Rookie Tre Hawkins has ‘earned his role’

Headed into the offseason, the New York Giants needed to improve at the cornerback position. Accordingly, they spent their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft on Maryland corner Deonte Banks to pair up with Adoree’ Jackson.

However, throughout the preseason, it was sixth-round pick Tre Hawkins who emerged at the position and the Giants suddenly had some much-needed depth at cornerback.

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That depth paved way to an interesting scenario as Hawkins earned a starting job.

“Tre has had a good camp. I think he’s improved since he’s been here. He’s got the right mindset,” Davboll told reporters on Monday. “It’s early in his career, very early in his career, but he works hard, he understands our defense and he will have his challenges throughout the year, but he’s done a good job with what we are looking for in terms of his intelligence, his dependability and he’s earned his role relative to what we are going to ask him to do.

“I think again just credit goes to (general manager) Joe (Schoen) and the scouting staff. We brought him for a 30 visit, got to meet with him there. There is a long process relative to the evaluation part of it and then once you get here, it really doesn’t matter how you get here. Free agency, late pick, UDFA, high pick, it’s all what you do when you are here. He’s earned what he’s got.”

Hawkins has improved throughout the offseason — something Daboll hopes continues into the regular season:

“I’d just say each and every day there’s an evaluation throughout camp from OTAs all the way through of basically how you perform on the field when you have an opportunity to perform. I think, again, he’s improved. Are you going to say he’s there? No. He’s a young player that has earned his role. He’s going to continue to work hard to try to get better. He has the right mindset. That’s what we hope for all of our players,” Daboll said.

By now, most fans are associating Hawkins with Kadarius Toney. The Giants, of course, used the picks they received from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for Toney on Darren Waller (trade) and Hawkins (6th round).

Last season, the Giants were left short-handed when top cornerback Adoree’ Jackson was out due to injury.

In addition to depth, Hawkins’ emergence hopes to allow the coaching staff flexibility to move Jackson around and lean on him inside, especially ahead of the Week 1 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

“Well, I’d say Adoree’ — last year we played a lot of different coverages and games where we matched and he played inside, he played outside, so he has position flexibility,” Daboll said. “We’ll try to use him the best way we can.

“Again, they have a very good player that plays both inside and outside with CeeDee (Lamb), but they have some other skill players that are going to be challenging — really their entire package. All their skill guys from their backs, to their receivers, to their tight ends. All of our guys are going to have to be ready to go with the assignments that we ask them to do.”

Hawkins should provide Big Blue with speed and depth at the cornerback position. Given the talent of some of the receiving corps the Giants will have to play this season, depth and flexibility can only help.

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Boogie Basham grateful for bond with New York Giants GM Joe Schoen

The New York Giants traded a 2025 sixth-round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills this week in exchange for defensive end Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr. and a 2025 seventh-round selection.

The trade was unexpected to many, but not so to the principals involved. Basham and Giants general manager Joe Schoen have a relationship that goes back to before the 2021 NFL draft when Schoen was the assistant general manager of the Bills and Basham was a draft prospect out of Wake Forest.

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“He’s the reason I got drafted in Buffalo in the first place,” Basham said of Schoen at his introductory press conference on Wednesday. “To come in here, he wanted me here, so that’s like a little bond we got right there for sure.”

The Bills selected Basham in the second round of the draft that year, 61st overall.

“(Schoen was) one of the first scouts that contacted me, talked to me in the process and he was like, ‘I really want you in Buffalo.’ I knew it was going to happen eventually, just had that bond with him before he left Buffalo,” Basham said.

Now, Basham and Schoen are reunited. The addition of Basham is another step in Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll’s quest to mold the team’s roster according to the vision.

Basham is excited to play for Daboll, who was the Bills’ offensive coordinator when Basham arrived in Buffalo in 2021.

“He always had that mindset that he wanted to be a head coach, even when he was an offensive coordinator,” Basham said of Daboll. “Just a matter of time. I’m thankful that I get the opportunity to play for him. He’s crazy, you know he’s got his little sayings here and there, I’m already used to it, but it’s a great opportunity.”

