Tag: Jerome Henderson

36 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 36 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 36 jersey number

The New England Patriots are officially 36 days away from their regular season opener. So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 36 jersey.

Running back Kevin Harris currently wears the number, which initially belonged to core Patriots special-teamer Brandon King. Harris, a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, has seen more work behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson at training camp.

Whether that carries over into the regular season or not remains to be seen.

But Lawyer Milloy is the name people typically think about when it comes to the No. 36 in New England. Milloy was drafted in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft by the Patriots and helped them upset the St. Louis Rams at Super Bowl XXXVI.

Here’s every player throughout franchise history that has worn the No. 36 (via Pro Football Reference):

Giants minicamp: Notes, videos and highlights from Day 1

News, notes, highlights and a few videos from Day 1 of the New York Giants’ 2023 mandatory minicamp.

After canceling their final two practices of organized team activities (OTAs) due to poor air quality, the New York Giants were back at it on Tuesday. This time for their mandatory two-day minicamp.

Running back Saquon Barkley, who has not yet signed his franchise tender, is not permitted to take part in team-related activities and was not in attendance per NFL rules. He will not be fined for his absence.

On the schedule were press conferences with the team’s defensive assistants, head coach Brian Daboll and assistant general manager Brandon Brown. Select players also spoke with members of the media following a two-hour practice.

Here’s a look at some notes, highlights and videos from Day 1.

Giants coaches making rounds at various Pro Days

The New York Giants have dispatched several coaches and assistants to Pro Days across the county, including Clemson and South Carolina.

The NFL Scouting Combine is over and colleges around the country are now conducting ‘pro days’ where NFL draft prospects will display their wares for interested scouts, executives, and coaches.

The New York Giants had representatives at two major programs’ pro days this week — South Carolina and Clemson.

Jerome Henderson is likely there to get an up-close look at South Carolina’s stellar corners, Cam Smith and Darius Rush.

Smith is Pro Football Focus’ No. 3 ranked corner in this year’s class and Rush ran 4.36 40 at the Combine at 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds. Smith ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the Combine.

The Giants are looking for an outside corner to pass with Adoree’ Jackson.

The Giants also sent defensive coordinator Wink Martindale down to Clemson, a noted football ‘factory.’

The Giants may appear to have enough depth in their defensive front after Monday’s free-agent signings but one can never have enough. Due diligence must be paid whether you need players at those positions or not.

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Giants sent a large contingent to Senior Bowl

The New York Giants sent a rather large contingent to the Senior Bowl this week, including GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll.

There has been no break for the New York Giants since their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the NFC Playoffs.

General manager Joe Schoen held exit meetings, while several of the team’s coordinators and assistants have been interviewing for other jobs. Then, collectively, the group headed down to Mobile, Alabama to take in Senior Bowl week.

In addition to Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson all made the trip.

“I just like to come because it’s the initial part of the draft process for me,” Daboll told the New York Post. “I haven’t been looking at college players so I like to come down here, it’s a chance to get your eyes on some guys out there on the practice field and also meet with some guys in meetings.

“You’re trying to build your team throughout the entire year. It’s important to be down here, you’ve got however many guys you get the chance to watch practice for a few hours each day and get to talk to some of ’em at night. I think it’s a good start.”

In the eyes of Schoen, having the entire staff together for the Senior Bowl and subsequent prospect meetings will only help ease the 2023 NFL draft process.

“As we go through it, whether it’s bringing guys in on 30s [private visits at the Giants facility], private workouts and the combine, if I can get Dabes, Kafka and Wink in front of 50, 55 prospects here and then 45 at the combine and our 30 visits, by the time at the end of it the head coach has had exposure to basically our whole draft board,” Schoen told The Post.

“When you’re aligned, the personnel staff and the coaching staff, on players and the smart, tough, dependable that we’re looking at that also have ability, those are the best decisions you’re gonna make.”

The week wraps up on Saturday with the 74th annual Senior Bowl game.

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Giants convert Jarren Williams to safety

The New York Giants have converted Jarren Williams to safety and Jerome Henderson believes it will serve him well.

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The New York Giants’ secondary is in flux after a flurry of moves this offseason that left them thin and inexperienced, especially at safety.

They currently have Xavier McKinney and Julian Love penciled in as their starters and added Iowa’s Dane Belton via the NFL draft this year but are seeking some more delta at the positions.

Enter Jarren Williams, a backup cornerback who will be tried at safety this summer. It is no reflection on his ability to play cornerback, however.

