Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: How has it been so far, your early impressions, working against (Defensive Coordinator) Shane Bowen's defense?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, it's good. It's good competitive practices. We're two days in, so just making strides and trying to get better today.

Q: I noticed you guys have been rolling (cornerback) (Tre) Hawkins (III) in with the ones and (cornerback) Deonte (Banks) getting some breaks. What's behind that? Is Deonte dealing with something?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, it's training camp. So we're seeing different matchups. There's a lot of people in and there'll be a lot of people in for the next couple weeks.

Q: How's (offensive tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor) today?

BRIAN DABOLL: A little bit better. We'll probably do the same thing that we did yesterday with him. They have a day off tomorrow, with the hope that when we get back the next day, we'll be ready to go. And pads will start up next week after the first day.

Q: What about (safety) Tyler Nubin?

BRIAN DABOLL: Same thing, we'll give him today. We'll do the same thing we did with him yesterday, with the hope that he's back here shortly.

Q: What's wrong with him?

BRIAN DABOLL: His calf is a little tight but it's not long term or anything like that. We are just being smart to get through this first week, ramp up and hopefully next week we can get him back out there.

Q: The first day of pads is Monday, is that right?

BRIAN DABOLL: The day after the day off it's the shells and then two days of pads. Or maybe two shells and then a day of pads. I'm just focused on today.

Q: You said somewhere, I forget if it was to us or on Hard Knocks, that (tight end) Lawrence Cager was having one of the best offseasons, I think?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, it was in OTAs.

Q: Now he's scored touchdowns here in the last couple days. What was it exactly that he did this offseason or what did you notice that made you say that?

BRIAN DABOLL: He's playing faster. I think he's absorbed what he needs to do in terms of understanding all the play calls, the nuances, experience in the system, and I think (Tight Ends Coach) Tim Kelly has done a great job. He's added a lot to our staff in a lot of different areas, but he's a heck of a tight end coach.

Q: You were pretty impressed with (wide receiver) Malik's (Nabers) dawg mentality when you watched him on film at LSU. I guess you saw some of that yesterday in the 1-on-1's against (cornerback) Tae (Deonte Banks)?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I've seen it every day I've been around him. His mentality is the mentality you need to have. He's humble, but he works extremely hard. We've moved him in a lot of places. I'd say for a young receiver, a lot of times you put [them] at one spot. So, it's a credit to him and the amount of work that he puts in. He knows he's got a long way to go. It's just a couple practices, but obviously we thought he was a good player where we selected him. I told you I love the person. I love his competitive desire, his will, his grit, if you will. But he knows he's two days in. He's had an OTAs. He's not where he wants to be. No one is, not anyone on our roster, not any coach, but he's got the right mindset.

Q: How do you keep that channeled productively so that he doesn't go off the rails, so to speak?

BRIAN DABOLL: I just think that's who he is. He's competitive. He wants to do well, and he's willing to do anything he can do to be as good as he can be. He knows he hasn't played in the league. There's going to be some rough spots, whenever those come up, and we're here for him. He's here for us. We communicate. We work well together, but I don't want to let him lose who he is. Be who you are.

Q: (Inside linebacker) (Micah) McFadden and (tight end) (Jack) Stoll, are those guys you are keeping dialed back a little because of what they were dealing with in the spring?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, there's a few of those guys that we're just, in terms of the ramp-up period the first few days of training camp. I'd say, (Executive Director of Player Performance) Aaron Wellman, (Head Athletic Trainer) Ronnie Barnes do a really good job of individualizing all the plans for each player. It's not: everybody's the same. So, we have a plan for a number of players leading up here into the first few days and then going into the next week. Those would be two guys.

Q: Brian, a lot of times in free agency, you have to rely on your scouts and tape for a guy you're not familiar with. You do not do that with (running back) Motor (Devin Singletary), obviously. What is it about him as a guy and as a player that, if the (running back) Saquon (Barkley) is not here, that's the guy we want?

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, I was with him for all those years. He has very good discipline. He has the right attitude. He's got tremendous will and got a lot of grit to him. He does what he's supposed to do when he's supposed to do it. There's the dependability factor. Good communicator. He's a very good leader in the running back room. He's been around some good ones ahead of him, around Frank Gore, who's one of the best to do it at running back. He's not over-the-top loud, but I'd say he's respected by the people in the locker room. He'll do a good job for us.

Q: How about (safety) Jason Pinnock in the role that maybe is a little bit bigger for him now, given the room?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, another guy we got and kind of groomed him. I give him a lot of credit. Great attitude. Athletic. Can do some different things, playing a deep part of the field. He's extremely athletic, gifted, explosive, fast, and it's a new system, but he's picking it up well, and I expect him to play well.