Basham was a defensive end in Buffalo in a 4-3 alignment. His role will be slightly different in coordinator Wink Martindale’s 3-4 based scheme.

“We’ve got to get him out here and see what he can do,” Daboll said on Wednesday. “He ran a different system, a 4-3 system at Buffalo with his hand in the ground, defensive end. But he’s 275 pounds. He’s a thick body. We’ll ask him to do the same stuff that all of our outside backers do.”

Basham said he’s ready for whatever role the Giants have in store for him.

“For me, it’s going out there for my family, playing for these guys. They don’t really know me yet, but I am definitely a team player, ready to give all I’ve got,” Basham said.

Basham said Martindale had little to say to him this far about his role, except that is will be as a stand-up outside linebacker.

“Just physical, knock back, that’s all they need me to do. The rest of it will come,” Basham said.

He revealed that he has played some outside backer in the past and said it was something he could transition to full-time.

“You’re standing up, so you are a little higher so sometimes you just have to adjust your body a little bit,” he said.

Many will be wondering why the Bills gave up on the promising pass rush specialist so soon. Basham knows he has no control over that. Ha can only look forward.

“I would say just it is what it is, it’s part of the business. No hatred towards them at all. Thankful for the opportunity, but now it’s just all about the Giants. I’m here and ready to play ball,” he said.

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New York Giants’ Bryce Ford-Wheaton out for season with torn ACL

The New York Giants saw eight players go down with an injury on Saturday night against the New York Jets and only one returned.

Of the other seven, rookie wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton suffered the most significant injury.

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Meeting with reporters during a Zoom call on Saturday, Giants head coach revealed that Ford-Wheaton had suffered a torn ACL and was placed on injured reserve (IR). He will miss the remainder of the season.

Although Ford-Wheaton was a bit inconsistent as a receiver, he had excelled on special teams. Specifically, he was making his mark as a gunner and had drawn unprompted praise from Daboll, special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and general manager Joe Schoen in recent weeks.

“The obvious with Bryce is just size, speed. He’s 6-foot-4, he’s 225 pounds, or 230, whatever he is, and runs 4.40,” Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey told reporters on Wednesday.

“Those measurables are pretty special. Whenever you can get — and with him, he’s a very mature rookie. He goes about his business very professionally, he comes into meetings, he works his tail off, he’s attentive, and he wants to learn. So, when you have those qualities — smart, tough, dependable — and just those physical attributes, he has a really, really big upside, I think.”

Ford-Wheaton was on the fringe for a 53-man roster spot but appeared to have earned his way in. With him now out for the season, the Giants can carry another receive or one less body at the position.

Meanwhile, Daboll said defensive linemen D.J. Davidson and A’Shawn Robinson did not play against the Jets because they weren’t medically ready.

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Giants report card: How we graded Big Blue in Week 3 preseason loss

The New York Giants closed out their 2023 preseason schedule with a 32-24 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Saturday night.

Here’s how we graded the Giants on the game by unit.

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Giants’ Brian Daboll happy to add ‘explosive, athletic’ Isaiah Simmons

On Thursday, New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen pulled off an unexpected trade, acquiring Isaiah Simmons from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

The addition of Simmons gives Wink Martindale another versatile player to work with, although early reports suggest the veteran will work specifically at linebacker.

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Whatever Simmons’ role ends up being, head coach Brian Daboll is happy to have him.

“He could do a lot of different things. Explosive, athletic. That’s why he was picked where he was picked,” Daboll told reporters. “Again, we’ll get him here and see how he looks and start teaching him our stuff, but excited to have him.

“We thought there’s some upside there. Again, we’ll put him in, we’ll ask him to do probably quite a bit of things just to see what he takes to. A guy that’s, again, athletic, explosive, has good size. I’ve seen him do some multiple things”

Simmons has underwhelmed in Arizona, largely due to the constant system changes and out-of-position use. With the Giants, he’ll find some stability under Martindale and in a system that seems more fine-tuned for his athletic gifts.

