New York Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson has gained much from mentors over the course of his career and now finds himself in that same role. The 27-year-old is the veteran of the room and will oversee a group of young bucks this coming season.
One of those is rookie first-round pick Deonte Banks, who has already made quite the impression on Jackson.
“I’m excited,” Jackson said of playing alongside Banks. “I think about when I was in Tennessee, and I had Logan Ryan being able to help me and mentor me. And the following year, I had Malcolm Butler. I always think of it as an added benefit to us as a whole, not just the defense but the team as a whole. So, I’m excited, watched his tape. Like him. Watched him go through the walk-throughs, different things. Talked to him. He’s got a good head on his shoulder. Seems like a great guy. I was excited to get Banks.”
Jackson says Banks has fit right in with the Giants, embracing the culture and the experiences of being a rookie.
“It hasn’t been a challenge (for him). He’s a great guy. He’s been acceptable to the culture, what we’re trying to build here. And I can’t do anything but really appreciate him and welcome him in the same as us,” Jackson said. “It takes a lot to gain so much trust and vice versa. He came up with open arms as we did. He’s been a good guy, giving us laughs, singing and stuff, which is pretty cool to see him not shy away or be shy at all and trying to be one of us, it’s dope to see.”
Banks will undoubtedly make some mistakes — all rookies do — but Jackson just wants to make sure he learns from them and doesn’t repeat them.
“What Dick LeBeau taught me when I was in Tennessee, if something doesn’t go my way or if a play doesn’t go this, that or a third, he always told me his experiences and what goes on, just give him tools to make him better. I think that’s the best thing a veteran cornerback can do, just let somebody learn from their mistakes and try to help them and be that voice of reason in their ear, how I would have wanted it vice versa. Just trying to be there as much as possible for him,” he said.
On Darren Waller
Although the Giants are limited to non-contact walkthrough practices during OTAs, Jackson has already gotten a feel for tight end Darren Waller and what he adds offensively.
“It’s crazy,” Jackson said. “His catch radius being able to — but you can jump a route and D.J. can throw it somewhere else, and he can still be able to do get to it. The speed he has, it’s not like — it’s a different type of speed in a sense where he builds up his speed, just running strong. He’s trying to run through you, run around you, whatever.
“But I love it because you never know what you’re going to match up with. You can go against a 6’5 receiver or smaller guy. You just get different looks. I think that’s what I appreciate most about this offense. You’ve got a lot of different type of body strengths; you got a lot of different attributes in front of these guys. And having everybody to help us be better as a defense.”
McCloud the new Julian Love?
The Giants lost Julian Love, their Swiss Army knife, in free agency but they may have a replacement in-house. Nick McCloud has been taking snaps all over the field and has a believer in Jackson.
“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,” Jackson said. “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.”
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