Q: What initially stood out to you about (wide receiver) (Allen) Robinson?

BRIAN DABOLL: Veteran. He's played for a long time, so he knows how to be a pro. I think he's done a good job on the field physically, but I also think he adds an element of leadership in the room with some younger receivers. Some experience. There's times, it was yesterday, we were watching a one-on-one clip, and it wasn't even (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers), but it was another receiver, and I'm watching it, going through it, making some corrections, and he spoke up. He said, 'Hey, (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll), can you rewind that and just pause it for a minute?' He sat there for 30 seconds and just had a private conversation with Malik on a certain technique that he saw. So, when you can get some veterans in the room, whether it's the receiver room, defensive line room, running back room, that know what it looks like, knows how to be a pro, that helps.

Q: How do you work the balance of that? You've got a guy who is now 30 years old, he's battled injuries and he's coming here running with the third-team in camp. You obviously have guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Young receivers, you spent a lot of capital on them. Do you kind of have to watch and make sure he feels like he's a big part of this or still a part of this and he's not just being used as a leader?

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, I think you hit that head on. I had a conversation with him when we were first talking about bringing him in and you cover that because I don't want players coming in here expecting one thing and it's totally different. So, they have to understand what it looks like and what I see it as, the expectation, is it a good fit for you, too, and that you want to be part of it. I laid it on the line with him. This is what it was. If you have any questions, I'll be as truthful as I can to you and then make that decision. If it works good for you and works good for us, then it's a good partnership.

Q: We know (wide receiver) (Jalin) Hyatt can get down the field. We saw that yesterday that he can present that vertical threat. What do you want to see from him to take his game to the next level?

BRIAN DABOLL: Him and (Wide Receivers Coach) Mike Groh, I tell you, Mike has done a fantastic job here these last two years. He meets all the time with Hyatt. And Hyatt has really improved since he's been here. It's a different system than he came from, which is for most people. But he has put a lot of time, effort, and energy into improving his craft. And it shows up. He might not get the ball in certain things, but his routes, his understanding, his play speed. You can be fast, but sometimes not play fast when there's a lot of things going on and he has really improved in that area. Had a really good OTAs. And I like the receiver room we have. Hyatt's been good. (Wide receiver) (Darius) Slayton has had a good camp these first two days. (Wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson), (wide receiver) Leek (Malik Nabers), and even the guys in the back. We talked about (wide receiver) Rob (Allen Robinson), (wide receiever) Isaiah (Hodgins). There's good competition and look forward to seeing how it unfolds.

Q: Are there any guys who practiced yesterday that aren't going today for any reason?

BRIAN DABOLL: (Defensive lineman) Timmy Horne will not be out there. He has a little calf.

Wide Receiver Malik Nabers

Q: You had some interesting 1-on-1s with (Cornerback) Tae (Deonte Banks), talk about that, can you the competition, trash talking, all that?

MALIK NABERS: It's just the mentality that we want to bring to practice. I want to go against him, he wants to go against me. So, we're just trying to make each other better, and by doing that it's going against each other every day.

Q: What do you see from the guys you're working with within your group, your receivers, if you put your scouting hat on and said, 'hey, we got this guy, this guy, and that guy'?

MALIK NABERS: We're building chemistry right now, trying to get everybody in groove. Seeing where we want to put everybody in the offense, but we're coming along, we're coming along. Which is fine.

Q: There was a play where you kind of dragged across the field earlier in practice. Give me your take on that and what you saw there.

MALIK NABERS: (Cornerback) Flott (Cor'Dale Flott) made a good play recovering. It's just what practice is for. Me and Flott, since LSU days, we're going to compete, so just got to hit those next time. I'm going to try my best to make those plays when I'm out there. Flott made a hell of a play on the ball.

Q: How about that long reception from D.J. (Daniel Jones), what was that feeling like? And over (Tae) Banks who kind of beat you in coverage earlier?

MALIK NABERS: It's a great feeling. Dabs (Head Coach Brian Daboll) asked me what play I wanted to call, and I said, well, let's throw a go ball. And Daniel came up to me, like, what do you want, you want to check out of the press? I said, nah. I said, off press, just throw it up. He was like I got you. The chemistry showed.

Q: How often in college did they ask you what play you wanted to call?

MALIK NABERS: It was a lot of times. Most of the times, it was just (Commanders Quarterback) Jayden (Daniels) getting what calls he wanted.

Q: How does that make you feel? Third training camp practice, and the head coach (Brian Daboll) is coming to you and asking you what play you want to call?