One added benefit for Simmons is the familiar faces he’ll see when he arrives in East Rutherford.

“He’s got some familiarity with some of our players. (Dexter Lawrence), worked out with Saquon (Barkley) out there in Arizona, worked out with Isaiah Hodgins. So, good to have him in. We’ll get him going and try to get him up to speed,” Daboll added.

Simmons has roughly two weeks to get the playbook down before the Giants open the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys.

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‘I wouldn’t read into’ Rob Gronkowski’s comments

NFL legend and four-time Super Bowl champion, Rob Gronkowski, is currently retired and it’s unlikely that changes any time soon. But earlier this month, he did suggest that if he were to unretire, it would only be for New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll.

“Brian Daboll wants me on his roster, I know it,” Gronk joked on Up & Adams. “Brian Daboll. He can’t get me out of retirement but he would have the best chance to get me out of retirement.”

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Although Gronk was pretty clear that the chances of him returning are slim to none, he did like the idea of playing alongside Darren Waller.

“That would be pretty wild. I always believe that having two tight ends — it makes the defense have the most difficult times,” said Gronkowski. “If you have two tight ends, I think that could make the offense unstoppable. And it’s rare if you go back to my days when I had another tight end with me, it just makes the offense prolific, unstoppable, it gives you so many more options in the run game and the pass game and play action.”

On Monday morning, as the Giants returned to team facilities for the final week of training camp practice, Daboll was asked about Gronk and his recent comments.

Although Daboll is close with Gronk, he said the unretirement talk should be taken with a grain of salt.

“I’m close with Rob,” Daboll said. “I have a lot of respect and admiration. I coached him for four years. He’s a good friend. We’ve talked — I’m not saying we’ve talked about that but he’s a close friend.

“I coached him up for four years. He’s a very productive player for you and really a good person. We’re from the same town (but) I wouldn’t read too much into (his comments).”

Gronk is obviously not returning to play for Daboll but leave it up to the charismatic 34-year-old to stir things up and create a buzz with a few simple half-joking comments.

Then again, in the words of Jerry Reese, never say never.



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New York Giants’ Eric Gray plans to gift first TD ball to his mother

Eric Gray, the New York Giants’ fifth-round selection in this year’s NFL draft, could be the future of the team’s rushing attack but for now, he’s strictly going be a returner and a depth player.

Gray was a star at Oklahoma and tumbled down the draft order to Day 3, where Giants’ general manager Joe Schoen adroitly snatched him up with the 172nd overall pick.

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In Friday night’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, Gray displayed his tough inside running style by battering his way up the middle for a nine-year touchdown in the second quarter.

“I thought he ran with a good pad level,” head coach Brian Daboll told reporters on Saturday. “I thought it was well blocked upfront with the line and Belly (tight end Daniel Bellinger), there was some good finish in there and he had some good leg drive and finished it off there. That’s important, you have to get the ball downhill, mainly down there in the red zone and run with good pad level and leg drive, got to block it up well.

“The space is condensed, course patterns are a lot different. There is more guys in the box, there is usually an extra guy you are going to have to either run through or run around. It was good to see him be able to finish the play in the end zone.”

Gray was asked about the play and put it in simplistic terms.

“I saw the hole and said, ‘I gotta get in, I gotta get in’ and I hope they don’t yell at me for reaching the ball over the goal line but I gotta do it for the team,” he said with a laugh.

The play was reviewed and the touchdown was upheld. Gray wanted the actual football after the play to send to his mother, who wasn’t in attendance. That might be more challenging than the touchdown itself.

“They told me it was one of the 12 footballs in the bag,” Gray said.

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New York Giants rookie Jalin Hyatt embraces ‘next play mentality’

New York Giants rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt has made explosive play after explosive play during training camp but was silent in his preseason debut against the Detroit Lions.

Hyatt hauled in just one reception for negative-four yards and didn’t see another target thrown in his direction.

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Then, on Friday night against the Carolina Panthers, Hyatt dropped a pass that hit him right in the hands. But rather than sulk about it, the rookie popped back up and went right back to work.

