New York Giants Veterans Take Leadership Roles

The New York Giants roster isn’t short on leadership. Which players stepped up to advise and guide those headed into their first NFL offseason?

Every experienced NFL player doesn’t become a leader in the locker room. The New York Giants veterans have taken it upon themselves to the lead the youth on the roster.

After the final minicamp practice, running back Rashad Jennings told the local media, via the team’s official website, about the veterans preaching the good word to rookies and first-year players about body conditioning and staying out of trouble. He initiated the push to reach out to those going through their first offseason:

"I took the opportunity to make all first-year guys, rookies and first-year players, experiencing their first NFL offseason, to have a meeting with some of the veterans and myself just to give some advice on how to take care of your body. Remind them, they worked their entire life to get to this position and find themselves in one of these buildings and how it can be taken away so quick."

Typically, coaches will address the team and expect the players to make good decisions off the field and return to training camp ready to work. Jennings felt player-to-player interactions would drive in a stronger point to his inexperienced teammates.

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“It goes a long way when you hear from players more so than coaches. We got some veteran leadership that takes the time to make sure we’re preaching it in the locker room,” said Jennings.

After Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib’s club shooting incident, it’s easy to point to recent scenarios that could hinder a player’s progress or shorten a career. There are also countless offseason tales to discourage poor decisions.

The Giants’ 2016 draft class includes high character prospects on and off the field.

Head coach Ben McAdoo has used the word conscientious to describe several rookies. According to his final minicamp press conference with the local media, he also seemed pleased with the veterans taking the younger talents under their wings to teach them the right way to approach the offseason.

“We had a meeting last night, we had one before we left this morning and we just had another quick one on the field,” said McAdoo. The veterans have taken the bull by the horns.”

The Giants’ locker room doesn’t lack guidance. Jennings has become one of the leading voices since signing a four-year deal with the team in 2014, per spotrac.com. He also spoke about another leader who’s the standard-bearer for the team’s demeanor:

"It’s a difference between being an NFL player and being a pro. You see a lot of guys that are NFL players. When you have pros on your team that you can look up to and you watch young kids with talent as an NFL player start to progress, train, stay late in the film room and doing the little things to quickly become a pro is exciting. You can see that relationship between Odell [Beckham] and Eli [Manning]"

At 35, Manning has played in and won two Super Bowls. The Giants could field one of the most explosive offenses in the upcoming season. With the wide receiver corps fully loaded, the Giants could stretch opposing pass defenses thin sideline to sideline.

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Nonetheless, the players must take care of themselves in a six-week lull period before ironing out the wrinkles in pads during the summer. The veterans made sure to harp on self-preservation off the field before handling business in between the white lines.

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