Giant
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- Mar 19, 2019
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USA TODAY Sports
The pandemic wiped out the Scouting Combine, along with visits to teams and private workouts. For plenty of players drafted or signed after the draft ended, their new coaches saw them up close and personal for the first time at rookie minicamps.
“The first time seeing a guy in practice is bizarre, because even our meetings are virtual,” Giants coach Joe Judge said Monday, via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
Judge shared a practice-field conversation he had with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham regarding the new players.
“That guy is bigger than we thought he was going to be; that guy has thicker legs than we thought they were going to be,” Judge told Graham.
“I was one of them,” said linebacker Azeez Ojulari, the team’s second-round pick. “I never met [Judge] before, face-to-face. It was great. You know, just got to finally meet the head coach, the one that runs the show. It was a great opportunity for me to meet him. I’m happy to be here with him and I’m ready to work with him.”
The Giants had only 45 players present for the first day of Phase Two, with roughly 25 of them being veterans. While Judge surely would prefer to have more veterans in the building, it gave him even more of a chance to eyeball the rookies.