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cover of episode 2024 Giants NFL Draft Recap

2024 Giants NFL Draft Recap

2024/4/30
logo of podcast Blue Rush - New York Giants Podcast

Blue Rush - New York Giants Podcast

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A
Amani Toomer
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Brandon London
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Paul Schwartz
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Amani Toomer: 球员的记录被打破意味着球队整体表现提升,进入季后赛竞争。成功的关键不仅在于天赋,更在于持续的努力和进取心。在纽约巨人队长期立足需要强大的心理素质和抗压能力。高顺位新秀需要承担更大的责任和压力。安全卫的核心职责是创造拦截和改变比赛走势。追求卓越需要内在的动力,而非外在的奖励。球队会持续优化阵容,寻找兼具进攻和特勤能力的球员。球队对跑卫的重视程度有所下降,更注重性价比和球员的全面性。球员应该专注于自身表现,而非关注球队选秀策略。球员应该专注于自身表现,而非受外界干扰。 Paul Schwartz: 球员的记录难以保持,不仅需要天赋,更需要持续的健康和稳定发挥。Malik Nabors 拥有出色的接球能力和身体素质,有潜力成为一名优秀的接球手。Brian Burns 和 Malik Nabors 的加盟增强了巨人队的攻防实力。 Malik Nabors 尽管潜力巨大,但能否保持健康和稳定发挥是关键。选择 Tyler Newman 是基于性价比和球队文化建设的考虑。Tyler Newman 是一名擅长拦截的球员,符合 Shane Bowen 的防守策略。Drew Phillips 拥有角卫所需的良好身体素质,但拦截能力有待提高。Drew Phillips 在大学期间拦截次数为零,这值得关注。巨人队对现有锋线球员阵容较为满意,无需在选秀中进行大量补充。Brian Burns 的加盟弥补了球队在防守端的部分需求。巨人队在选秀中注重长期发展,避免急于求成。球队未选择四分卫,并曾试图交易获得 Drake May,这反映了球队对 Daniel Jones 的态度。球队多年来持续选秀四分卫,这会对球员的心理造成一定的影响。球队未选择四分卫增加了 Daniel Jones 的压力。 Brandon London: 向 Malik Nabors 提供长远职业生涯的建议。讨论巨人队选择 Tyler Newman 的决定。讨论巨人队选择 Drew Phillips 的决定。讨论巨人队在第四、五、六轮选秀中选择的球员。讨论巨人队在本届选秀中未选择进攻锋线和防守锋线球员的原因。讨论巨人队在选秀中未选择四分卫的原因以及对 Daniel Jones 的影响。讨论球员对球队选秀四分卫的反应。讨论球队未交易四分卫对其他接球手的影响。

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The Giants' 2024 draft class participated in events across the pond, spreading American football globally. Brandon London's lederhosen attire and the team's interaction with the German fan base highlighted the trip.

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The Giants 2024 draft class is all set. Things are official. So this is Blue Rush, post-draft edition. It's our show and podcast for the New York Post and SNY. So let's bring in longtime Giants beat writer for the Post, Paul Schwartz, and the man who owns all kinds of receiver records for Big Blue, Super Bowl champ, Amani Toomer. Guys, what's going on, man? Both of y'all looking good.

Yeah, it was a great weekend. You know, got a chance to go over across the pond and spread American football all over the world. You guys look good. One thing I don't know if I can recover from was seeing Brandon London wearing lederhosen. That was right. Right. That was that was that was your money. They didn't have any in your size. Imani, what happened?

Well, yeah, Brandon went full send. I was a little more conservative on that end. And they only had one outfit, and, you know, Ty goes to the host of the show. So I was left out. It wasn't that I didn't want to. It was just, you know, the priorities. Brandon, priority. Me, not so much. Toon took us back to 07. Here, rookie, you throw it on.

No, it wasn't that way. The lederhosen were a little too small, a little too skinny, right? So they had to have Brandon. You know, anybody with some nice muscle like you, Imani, they wouldn't fit. They had to let the skinny receiver wear the lederhosen, right? Yeah, well, you know, I think Brandon, you know, did a phenomenal job out there. You know, he's...

The energy that he brought, the lederhosen definitely was something that he needed to have that happen. He needed to have that arm. It was a great time. The big blue Germany fan crew out there really showed us a lot of love. You can see how much the game is growing. Not only the game of football growing over in Europe, but just the Giants. That fan base continues to grow. They showed us a lot of love over there. We got a chance to announce the fourth round draft pick. Toom, what's his name?