“I don’t think it’s disrespect at all,” Williams told the New York Post this month. “It’s a great opportunity. I’m really excited, gonna keep learning the position, take the teaching, take the coaching and I think it’s gonna be good for me, for real.”

The 24-year-old Williams, a practice squad player mainly last year who came out of small St. Francis (PA), is gaining the respect and confidence of the coaching staff, most notably secondary coach Jerome Henderson.

“He’s a physical guy at corner,” Henderson said. “I thought as a corner he tackled like a safety and I thought him playing safety would give us some extra athleticism back there. I like his skill set back there. He’s a young developing player that I can see having a really bright future in this league so I’m just excited to see how he grows.”

The Giants have been seeking answered this offseason. Perhaps this one will come from within their own building.

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Giants attend Penn State, Memphis pro days

The New York Giants were in attendance at both the Penn State and Memphis pro days on Thursday.

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Penn State held their pro day on Thursday. As usual, the college football powerhouse drew interest from most NFL teams. New York Giants defensive back coach Jerome Henderson was in attendance.

Jaquan Brisker was certainly at the top the list of attractions. He is one of the highest-rated safeties in this draft class and the Giants are looking for a new partner for Xavier McKinney and Julian Love after releasing veteran Logan Ryan and shying away from re-signing the injured Jabrill Peppers.

Mike Kaye of Pro Football Network wrote this about Brisker’s performance on Thursday:

Brisker is listed at 6-foot-1 and 206 pounds, looked fast and fluid in front of two NFC East coordinators (Dallas’ Dan Quinn and Jonathan Gannon of Philadelphia) on Thursday.

As Quinn and Gannon watched drills, Brisker showed off his unique blend of size, speed, and ball skills. He caught everything thrown his way and showed smooth change-of-direction ability in position drills.

Brisker said teams have asked him about playing all six defensive back positions, and his fluidity at the pro day should give those teams reason to believe he can.

PFN has Brisker ranked 56th overall on their board and project him to be a second round pick. The Giants have the 36th overall selection in the draft.

Other players who impressed were wide receiver Jahan Dotson and linebacker Brandon Smith. Cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields could also be on the Giants’ radar, as could offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, who once again did not work out.

Other players of interest were linebacker Jesse Luketa and edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie. The Giants aren’t likely to use any of their first round picks on the players Henderson scouted today, but Day 2 is a different story.

Meanwhile, in addition to Penn State, the Giants also had scouts at the Memphis pro day, where they rubbed elbows with Joe Judge.

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The latest on Giants’ search for a new defensive coordinator

The latest on the Giants’ search for a new defensive coordinator.

The New York Giants were left at the altar by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham on Friday when he jumped ship to assume the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Graham has a relationship with both newly hired head coaches — Josh McDaniels of the Raiders and Brian Daboll of the Giants — from their days in New England as part of Bill Belichick’s staff.

Graham was serving as the assistant head coach here with the Giants under Joe Judge as well as the DC but may not have been offered that title here under Daboll. It is unclear yet if the Raiders have given Graham that title.

The Giants were busy trying to replace Graham with a flurry of interviews on Saturday with some established coordinators around the NFL.

Schwartz has been a defensive coordinator or head coach for various clubs since 2001.

He was the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator from 2001-08, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator from 2016-20, where he earned a Super Bowl ring.

Schwartz has also been the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills (2014), and served as the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2009-13.

Martindale has been coaching NFL defenses since 2004 and has served as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens for the past four seasons. He also has a Super Bowl ring to his credit.

Austin also has a long, distinguished resume that includes both college and NFL experience. Austin has been a defensive coordinator since 2014 with the Lions, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. Austin earned a Super Bowl ring as part of the Ravens’ staff in SB XLVII.

Desai has only one year of coordinator experience — last season with the Chicago Bears. He would appear to be the long shot among the group.

Henderson is currently the Giants’ defensive backs coach but has served as the defensive passing game coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and has coached defensive backs for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets going back to 2007.

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Report: Giants will retain assistants Jerome Henderson and Mike Treier

The New York Giants are expected to retain defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson and assistant defensive backs coach Mike Treier.

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As the New York Giants hustle to fill out their coaching staff under new head coach Brian Daboll on the offensive side of the football, the defensive staff is beginning to take shape as well.

The hiring process had slowed until the Giants knew the fate of coordinator Patrick Graham, who was a finalist for the Minnesota Vikings’ head coaching position.