MALIK NABERS: It shows how much trust he has to give me the ball in open space or just let me run any route I want. So, to have that, as a head coach that's got trust in you when you come into the third day of training camp, they try to understand how good of a player I am. For him to just ask me what kind of play I want and for him to call it, it shows how much trust he has in me.

Q: I saw that yesterday also, it seemed like, in between series, he called you and Daniel (Jones) over then the next two plays went right to you. What do you make of that, like the fact that they want to get you the ball consistently, right, and that seems to be something that they're going to be scheming up plays for you throughout this year?

MALIK NABERS: Like I said, it shows how much trust they have in me, wanting to give me the ball in open space and let me be me. When we came over to the side, they just wanted to clarify how I was going to run this route just before the play, how Daniel can see it out of his eyes, so I don't do something that he's not used to me doing. So just staying on track.

Q: A lot of rookies come to camp and there's always a lingering question in the back of their mind, saying, can I make the next level, the next jump? Did you ever have that, or have you answered that already?

MALIK NABERS: Like you said, all rookies do that. I had my moment. I'm not sure if everybody does, but I had mine, just what I react to the league, these older guys and I'm a rookie. Coming in at a younger age, so just how I can adapt. I had the same thing going into college. I had the same thing going into high school. It's just something that you go through as you improve. But as I keep on every day at practice just gaining confidence going against those guys like (Deonte) D-Banks and Flott and going against the defense with (Outside Linebacker Brian) Burns and it just creates a confidence in me. So going out there, just being me.

Q: You said you had a moment, was there a specific moment or you just mean like the moment in general?

MALIK NABERS: No, it was just the moment in general. You're thinking training camp (is) coming, you've been hearing about training camp for a long time, since I've been in college. Training camp, you know, they show a lot of videos. So just having that thought of just how it is going to be different than college. How I can adapt as quick as possible. And that was just all trying to get my mind around just adapting as quickly as possible.

Q: How much have you seen of Hard Knocks?

MALIK NABERS: I haven't seen really any episodes. I don't like really waiting for episodes to come out, so I want to wait and just watch it all in a day where I can just sit down and chill.

Q: Have you seen the clips though? I mean, there's a bunch of clips of you and they're (Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll) talking a lot about you, saying we love the dog in him, that's what we like about him. What's your reaction when you do hear that?

MALIK NABERS: No, I've never seen any clips from Hard Knocks. I hear about it, they come up to me all the time, ask me about it. I've never seen anything. My friends always ask me about it too. I haven't seen any episodes about it though.

Q: Have you heard, you weren't in the room for this part, but when after your visit, you were in with (Cardinals Wide Receiver) Marvin (Harrison) and (Bears Wide Reciever) Rome (Odunze). (Wide Receivers Coach) Mike Groh goes into Joe's office and says, I would take Nabers over Marvin Harrison. Have you heard about that?

MALIK NABERS: No, I've never seen that.

Q: Okay, so what's your reaction to that? Has he told you that?

MALIK NABERS: I believe he was trying to tell me that yesterday, I was walking out to practice, and he was like, 'have you seen the episode?' I was like, 'no, I don't know what you're talking about.' He was like, 'you've got to watch it.' He tapped me on my shoulder and laughed.

Q: Now hearing about it, what do you think about that? Because a lot of people thought Marv was…

MALIK NABERS: Groh's my guy. I guess when he watched my film, he saw how much athleticism that I have, getting a ball in open space and I could be a great guy in this receiver room. So, to have that person in my receiver coach that trusts me before he even got me here, you know, sky's the limit for me.

Q: Spoiler alert. They do pick you. I know you haven't seen it yet, but at the end, I think they pick you.

MALIK NABERS: Yeah (Laughs).

Q: One of the things that they're saying is that you have that dog in you, you have that attitude, that intense competitiveness, but there's also a fine line and at times you have to corral that, right? And you have to use it and do it in a productive way. How much do you keep that in mind? Is it something that you're cognizant of or is it something that you're trying to be you and if it happens to come out?

MALIK NABERS: No, it's something that I have to pipe down a little bit. Sometimes I might talk to myself, and I might go talk to Jaylin (Hyatt) and they'd be like either don't show it or just 'next play.' Cause you know, half of the time, sometimes I might miss a ball. It might be overthrown. I didn't look at it right. And I'd be like, damn, I missed that. And they might just get over, get over, get over. But how I am, how my dog is like, I could have made that play. And sometimes I want to go back in time and try to see if I can catch that kind of ball, but it's the next play mentality. So, that's one of them. And just probably, I think you're talking about when I don't get the ball, I had to key that in college. That's just how it is. That's how receivers are.