Theo Johnson. Yeah, yeah, Theo Johnson. Yeah, yeah, Theo Johnson. Shout out to Theo Johnson. It's a big day in the Johnson family, and we're looking forward to a big, strong, blocking tight end out of Penn State. Maybe he's the next Howard Cross. You never know.

Hey, that's a great name in terms of being a Giants legend to follow behind. So let's get into some of these draft storylines. Obviously, Toome, I'll start off. Malik Nabors going first round. What are your thoughts on the pick? Does he seem like somebody that can come after your records? Let's hope. You know, my records are made to be broken, and I feel like I've had them for a long time. But I just feel like...

If the records start coming down, that means the whole organization is doing a lot better and getting into some playoffs, getting into some postseason play. I think that will help us out a lot. That would be more fun to watch. You just don't know if it's real or not, right? Paul, what do you think of the pick? Well, look...

So Imani's great strength was longevity, right? And being consistent and playing. And that's why he has those records. Now, when they drafted Odell Beckham Jr., right? Wasn't that long ago, a decade ago. And he shot out of a cannon in the first four years. I'm sure, Imani, you're thinking, this guy's going to take all my records. But what happened? Injuries, injuries.

controversy and he was no longer with the team. He didn't come close. You know, we felt that with Saquon Barkley, right? First year rookie of the year, 1300 yards. This guy is going to come in and take all of Tiki Barber's records for a number of reasons. It didn't happen. So, you know, we have to be careful with this, with these rookies who've never stepped on an NFL field yet. Now look, he's got, I mean, I'm trying to remember. I think that I wrote about neighbors, uh,

um as glowingly as I wrote about um Odell a decade ago I mean the guy is a separation machine I asked him you know why do you why are you able to separate just so effortlessly on the field and he said I have that Spider-Man talent that little Spider-Man talent where he senses what's going on he's you know he's strong he's 200 pounds he can run he can make yards after the catch so um

If you needed a number one receiver, which the Giants did, and you needed a playmaker, which the Giants did, and you needed an impact player, which the Giants did, the Giants now feel like they added impact players on both sides of the ball. Brian Burns on defense and Malik Nabors on offense. Now, Brian Burns has a history in the league.

you know, he's shown what he can do. Malik neighbors has yet to, but, um, you know, there's no reason why this kid, and you know what? He had a big shoulder injury last year and played through it. So he's tough. And if you're not tough, you don't get close to records. Like a guy like Amani sets, you gotta be tough and endure and be really good. And we'll see. We'll see. When you're talking about how electric this kid, we're talking about everyone's raving over his ability, but the best,

is availability. And I'm glad you brought that up, Paul. Everyone was excited about Odell and then, you know, it kind of washed itself out. So, Toome, I remember, and we were talking about this over in Germany, I remember my rookie year, man, you'd be stretching, the yoga, you'd be doing things to build to last.

So when you do see neighbors, because I'm sure at some point you guys, your paths are going to cross. What are you going to tell him in the sense of having a long career? What advice would you give him in that manner?

i'll say uh never be satisfied um oh there's always another level to reach um whenever you think you're there that's when the people behind you are going to catch up so i feel like it's not just about ability it's not just about talent it's about drive and i think that's one of the things that has to be able to whether the the cheers whether the booze

And every time I talk to a player who's been around, who is on the Giants for a long time, I say there's not one player who's played over 10 years where there hasn't been a concerted push to get them out with the weather. It's the media, the anything. So you have to be able to look down the look at all the the the.

the controversy, look at all the negativity and turn that and flip it over into a situation to where you're gonna be successful no matter what. And you gotta have some very, very thick skin, not only physically tough, you gotta be mentally tough as well to stick around, especially in the city like New York.

for as long time because it's just hard to stay around when there's so much interest. They turn over every leaf. They got people following you all over the place, and you got to be able to stand up and be accountable at all times and be able to perform and really place football as their number one because you can't be distracted. Even though New York is a very district place that you could get distracted a lot, you got to really stay focused.

And then in the second round, they grabbed Tyler Newman, safety out of Minnesota. The reports were lighting up on social media. They said that they found Xavier McKinney's replacement. Paul, how do you feel about that? I see you shaking your head side to side. What do you think about Tyler Newman?

