New York Giants cornerback Adoree’ Jackson clearly disagrees with club icon Amani Toomer regarding the 5-11 team needing to care more about draft positioning than about closing the season out with a home win over the 11-5 Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.
“Yeah, it’s really all about playing for each other,” Jackson said during a chat with WFAN personalities Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata, per Lou DiPietro of Audacy. “Even though we’re not in contention that we want, at the end of the day, we’re still able to play the game that we love. It’s all about your résumé and what you want to put on tape because we all know that the team’s not gonna be the same next year.”
The Giants fell to 5-9 on what quickly became a disappointing season for a team that earned a playoff win last January, but Big Blue then battled in a 33-25 loss at Philadelphia on Christmas and during this past Sunday’s frustrating 26-25 defeat against the Los Angeles Rams. As it pertains to Jackson’s comments about the club’s squad, team captain and star running back Saquon Barkley is among the noteworthy Giants players out of contract after the campaign.
Barkley may have to offer his current employer a hometown discount to have even a chance of remaining with the franchise that selected him via the second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.
“Guys not under contract again are trying to do whatever they can to get back on this team or somewhere else, and those who are still under contract want to prove and show that they don’t need to draft or get anybody else for their spot,” Jackson continued. “So you’re still battling for each other and for yourself.”
While the Giants likely are stuck with the contract injured quarterback Daniel Jones signed last March through next season, that may not prevent general manager Joe Schoen from using a high draft pick to select a signal-caller such as Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans or North Carolina Tar Heels starter Drake Maye this spring.
In their latest mock drafts, Ryan Wilson and Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports both predicted that the Giants would grab LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels in the first round if Daniels falls to the club in the draft order.