Q: What are your next steps in these coming days in camp? What's your checklist? Like I want to get these specific things done.

MALIK NABERS: Probably say maintaining my health, maintaining my body. Being out here as healthy as possible. Being that guy that is enthusiastic to the team. Getting everybody ready, coming out here, being the person that I am. Get my receivers ready to come out and practice, leading by example. So, all of those things are on my list of just staying, every day I come out to camp and just keep that same mentality.

Guard Jon Runyan Jr.

Q: Can you talk about the chemistry developing with (offensive tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor)?

JON RUNYAN: Yeah, the whole O-line. That's what training camp is for right here. Long days, probably about 12, 13, 14-hour days. You got to make light of stuff going on and be able to find out who everybody is, what they're about. There's nothing else to do besides work together, talk together, hang out and chemistry is really coming along. It's a really light group, but also when it's time to work, it's time to work and put our head down and we get to it. It has been a great first week of practice and being here around the building, seeing everybody around and excited for what we got going ahead. We still got over a month left before the regular season starts, but enjoying this process right now in training camp, everybody working to get better.

Q: I'm sure you weren't expecting to be one of the stars of Hard Knocks, but your agent conversation with the Giants that you were going to go to the Jets, if it was tied. Can you just walk us through that decision and obviously the Jets and Giants are rivals. Why were you going to go there? Was it really money that made you come here, that extra million dollars?

JON RUNYAN: Yeah, good question. Going through this process, I was trying to figure out what teams were interested, and obviously both the Jets and Giants had offensive line needs at the time and came down to it. I've got a really relationship with Coach (Nathaniel) Hackett over there, the OC and obviously I played with (Jets quarterback) Aaron (Rodgers) for three years and they have a lot of other Green Bay guys over there. So I kind of felt comfortable and I really thought that the Jets were going to kind of be at the forefront of that. And they came in, made an offer. In the end it all worked out, the money's the money, whatever. But I really believe in, you know, what (General Manager) Joe (Schoen) and (Asisstant General Manager) Brandon (Brown) and what (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) and (Offensive Line Coach) Carm (Carmen Bricillo) and everybody else in the building is building here. I like how this team is built from top to bottom on the offensive side of the ball, especially we have playmakers all around. The O-line is going to be really solid. I firmly believe that. And we just got to give our quarterback time there to make plays. And other than that, it's going to be really exciting.

Q: It's interesting to me because that team, at least from the outside, is closer to winning a Super Bowl. Obviously they have (Jets quarterback) Aaron Rodgers et cetera. So, winning wise, they would be closer. But here, you're part of building something and you're certainly a more important piece here. Talk about that factor.

JON RUNYAN: I'm not going to say anything about the Jets organization. You could say that they are built for right now mode, to go win a Super Bowl this year. But I firmly believe in how this franchise here is built. I think they're building not just for this year. I think they're building for the next four or five years. So, that's what really excited me about it. The fact that I come here, I feel really wanted here and welcome. It's been amazing here. I've been really enjoying this organization and the people in it, especially.

Q: You guys are unique in terms of how, like the secondary, where it's five guys or four guys working as one. How do you build that communication amongst a group to where you all are seeing and speaking the same language out there on the field?

JON RUNYAN: It's kind of twofold. It's the reps you get together and how many reps you can build together as an offensive line and how valuable that communication is when you're in the huddle and then on the line of scrimmage when the picture is changing, being able to communicate with that. It starts in the film room and being in there in the film room and paying attention, even though those are some long two-hour meetings, sometimes. Being on the same page. Understanding how (quarterback) DJ (Daniel Jones) sees the defense, understanding how (center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) is going to identify it and then the guards and tackles being able to communicate with each other should get everybody on the same page. But it's a full team effort, all those five guys there. DJ has to know what we're doing and so do the backs and even sometimes the tight end. So, it's just a lot of film work, a lot of reps together and being able to build that trust and it needs to start now. I really like how these first three days of camp have gone so far. I feel like we left off right where we started in OTAs. And it's been really inspiring.

Q: What have your first impressions of (running back) Devin Singletary been? Everybody calls him Motor, have you gotten that 'Motor' impression from him?

JON RUNYAN: Yeah. You see it every day with him. He's a true professional. He does everything right. There hasn't been one play where there's just kind of any lapse in anything. He's 100 percent committed. He does everything right, all the techniques. He's full go until the echo of the whistle and he's really exciting to have back there. You know how slippery he is in space. He's just a technician. He's going to be in the right spot all the time and he's going to hit the right hole. He's going to be downhill. I think we're all really excited to have him in the offense. I'm excited to have him run behind me and make me and the other four guys look really good. That's always really important when a running back can do that.