Nubin. I asked Joe Shane about him, and he said, younger and cheaper. He's younger and cheaper than Xavier McKinney. And you guys know as players, younger and cheaper is always a threat. Now, they liked Xavier McKinney. He liked him a lot. But this is a position value thing. The Packers paid Xavier McKinney $68 million. The Giants were not coming close to that stratosphere for a safety. So here is, yes, the Giants like drafting safeties in the second round. Now, Joe Shane wasn't a part of this.

Landon Collins, Xavier McKinney, now Tyler Newben. He had 13 career interceptions at Minnesota. He's a ball hawk. He's big. He's strong. Fast enough, I don't know. It remains to be seen how great he is if he gets singled up in coverage. But Joe Shane called him a culture changer. He thought he was a culture changer at Minnesota. He thinks he can help bring some of that to the Giants.

But he's a ball hawk. And I think in Shane Bowen's defense, don't forget, this is a different defensive scheme. I think the ball hawk element to this is going to be very important. That's what he is. He's not the side to sideline, you know,

sprinting threat that Xavier McKinney is. He can't get from one sideline to the other like Xavier McKinney did. But Xavier McKinney was an okay ball hawk, but the way the scheme was set up under Wink Martindale, he was not in position to make a ton of plays in that regard. They will try to get Tyler Newman into position to make more of those plays because he's shown when he's in position, he can go up and get the ball.

So, Paul, who would you compare him to? Is there a safety in the league right now? Did Joe Shane compare him to anyone? They didn't. I'm trying to think of some of the safeties that the Titans had. Malik Hooker. Maybe you guys can help me out with that. Kevin Byer. Maybe one of them. Isn't he playing for the Eagles now, the Titans safety? Maybe more of

Of that scheme of a guy, you know what I mean? More of a center fielder. You know what I mean? More of a center fielder back there. They have Jason Pinnock. Dane Belton is sort of a center fielder type. Look, this guy was thought to be the best safety in the draft, but he went in the second round, right? Not early in the second round. That is also telling you what the league is saying about safeties, is that we all need them. We need at least two of them on the field, but...

We don't want to pay them and value them and give up draft equity for them in the first round. That's just not where the league is right now. Paul, when you're talking about the safeties that have had success under Shane Bowen, Kevin Byard is the one for the Eagles now. And then you also said a couple weeks back, Malik Hooker made the Pro Bowl under Kevin –

under defense coordinator Shane Bowen as well. So when a GM in Toombs, we got you back now, when Joe Shane had said that Tyler Newbin is a culture changer, that's what he told Paul in the media, when you have a GM speaking about a draft pick like that, as a player, as a vet, you got a rookie that comes in like that, like...

What's the responsibility on the rookie now? Is there pressure on him to step in and start right away when your GM talks so highly about you? I think the fact that he went in the second round kind of tempers him a little bit. But absolutely, you're getting drafted the first or second day, you're going to be expected to contribute. I just feel like, you know...

If you're a safety and you're that highly regarded, you have to be a game and you're a game changer. You have to be able to catch the ball and create interceptions, create turnovers, change the game. Because to me, that's what a safety's real job is, is not only to make tackles, not only to, you know,

get everybody in the right position, be the guy, the quarterback on the field, so to speak, for the secondary. But you've got to be able to change the game. And I'm really looking forward to seeing what Tyler Newby is going to be able to do. At Minnesota, I know he was a game changer with a lot of interceptions. That's what you want at a defensive back. I remember when we were playing, I was talking to Will Allen, Will Peters, and I said, the difference between a good corner

And a great corner is great corners can catch and turn the ball over. Good corners knock the ball away. And I'm really excited. Anytime you can get somebody that can tackle and tackle on one end down in the box, but then...

when they get an opportunity in space to cover some of these very talented tight ends. You see how Travis Kelsey and you see how these types of tight ends can really make a change in the game. Safeties are very important, but just like Paul said, nobody wants to pay them.

So talking about a corner being good or great, they grabbed Drew Phillips out of Kentucky in the third round. They've addressed that cornerback two position. Paul, what did Joe Shane say about Drew Phillips and what's everyone saying what he can bring to this Giants defense?