On Wednesday evening, the Vikings informed Graham he was no longer being considered for the job, paving the way for his return to the Giants. And with him likely back in East Rutherford, a few assistants will also remain, reports Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Veteran defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson will be retained, according to a source. Expect assistant defensive backs coach Mike Treier to return as well since he has a close relationship with Graham.

Assuming Graham does return — and there’s no reason to believe he won’t — you can expect the remainder of the staff to be rounded out quickly. Graham was also the assistant head coach under Joe Judge. There is no indication that he would be stripped of that title should be return.

In 2020, Graham’s unit was ranked 13th overall in the NFL in total defense. They fell to 21st last season under more trying conditions, including season-ending injuries to captains Blake Martinez and Jabrill Peppers, and an inept offense that left the defense on the field nearly 33 minutes per game.

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Giants’ Jerome Henderson questions effort on Cooper Kupp touchdown

Giants assistant Jerome Henderson appeared to question the effort of his players on a Cooper Kupp touchdown in Week 6, but they dismissed it.

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With under 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of a Week 6 game, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp ran by New York Giants defenders and into the end zone.

The play came roughly an hour after Giants head coach Joe Judge had challenged his team, who were trailing by 25 points at the time, to give a full effort.

It was obvious, however, that the effort was still lacking. At least on that particular play as safety Logan Ryan took a bad angle and defensive backs Xavier McKinney and James Bradberry were seen merely jogging in the direction of Kupp.

“I was making my way over there,” Bradberry told reporters on Thursday. “I was on the left side of the field, he crossed over, ran a flat route, caught it and ran it into the end zone. We gave it full effort the whole game, not just the fourth quarter.”

Defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson didn’t see it that way and admits he has an “obvious” problem with the effort given in that moment.

“I don’t know if they coulda gotten there,” Henderson said, via the New York Daily News. “I don’t know, but we’ll never know. That’s the problem: We’ll never know. I’d like to know.”

Ryan, one of the team’s defensive captains, didn’t want to hear about an allegedly lack of effort from analysts or former players.

“I don’t think guys were jogging. I think he caught the ball and he scored the ball,” Ryan said. “If it’s my effort or JB’s effort, a question there, I think that I play hard every play and that play I think I played as hard as I could until the end of the play. I understand that’s their right to analyze and critique, and I’ll take it. I’m going to go out there and play as hard as I can every play. I think I made a living on that and I’ll continue to do that.”

Ryan also attempted to downplay Henderson’s frustrations.

“I think he’s just saying it’s in the past and we don’t know, and we can’t harp on it now. I think we’ve got to go out there and play hard this week,” he added.

Even if Ryan doesn’t want to blame  Kupp’s touchdown on a lack of effort, it’s clear he and Henderson are on very different pages — a problem that has plagued the team at multiple positions all year long.

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Giants’ Chris Pettit got firsthand look at Azeez Ojulari at Georgia Pro Day

The New York Giants aren’t attending many pro days, but they sent some personnel to scout Azeez Ojulari down in Georgia this week.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on things such as travel and face-to-face communication, the New York Giants have chosen to be very selective about which college pro days they attend.

“Because of the travel around the country right now and then also some of the restrictions at the campus, we’re going to be selective about where we send coaches as far as being out to work guys out because, again, you’re more going there as an observer than you are to actually work out the players. It’s definitely different than in the past,” head coach Joe Judge said earlier this month.

“Will there be people out there? There will. Is it going to be as much traveling as in the past or as much interaction? No, it won’t.”

That ultimately means the Giants will be extremely selective when it comes to attending pro days in person, which is why Chris Pettit, the Giants’ director of college scouting, and secondary coach Jerome Henderson showing up in Georgia is so significant.

The Giants remain in need of an edge rusher and it’s beginning to look more and more like they’ll take one in the draft. Azeez Ojulari is an obvious target and the Giants wanted to put eyes on him in person.

This is what our friends at Draft Wire had to say about Ojulari:

One of the most exciting pass rushers in this year’s class, Ojulari’s impressive 2020 campaign turned him into a potential top-20 pick. He has the explosion, speed and bend to become one of the most feared quarterback hunters at the next level.

In addition to Ojulari, Henderson also spent some time working with Georgia cornerbacks Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes, each of whom are projected second round picks.

New York also got an up close and personal look at 6-foot-6, 335-pound guard Ben Cleveland, who could be a mid-round target.

The Giants — and general manager Dave Gettleman in particular — are no strangers to drafting players out of Georgia. In recent years, New York has taken cornerback DeAndre Baker, linebacker Tae Crowder, edge rusher Lorenzo Carter and, of course, left tackle Andrew Thomas.

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