Q: (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) pretty much told us that (offensive tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor) would be back on Sunday and, surprise surprise, he was out there today. Did that catch you off guard?

JON RUNYAN: I know Jermaine's going through that little bruise that he got from Dexter's shoulder. That would definitely hurt taking a large man's shoulder right into your ribcage and you can tell he's in a lot of pain, but he's out there and he wants to be out there. Moving over to tackle, I feel like that's really his natural position. He just wants to get on the field. It doesn't matter where he's going to play. It's good to have him out there. It says a lot about a player when he goes out there and you can tell that he's fighting through pain. He's out there trying to better himself to better the team. I think guys take note of that. It was awesome having him back out there today.

Q: Was there any talk, when he (Jermaine Eluemunor) went over to right tackle, of you going over to left guard or once you stay at right guide, you want to be there?

JON RUNYAN: As of right now, no. The whole flip-flopping thing is tough going from one side to the other, left to right. So, trying to build some cohesion with whatever side you're going on. It's tough going from left side to right side. Your whole body has to change. Everything's just reflected and your whole eyes and feet and hands is all different. It's nice being able to stick on one side and who knows, we'll see.

Q: How much have you talked to (offensive tackle) Evan Neal? From talking to him or communicating with him, what do you think he is capable of coming off this kind of injury and long rehab process?

JON RUNYAN: Yeah, it's tough. Evan's been in a tough situation and it's not his fault. Sometimes stuff just happens like that. I see him in here every day. He's working. He's with the strength staff all the time. I see him in the training room. He's battling to get back. He's doing what he can, as much as he can. Sometimes the body doesn't always respond exactly how you want, but he's in there and he's in the meeting room. He's asking questions. He's paying attention. It's an excellent team meeting room. He's always asking questions and being on top of his stuff and going back or going over plays, the install, and kind of see Evan running through whatever play we're installing there. He's a great athlete, for how large he is, how well he can move. I know when he comes back, he's locked in, and he'll be ready. And when he gets healthy, it's going to be fun having him back out there.

Q: What is it like going against (defensive lineman) Dex (Dexter Lawrence) every day in practice? You used to go against a real good one in (Packers defensive tackle) Kenny Clark.

JON RUNYAN: Yeah. I thought going against Dexter twice in four years was enough and now I got to deal with it every day. It's good. It's only going to make you better. You know, like they say, iron sharpens iron. If you're lacked on any technique, your hands miss, or you're too high, he's going to expose you immediately. So, every single play with him, you got to ring a hundred percent and you got to be locked in and focused. It's only going to make me and everybody else better being able to go against somebody like that. One of the best D-tackles in the NFL. I think he has capability, one of being the best of all-time. He moves so well for being whatever weight he's at and how big he is. It's just really awesome being able to work together with him and make each other better and build this offensive and defensive line, because I feel like that's going to be the heartbeat of this team, how well we control the line of scrimmage. Being able to work with him is a real blessing.

Q: What is your center experience? We saw, going back to Hard Knocks, (Offensive Line Coach) Carmen Bricillo said that you might get to be a backup center, emergency center type.

JON RUNYAN: I played center in the preseason with the Packers. I think once or twice, maybe about two or three quarters. I practiced it a lot. My whole rookie year, I was a scout team center. I've always been able to snap. Getting out there in the game, I've always been, kind of, the emergency center whenever we need that. I always think of myself more of a guard, but if I'm needed there in center, I feel comfortable enough and pre-practice, I'm out there taking center quarterback exchange. So, it's something I feel comfortable with. This is just part of being an NFL player, especially on the interior, being able to play left, right and center. It's kind of like being a swing tackle. That's kind of like the expectation when you're a young guy being the league, being an interior guy, being able to snap. It is something that's just always stuck with me. I feel like it's just a good trait to have and keep it in the back pocket.

Q: What do you see from, since you've had that center experience, what do you see from (center) JMS (John Michael Schmitz Jr.) and how he's come back after his rookie year?

JON RUNYAN: I praise J.M.S a lot. I say it all the time, you wouldn't believe that he's a second-year player. So smart. He's on top of all this stuff. He gets everybody up front on the same page, immediately. There's no hesitation in any of the ways that he identifies the defense. As soon as you put your hand down, you know what you're doing. He gets everybody set. He's just so strong on the inside and being able to battle against (defensive lineman) Dexter (Lawrence) every day, is just going to make him so much better. I know it's going to be a little rough here and there in practice, but it's going to make such a difference for him in the game and really excited for what he's got going and how much he helps make this offense go.