A lot of traits, right? You want traits in a cornerback. Look, in the first round, if you draft a cornerback, you want a great player. Once you get down a little bit, you want traits. He's fast. He's got a great vertical lead. Now, he's kind of the opposite. Also, I think he's more of a slot guy at this point, and I think that's where they said they'll probably start him out. So when you say they address the need for a starting safety alongside Deontay Banks,

I'm not sure. I mean, he seems like a slot guy. And they mentioned that maybe Cordell Flott now moves outside more frequently. So we'll see if that is a younger athletic, you know, if Cordell Flott can handle that role. And most importantly, if he can stay healthy. But unlike Tyler Newben.

Andrew Phillips played 29 games at Kentucky and had zero interceptions. Now, I asked him about that. I said, are your hands any good? And he said, oh, yeah, you know, you know, guys, nobody says their hands are no good. Right. He said, my hands are good. My hands are great. One thing Joe Shane said is it was pretty funny. So, look, there's a lot of six foot, 200 pound guys running around the draft that we look at. And the difference between

The guys who were playing receiver at that size and the guys who were playing quarterback at that size is the defensive backs can't catch the ball. You know, if everyone could catch the ball at six foot, 200 pounds, who could run fast, they'd be wide receivers. So we'll say, you know, we'll say maybe it's scheme. Maybe he'll be in position. They think and feel he's in position to make the plays, but he didn't. But that's a pretty big, large goose egg, right? Zero in 29 games.

Hey, Toom, I know Aaron Ross was a first-round pick, but when you got these rookie corners coming in as a veteran receiver, how do you help them get better? You just show them that there's another level to this, and they know that their past success is not going to dictate their future success. They have to completely change their game because the difference between college football and pro football is completely different. You got everybody –

They weeded out all the players that can't make it, the players that don't have the mental or the physical ability. Now everybody does. And now all the little mistakes that you made technique-wise become amplified because those are the only things that really separate one player from the next. So if the technique isn't strong, you have to make your technique much stronger. You have to study twice as hard. And you have to realize that this is a grown man's game out here now. There's no more, you're not going to see any more redshirt freshmen that,

they're trying to replace next year with their scholarships. These are all play people that are purposely built to be on this team and you really have to up your level of competition. And if you're afraid of competition, this is the wrong league for you. And so I'd try them out. I'd make sure that they were about playing football and not just happy with the external gifts that you get for being a first round or a high draft pick in the league.

One thing about Aaron Ross, when he came in, he had Mad Dog, he had Sam Madison, Corey Webster, those guys. Drew Phillips is coming in to where Tay Banks is a second-year player, and he's kind of the best player within that secondary. So how does this guy get better faster? He doesn't have a true vet within the room.

Yeah, that's a tough, that's a tough, it's tough for young players, especially when there isn't a veteran. You really have to take it upon yourself, look it down deep and figure out what can I really do? Did I really work as hard as I needed to? If somebody else can get, there's nobody to model yourself after. Luckily, I had Chris Calloway, who was a great vet, but I felt like he was a year, he left a year too early for me, for him to really help me win.

I was going up the ranks and becoming a number one receiver. So it's a tough thing. And it really comes down to the coaches and it comes down to how bad does he really want to be great? Because there's a lot of people that stop at really good. You got to go and keep on pursuing greatness, which is something that it has to be something within you because you can't get that far.

by the money, by all the fame. It's got to be something inside you that you really aren't going to stop once you get to the level and always realizing that there are so many more levels to go up in your game if you really put forth the effort.

They then rounded out the draft, their fourth, fifth, and sixth round picks. Theo Johnson tied in out of Penn State. Tyrone Tracy Jr. running back out of Purdue. And Darius Mimusa, linebacker out of UCLA. Paul, we know how important these late round picks are when it comes to rounding out a roster and hoping you can get some sort of value, day one value out of these guys.

Out of these three names, who do you think starts, who gets a lot of playing time, and who do you think is a surprise out of this draft of those guys?

Well, a couple of real quick couple of them. Look, Theo Johnson was there because they don't know what's going to happen with Darren Waller. You know, Joe Shane admitted it. You know, I mean, I asked him, do you know, did you do you have to target a tight end because you don't know if Darren Waller is going to retire or not? He said we had to take into consideration. Sure. I think Theo Johnson, I know Amani mentioned maybe he can become the next Howard Cross as far as a blocking tight end. I think he's got more to his game. No, he's big. He's six, six, almost 260. But.

