practices so he couldn’t grab,” Henderson said. “Then we went up to New England, he didn’t have them and got them [flags] there. And he’s got to continue to work on that. Because we can’t give them free yards and first downs.”
Graham, meanwhile, said Sam Beal has been showing “improvement every day” but didn’t endorse him as part of the short-term rotation. He talked about the fourthyear pro more as a developing rookie.
Henderson, meanwhile, said that he’s going to start working wide receiver Matt Cole with the defensive backs after practice to build on the surprise corner work he put in against Cleveland in the preseason.
“I’m gonna bring him out after practice with my young corners, and he’s gonna start training to be a guy that could in an emergency come over and play,” Henderson said, before joking, “and now he could actually know what to do!”
HAPPY WHEN MISERABLE
Graham, the Giants’ second-year coordinator, admittedly is a critical coach. “I’m just hard and miserable all the time,” he said with a smile on Thursday. “I don’t know. That’s just who I am: doom and gloom. The [players] probably would say that.”
Asked if Graham’s self-scout was accurate, the jovial Henderson smiled and said “no comment!” … Graham said he gets “emotional” discussing edge Lorenzo Carter because of how “proud” he is of the young man’s progress and resilience through last season’s Achilles tear. “I’m happy for him,” he said.
Graham’s audition as a future head coach continues after a strong first season as Judge’s defensive coordinator. Amusingly, he even asked why he didn’t have a podium for Thursday’s press conference.
Dexter Lawrence said recently that “we take on the responsibility as the D-line of setting the tone. However the day is going to go, it’s going to go how we set the tone. We know that we have the responsibility to get everybody else going. Everybody looks up to us. Everybody knows that we’re the leaders on the team and we take the responsibility of that.”
The D-line needs to be the strength of the team for the Giants to excel.
Leonard Williams said what he’s “working on the most right now is the same thing I did last year that helped me get such a good season: just ignoring noise. Just like guys were doubting me last season and I was able to ignore them and focus on my process, it’s the same thing I have to do now when people are praising me saying that I did so well.”