Daniel Jones: See what the NY Giants quarterback says about rookie WR Malik Nabers
Daniel Jones talks about what the NY Giants offense will look like with rookie WR Malik Nabers rather than Saquon Barkley as the centerpiece.
In a way, it may have been predetermined that Jakob Johnson would move to the New York Giants this season.
Big Blue plays in Germany, his home country. The running game under Brian Daboll is getting a new look after Saquon Barkley left for Philadelphia. And one of the assistant coaches on Daboll’s staff has been with Johnson for his entire five-year NFL career.
Here are three things to know about Johnson, the veteran fullback and tight end who signed with the Giants on the eve of their second preseason game in Houston against the Texans:
Connection to OL coach Carmen Bricillo
Johnson, 29, has been in the NFL for five seasons, and Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo has been part of the offensive staff in each of those seasons. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound player spent the last two seasons with the Raiders, overlapping with Bricillo and the starting lineup on the right side of the Giants’ offensive line: tackle Jermaine Eluemunor and guard Greg Van Roten.
Before Las Vegas, Johnson played 37 games with 20 starts in three seasons (2019-2021) for New England, where he also played under Bricillo, who was co-OL coach there.
Where Johnson fits with the Giants
Johnson is here because he has so many players as a tight end, but he’s a fullback in every sense of the word. It should be interesting to see how Daboll uses him in the running attack over the next few weeks to see if Johnson is valuable. Bricillo has been praised internally for how he’s helped develop a global approach to the running game on offense and ensure his linemen work in tandem with the tight ends and the backs.
So it’s safe to assume that Bricillo had a say when the team’s management considered bringing in Johnson. The Giants needed to bolster their tight end roster, as Lawrence Cager (groin) and Tyree Jackson (back) were out for the past few days. Jackson was released due to injury to make room on the roster for Johnson.
The Giants have now signed Johnson and veteran running back Joshua Kelley, who spent the first part of his career with the Chargers as Austin Ekeler’s primary backup, and their presence is interesting, especially given the positive performance of the running game not only in practice but also in the season opener last week.
Devin Singletary, rookies Tyrone Tracy and Turbo Miller, and second-year pro Eric Gray all had strong summers and are expected to contribute to the Giants’ offense. Johnson is also an accomplished special teams player, which could put pressure on other players who play exclusively special teams to fight for a roster spot as the league trims the roster to 53 later this month.
Making history
Johnson is from Stuttgart and was originally signed as a free agent by the Patriots through the NFL International Player Pathway Program. He appeared in four regular season games in 2019, including three as a starter, and received his first career reception this year.
Johnson remained with the Patriots for the 2020 season and played all 16 games, including 11 at fullback. He scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard pass from Cam Newton. The touchdown catch was the first regular-season touchdown scored by a participant in the International Pathway program.