He can get down the field and catch the ball. I mean, he's not going to be George Kittle. He did mention George Kittle as the guy he would like to emulate. But, look, Penn State had a bad passing attack, you know, so you can't look at those numbers and say –

He's not a receiving threat. They couldn't throw the ball. You know, it was certainly years with, you know, when Imani was with the Giants where the quarterback situation was not where it was, where the wide receivers numbers weren't where anyone wanted it to be. So you have to look at the passing attack and look at the player. But I think Tyrone Tracy is an interesting player. I mean, guys, he is going to be 25 by the time the season starts.

you know, is in full swing. In November, he will turn 25. Okay. That is incredible. He spent, he spent six years in college, four as a wide receiver at Iowa. Okay. Now being a wide receiver at Iowa is like being a,

like being a dog catcher on an Island that doesn't allow pets. You know what I mean? I mean, wide receiver in Iowa is like, you know, money smiling. I mean, you know, you might as well be a blocking tight end if you're a wide receiver at Iowa. Right. So we have to four years of that. He had enough and, you know, he, he transferred, um,

and to, to Purdue. And he became a running back, you know? So he's an interesting guy. He's got a little bit of that, that receiver mentality. You can throw him the ball. Brian Dable mentioned gadget plays with him. And you know what?

I don't really care that he's 24 years old because look what the league says about running backs. We will take you, we will use you, we will abuse you, and then we will get rid of you, right? You know, the league doesn't want Tiki Barbers anymore who lasts nine years in a league and you got to pay him a second and third contract. They want guys you bring in, you know, in the mid-rounds.

You, you, you, you know, work, work them like crazy. You, you, you abuse their bodies. And then when they're where, when they want a second contract, you go, you're on the way down. We'll get somebody younger, you know? So this guy's not young, but he might be able to play more quickly right away because he's been through it a lot.

He'll be an interesting guy to add to the mix. I was kind of thinking they would draft a running back maybe in the third round. You want to these more more traditional running backs that that that, you know, because the running backs did not go fast and furious in the draft. But they didn't. They wanted to wait. And, you know, after Devin Singletary, there is a road map, a clear road to playing time on this team. So maybe Tyrone Tracy can jump in and get some of that.

Toom, do you think they're done in terms of adding to the running back's room?

I don't think you're ever done in the NFL. You're always trying to replace the bottom 10% of your roster, regardless of what you think you have. Now you got to get into a situation where, okay, you can play running back and you can give us X amount of yards, but do you play special teams as well? Can you help us out on kickoff coverage? Can you help us out on, you know, the punt team? So I think there's going to be opportunity for a whole bunch of special teams guys,

And I don't think that this organization, the way it's moving forward, values the running back in the ways it had in the past. So you see a guy like Saquon become a guy that they didn't want to keep. Also, you see Derrick Henry, another running back down in Tennessee, who at his prime is moving to another team. So.

Like Paul said, they're trying to move on from not giving these running backs their second contract. So you just need to find athletes, and I feel like they're trying to build this team around Daniel Jones so that they can have more of a modern pro-style offense where the only central thing that you absolutely need is that quarterback and a good enough offensive line to let that quarterback back so he can stay back in the pocket and deal.

Paul, were you surprised that they didn't take an offensive lineman nor a defensive lineman in this draft? Because that's what a lot of people are talking about this morning. How about that, right? All these guys talk about is the game is won in the trenches and they didn't take any linemen at all. I thought they would take a defensive tackle. I know they want some help there and it's just the board didn't work out. Offensive linemen, don't forget, they have a lot of young guys. They

They signed in free agency like three or four mid-level guys. And don't forget, this regime, the Joe Shane regime, drafted Marcus McKeithen, drafted Josh Izudu. You know, Josh Izudu in the third round. So they're not throwing them out right away. They still think those guys can play a little bit. They drafted Evan Neal number seven overall two years ago. So it would have been

Yeah, I just think they're not ready. They signed John Runyon Jr. in free agency. They signed Jermaine Illuminor in free agency. So I think the Giants look at this and say, we have 10 guys maybe or so at offensive line who we think can play in the NFL at certain levels.

And so they were not desperate to take a guard in the third, in the fourth round or the fifth round or a developmental tackle. They feel they have those guys on the roster. So I was thinking defensive tackle. But I was not surprised that they did not go heavy for an offensive lineman. Look, if they took one in the fifth or sixth round, I wouldn't have been surprised. But I just I just think they felt they addressed that with enough.

