The reactions are still coming in after the New York Giants added wide receiver Kenny Golladay to their arsenal of weapons. Those reactions include that of Golladay himself as well as current members of the Giants organization.
One of the most important people in all of this is Daniel Jones. He’s the one that was without weapons in 2020 and the addition of Golladay improves his chances during his make or break 2021 season. And in a statement, he was positive about the addition and getting to work with the new wide receiver on the field.
“He’s been a big time playmaker in this league. When we spoke, he was interested in the culture we have in the building and the mindset of the team. I think he had heard it from coaches but wanted to hear how we saw it as players and how much we believed in it,” Jones said. “I think finding the right fit in that sense was important to him. I can’t wait to get out on the field and get to work with him.”
Culture has become a buzzword in many places that is used by every team regardless of their actual success. Every coach, both good and bad, brings up their team culture. However, the Giants have seen a culture change more tangibly since the addition of Joe Judge saw their coaching staff overhauled and the team immediately becoming more competitive in Judge’s first season.
One could say that’s already played a role in the Giants landing free agents this year. Golladay this year is their signature free agent, but it also appears the Giants are frontrunners to bring in cornerback Adoree Jackson, and they already added to the depth of their pass rush with defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo.
In other words, the Giants are one of the more improved teams so far out of this offseason’s contenders for that title. And from the looks of it, we can attribute a lot of that to how things went last year with the change in the coaching staff.
The Giants might not have picked up as many wins as desired, but the change in culture was noticeable, and it’s starting to pay off as the roster itself finally improves.
“Just hearing the vision that coach Joe Judge had and Jason Garrett had as far as the offense, that had me right there,” Golladay said on Saturday about his visit with the team.
It seems like that culture and the current coaching staff of the Giants had more than a little influence on him choosing to come to New York over other teams.