The newest Giants cornerback wasn’t shy about what he plans to bring to the Giants defense
Newest New York Giants cornerback Paulson Adebo met with the media on Thursday for the first time since officially inking his new three-year, $54 million contract. He took on the expected gambit of questions, ranging from how he’s been progressing in his rehab from a broken femur, his thoughts on the current state of the Giants defense, and what he plans to bring to his new team.
Here are a few quick highlights from his time at the podium on Thursday:
On how he sees himself fitting into the Giants’ scheme
“I feel like I can play man or zone. In New Orleans we did play a lot of man, bump-and-run coverage. But I feel comfortable playing in a zone scheme. Did that in college a lot. I really feel good either way.”
On if he would agree with the description that he is a ‘ballhawk’
“Yeah, I think for me catching interceptions, making plays on the ball is very important to be able to give the offense the ball back. That’s something I definitely pride myself on, something I really practiced as far as getting my head around, even catching jugs in practice, trying to catch as many balls as possible. I just know how impactful that can be for a team to help the team with.”
On how he is recovering from his broken femur
“I’m doing really good, been running, sprinting, changing directions, doing everything and really practicing to be able to be ready when the activities start.”
“Just putting out videos and communicating between my training staff and the different teams and stuff. But I felt really comfortable. Obviously, I feel like I’ve been in a good spot for the past couple of months really, so I wasn’t really too worried about that causing any disruptions.”
On Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke, whom he played with at Stanford
“It’s really good. Bobby was like my OG when I came in at Stanford. We’ve got a real good relationship. We hang out. We talk football. Talk about ways to better ourselves on the field. That was a good relationship for me to have coming into this organization.”
On his feelings about being the elder statesman in the cornerback room
“I think any time you can come in and bring experience, that’s great. I have some experience. So, if there’s something that I know, I’ll be very willing to be able to share that knowledge and share that wisdom and at the same time being willing to learn. Coming into a new organization, seeing how things are done and adapt accordingly.”
On how he felt as the Saints’ CB1 in 2024
“Honestly, I feel like there’s two corners on the field, obviously. We get into the CB-1 role but it’s just really winning your matchup. You know what I mean? I feel like I’ve always had that mentality to win the matchup regardless of who I’m lined up against. We didn’t travel, necessarily, all the time in New Orleans. So, a lot of times you do end up on the No. 1 guy. You just have to produce. In different schemes, maybe where it’s like there’s always one person following, probably bigger in that. But myself, I view myself as being able to go up against anybody.”