NFL caliber players where they didn't feel it was a great need. Also, Brian Burns, they put him on their draft board as the second round pick because he's 25 years old and they traded a second round draft pick for him. So they...

figure him in as they drafted Brian Burns this year, even though he has NFL experience down in Carolina. So, yeah, you're definitely right about that. They definitely see the need. And I just don't think they're reaching for anybody. I think they're really trying to build this program in a sense where they're not going to have to get rid of a guy in one or two years. They'd rather bite the bullet, try to go through free agency and build with guys that they know are going to be around a long time and not reach for anybody.

All right, so next up for these rookies, they got minicamp coming up in two weeks. What advice would you give to them for these upcoming weeks to them to get ready for rookie camp? Because that's when it all starts. Yeah, I always tell people, be careful of what you ask for. You might get it. Now you're going to see what this league is all about. Maybe not so much in rookie camp, because I thought rookie camp is very easy because basically it's just college, a watered-down version of college because, you know, you got all the guys spreading across the year and you're just playing against rookies. Now...

When you finally step on the field and you see NFL caliber players, you see NFL talent, it can be shocking at times or it could motivate you. But I was so excited to be there. I was so excited to wear the NFL uniform. And then I got on the field and I'm like, oh, wait, this is just football. And, oh, yeah, it's a lot harder than I ever imagined it could be. I got a lot of work to do. And it motivated me. But I know a lot of guys –

You're going to find out a lot about the guys in their first initial response to that different level of competition. Paul, you wrote about the Giants bringing in the D3 quarterback among the rookie free agent camp tryouts. You wrote about he made the New York Post. Who is this kid? And you think you think he got a shot?

He's got a shot to throw some passes in rookie minicamp. Yeah. You know, division three war bash. Yeah. You know what?

You need, right, Imani, if you show up, and Brandon, if you show up at rookie minicamp and there's no quarterback, what the heck are you showing up for, right? So, you know, I think the interesting thing is that they did not draft a quarterback with any of their six picks. And they did try, you know, we'd be remiss not to talk about, they did try to trade up for Drake May. They really did. They tried to get up from six to three. They offered this year's first round pick.

They offered next year's first round pick. And I think they offered this year's second round pick. So that tells me that the Patriots were not interested in dealing. You know, the Patriots need a quarterback. They want they love Drake May, but they were listening to offers in case some team was crazy enough to offer something like three first round picks. And then maybe they take a bite on that. But.

What I wrote about today in the post is I think the Daniel Jones dynamic is very interesting. You know, you guys were players. You know, Monty, you talked earlier about, you know, they're always looking to replace you, right? Now, Daniel Jones knows that they did not draft the quarterback and they took a receiver, Malik Navers, who should help him a lot. But he also knows they tried to trade up and offered a first round pick this year and next year. That's serious, right? That is serious trade.

you know, draft equity to offer. So he knows they tried to replace me, right? And they didn't. So I want to ask you guys as players, what does that say? Amani, when I heard you were on, I did some research, okay? You were second in 96, right?

Second round pick in 96. That's pretty good. Right. OK. Ninety seven. They drafted a receiver. I kill you in the first round. Right. In the first round after taking you in a second round in 98, they draft Joe Jervisius in the second round. Right.

You're a kid still. They draft Brian Alford in the third round, right? I don't know what you're thinking. You must be thinking they're trying to replace me. In 2000, they draft – you're still on the team. You're a big part of the team.

Maybe not as big a deal. They draft Ron Dixon in the third round. In 2002, you're still on the team, right? They draft Tim Carter in the second round. So pretty much from the day you got there, they were – the next year, they were drafting guys either to play with you or to replace you, right? So my take is Daniel Jones can take this one of two ways. He can look at it and say –

They try to trade for me. I'm coming off an injury and, and be hang dog about it. Or you can say, you know what? Damn it. It's my job. And I'm going to show them why they made a mistake to even think about trade, you know, trading for my replacement. You know what I mean? He was ticked off last two years ago when they didn't give him the fifth year option. He was ticked off about that. And what did he do? He stayed healthy and had the best year of his career and won a playoff game. So how do you think Daniel Jones is going to respond to this? And you know,

What happens when they draft a guy to replace you? How do you take it?