Shortly thereafter, Hyatt did what he does best — used his blazing speed to coast past a Panthers defender en route to a 33-yard touchdown, the first of his career.

“It’s always good to get the first one,” Hyatt told Giants.com after the game. “Those are the ones that are the hardest ones. When you’re open and it’s just you and the ball, sometimes you (lose) focus. It’s always good to look it in, focusing, and making a play when you need to make a play.”

Hyatt was frustrated with his drop but didn’t allow it to impact how he played for the remainder of the game. It’s a lesson instilled upon him by head coach Brian Daboll and wide receivers coach Mike Groh.

“As a receiver, when the ball touches our hands, we want to catch everything. I believe I can catch any ball that comes to me,” Hyatt said. “When you have a play like that — and I didn’t come up with it — it’s always next play mentality.

“That’s what (Brian Daboll) and (Mike) Groh have been teaching me. . . I am just glad that Coach Dabes trusted me and called that next play. Lot of respect for him.”

And how did Hyatt get so open? Speed, of course. But a few other things as well.

“It’s speed, it’s acceleration, it’s getting open, it’s knowing what you have to do and being comfortable with the quarterback,” Hyatt said.

The good news for the Giants is that Hyatt is becoming more comfortable every day and clearly doesn’t allow the negatives, which he will experience as a rookie, to get him down.

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New York Giants’ Brian Daboll jokes about new MetLife Stadium turf

The New York Giants played a game for the first time since MetLife Stadium replaced their controversial playing surface earlier this year.

Head coach Brian Daboll was asked after the game if he received any feedback from the players on the turf.

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“I didn’t,” he replied. “No, I didn’t.”

But Daboll had his own review to add.

“It’s fine. I’m just standing on it. I’m not running around and cutting and doing all those things. It’s a little softer on my lower back, which is always good,” he joked.

The previous surface was consistently panned by both the Giants and their co-tenants, the Jets, as well as many visiting teams. The amount of ‘soft tissue’ and joint injuries over the years made MetLife a house of horrors for players and coaches.

Over the past decade, the Giants were one of the most-injured teams in the NFL.

There were no reported injuries during the Giants’ 21-19 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Friday night.

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Rob Gronkowski teases NFL return with Brian Daboll

The New York Giants had a surprisingly successful year in 2022 under rookie head coach Brian Daboll.

Big Blue followed that up by making a big splash during the peak of free agency when they traded for tight end Darren Waller.

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Former tight end Rob Gronkowski was a guest on Up & Adams hosted by Kay Adams and talked about the possibility of coming out of retirement. He was specifically asked what head coach has the best chance to lure Gronk out of retirement:

“Brian Daboll wants me on his roster, I know it,” Gronk joked. “Brian Daboll. He can’t get me out of retirement but he would have the best chance to get me out of retirement.”

Adams then asked about the possibility of Gronk and Waller together:

“That would be pretty wild. I always believe that having two tight ends; it makes the defense have the most difficult times,” said Gronkowski. “If you have two tight ends, I think that could make the offense unstoppable. And it’s rare if you go back to my days when I had another tight end with me, it just makes the offense prolific, unstoppable, it gives you so many more options in the run game and the pass game and play action.”

Gronkowski, of course, was on the New England Patriots when Aaron Hernandez was also in his prime.

Although it isn’t likely that he would return to the field, it is something that he gave Daboll the best chance to get him back. For what it’s worth, Gronkowski firmly believes his playing days are behind him:

“I love to pretend that I can still play. It makes me feel good. But no, I can’t – I’m washed up. But I just like to pretend.” Gronkowski told Adams.

As washed up as Gronkowski may be, it would be some story to see him in line up with Waller.

Many people believe the Giants already have an elite duo with Daniel Bellinger following an impressive rookie season. Bellinger showed up earlier this offseason looking like he put on some muscle for his sophomore season.

Adding Gronkowski would be exciting, but there is plenty to be excited about between Waller and Bellinger.



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