The New York Giants have named their team captains for the 2020 season and both running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones will wear the “C” on their jerseys.
In addition to Barkley and Jones, veteran linebacker Blake Martinez, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, safety Jabrill Peppers and special teams ace Nate Ebner have also been voted in as captains.
Barkley and Jones will represent the offense, Martinez and Tomlinson the defense, and Peppers and Ebner the special teams unit.
Head coach Joe Judge expressed what he wants to see out of his captains during a Zoom conference on Monday.
“I think it’s important to me, for the head coach, to have someone who’s a voice of the team that can communicate for everyone in the locker room,” Judge said. “I stress to the players, leadership is about doing your job well, it’s about putting the team first, and it’s about being unselfish. You have to be able to bring people with you to actually be a leader. Otherwise you’re just up there giving speeches and kind of rah-rahing.
“We just preach to the players that make sure you take your time and decide who you want to represent you. It’s not a popularity contest. You’re picking people to represent you when we meet on a weekly basis with the captains.”
Last year’s captains were: Eli Manning, Nate Solder and Saquon Barkley (offense), Alec Ogletree and Antoine Bethea (defense), and Zak DeOssie and Michael Thomas (special teams).
Only Barkley remains from that leadership group (Solder opted out due to COVID-19). All others are first-time Giants captains.
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