I always took it like, man, they just wasted another pick. We could have had somebody that would actually help our team instead of sit back and watch me play. But also, I mean, it's a business. Like, you can't get personal over any of these things. The only real currency you have is how you play. And the fact that he had a knee injury last year, he had a neck injury two years before, a neck injury last year. Like, I mean, you look at it and you're like,

They didn't pick anybody this year. That's almost like they're saying, okay, you don't want to pick anybody? All right. Now we're going to clear the way for you, but we're only going to do it for one more year. That's the way I look at it as, only for one more year. The next year, it's not going to be so nice. So the pressure is mounting. I would have been better if I

was the player, I would have wanted them to draft somebody so that I could show them the difference between what that, what a draft pick is and what a seasoned pro is. Now they got sugar plums in their head thinking about what could possibly be if Daniel Jones doesn't compete and doesn't perform at the highest level. So I think the pressure just ratcheted up on Daniel Jones rather than down after you, when you think about it. Um, so I, I just feel like, um,

I told him this when I talked to him a couple years ago. I said, there's nobody on this team that has played for a long period of time that hasn't had to stare down the fact that they want to replace you. It's just part of the business, part of being a Giants, part of being in New York. And if you come out the other side, people respect you and they love you. And if you don't, then you don't. So you would rather rather than draft somebody instead of trying to draft somebody.

I would have rather have them draft somebody because then I know my competition. Now they're still like the, you know, you'll watch somebody playing in college and then they'll think, wow, that translates well over in the NFL. When you see them back to back, you know the difference. And,

And I think a lot of these young quarterbacks coming out, quarterbacks don't hit at a high rate. You know, like the second pick over the second quarterback taken in the last couple of drafts hasn't turned out too well. I mean, look at the Jets. You know, they picked a guy second overall. Now he's on the Broncos. So there's this league is hard. And, you know, sometimes people try to project and they get the image of what possibly could be

and take that more into account than what you actually are seeing on the field. So that's kind of one of those reasons why I look at it. I'd rather nose to nose and see what my competition's gonna do. - So receiver-wise though, exclude being Daniel Jones, let's say you're Darius Slayton, you're Malik Nabors, Isaiah Hodgins, one of these guys. Now you know that they tried to trade for Daniel, but they didn't get him. What are you thinking receiver-wise now?

Oh, it's on me. You know, I mean, I've been here. I have all the advantage. This guy's coming in, you know, wet behind the ears. He doesn't know how to play in the NFL. I'm going to show what I can do. I'm going to set myself apart and I'm going to get I'm going to extend my lead. I'm not going to let him come in and take anything from me. So I just felt like once you get in the room and you see apples for apples, unless you are that dude,

you're going to come back to the pack a little bit. And I'm going to be there as one of these receivers in that room and let them know that there's not that much difference between Malik Nabors and me. Ike Hilliard came in the fourth pick overall, and I was excited to compete against him. And knowing that he's going to get more opportunities, I still kind of just felt like I needed to just

We raised my level of game to let them know that I'm going to be playing with him, not playing against him. I mean, he's going to be playing instead of me. I meant receiver-wise, knowing that they tried to trade your quarterback away. Like, if you're Isaiah Hodgins in them and you read those reports, now you're Darius Slayton. Let's say if there's a bad ball here or there, are you thinking in your head, man, I wish they would have brought somebody in or trade somebody? Like, how does that affect that dynamic and that chemistry? Yeah.

I'm not chasing ghosts, man. I'm going with what I got. The only person that's in, you know, you can't be like, oh, I wish this ball. Nobody cares about what you wish is. They want to know what you did with that play. Oh, I could have done this if the ball was not. This isn't a could have lead. This isn't a could have, should have, would have lead. This is a put up. Show me what you can do. And if you can't, we're going to find somebody else that can. So that's why, you know, you'll probably think that in your mind, but it'll do you no good.

You got to just go with what you got and play with the players that you have. And that's kind of how you keep it simple and not let all the outside noise really affect your game. Because at the end of the day, when they're watching a film, there's no audio, can't explain away anything, and they're only going to watch the way you were acting on the field. So that's pretty, that's the way I looked at it.

Real quick. These guys like Daniel. He's not some prima donna. He's not some guy who thinks he's better than everyone. They like him. They like him. He works hard. They're going to be fine with Daniel. We'll see. Malik Nabors will start his career. Odell started his career with Eli. That was good for a while, even though the team didn't win. Malik Nabors is going to start his career with Daniel. Hopefully, if he's healthy, we'll see how that works out.

All right, well, Rookie Camp comes up in a couple of weeks. Thank you guys for watching Blue Rush. Toom, thanks for coming on. For Paul Schwartz, I'm Brendan London, Imani Toomer. That's Blue Rush.