Daboll’s on Blueshirts’ bandwagon
Comparison between rookie LB McFadden, Martinez hard to avoid
It did not take long for Brian Daboll to become an avid admirer of the Rangers during their NHL playoff series with the Penguins, and the new Giants head coach is planning to attend Game 7 on Sunday night at the Garden.
Daboll called the Rangers’ comeback in their first-round series a “really good example’’ as he readies himself for his first season as an NFL head coach.
“You’re down 3-1 in the series, 2-0 in Game 5 and 2-0 in Game 6 and everybody is writing you off, and what do they do?’’ Daboll said. “They just keep competing. Put one in right after the other, then the other team comes back, scores right away, lose a little bit of momentum, and finish off the game strong. That’s pretty cool team to watch right now.’’
Daboll already attended Games 2 and 5 of the Rangers-Penguins series, along with general manager Joe Schoen.
“It’s an awesome environment,’’ Daboll said.
Daboll was the offensive coordinator in Buffalo the past four years, working for Bills owners Kim and Terry Pegula, who also own the NHL’s Sabres.
➤ The Giants’ two first-round draft picks have signed their first NFL contracts. LB Kayvon Thibodeaux, the No. 5-overall pick, signed a four-year deal worth $31.3 million. OT Evan Neal, picked No. 7 overall, signed a four-year deal worth $24.6 million. Both contracts are fully guaranteed.
In addition to Thibodeaux and Neal, the Giants signed four other players from their 2022 draft class: LB Micah McFadden, DT D.J. Davidson ,G Marcus McKethan and LB Darrian Beavers.
➤ Neal started at left tackle at Alabama in 2021 and last played right tackle as the starter in 2020. He is adjusting back to the right side in this rookie minicamp.
“It feels great just to go out there, get back in the right type of stance — ain’t played right tackle since my sophomore year,’’ Neal said. “Brought back some pretty good nostalgia.’’
➤ Daboll has refrained from singling out many of the rookies at this camp but he did say RB Jashaun Corbin from Florida State “kind of stood out a little bit’’ on Friday, impressed that Corbin has shown he is “athletic, quick twitch.’’ Corbin led the Seminoles in 2021 with 887 rushing yards but was not drafted.
➤ After two days of rookie minicamp, the Giants signed two players who were invited on a tryout basis: DE Ryder Anderson (Indiana) and DB Jordan Mosley (Maryland).
plays to implement in my game as well,’’ McFadden said.
The Giants were attracted to McFadden because he showed plenty of versatility with the Hoosiers. As a two-time team captain, he had 58 tackles (10.5 for loss) and six sacks in 2021 and 77 tackles (15.5 for loss) and 6.5 sacks last season. There is an athletic skill set to explore as a pass rusher, something new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is quite fond of in his interior linebackers.
“Another guy with very good size, speed,’’ general manager Joe Schoen said. “He was a captain, he’s athletic. I think he’ll help us out. He can play inside, outside, and he’s a good blitzer as well. Another versatile piece.’’
It did not take long for Martinez to gain a foothold with the Packers, starting nine games as a rookie then all 16 regular-season games the next three years in Green Bay before signing a three-year, $30 million contract with the Giants and starting all 16 games in 2020. He only made it out healthy in the first two games last season before tearing his ACL in Week 3.
The depth chart at inside linebacker is not daunting. There is Tae Crowder, the last player picked in the entire 2020 draft, as a returning starter for the previous coaching staff. Carter Coughlin, a reserve thus far in his career, enters his third year. McFadden should find an immediate role on special teams, which he described as “10 out of 10’’ in terms of what he enjoys and believes he excels at on the field.
McFadden agrees with the label that he is a late bloomer. His involvement in football began when he was 6 years old but he admitted, “I just wasn’t good at it.’’ He did not start as a freshman on the junior varsity team and did not become a key member of the defense until his junior year. Coming out of Plant High School in Tampa, he received just six college offers. Indiana was one of only two Power 5 programs to offer him a scholarship.
“I was kind of overlooked at an early age,’’ McFadden said. “I think it just puts a chip on your shoulder. You want to get better, everybody wants to play, being overlooked like that makes you want to play even more and it makes you go harder.’’
There is a roster spot awaiting McFadden and, perhaps, a job on defense alongside Martinez.