Jaylon Smith Feeling at Home with Giants

For some, being signed to a new football team on a Friday only to be put out on the field 48 hours later might be beyond overwhelming.

But not to linebacker Jaylon Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys second-round pick who found himself in that very same scenario when he was just finishing up a workout in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana only to find he had a call from his agent saying the Giants wanted him to hop a plane stat to sign with them.

Forty-eight hours later, Smith was on the field for the Giants in their sub packages. He played in 17 snaps, and recorded 4 tackles and two stops, an impressive Giants debut considering the circumstances.

“I thought Jaylon got in the game yesterday and obviously had about four to six hours of coaching to get him ready for the game. Had a walk-through with the defense” said head coach Joe Judge.

“I really liked the way this guy responded, and he’s been a pleasure to coach in the short window we’ve had. He went out there, he played fast, he’s able to go ahead and get his hat on a few people to make some plays.”

“I’m a pro's pro, a guy that's always going to be prepared and ready for the opportunity, so that's really what it was,” Smith said Thursday after practice. “I've been playing this game since I was seven years old, so getting in here learning the system. The coaches are doing a great job at giving me the basics and allowing me to go out and just play my game.”

Smith was seen on the Giants sideline with the defensive coaches constantly in his ear, giving him a crash course on the team's defense. Fortunately for him, his prior experience in the league was a benefit.

“With this being my sixth year in the league, I've been in a few systems now, so you kind of understand as time goes on that teams are running the same stuff,” he said. “It’s just different terminology, different formats, different ways to execute, and it's all about consistency. For me, it's just taking it day-by-day and learning.”

Despite his positive showing, he feels there’s still more for him to show.

“There's so much more to improve, and that's the focus this week, getting the playbook all the way down and getting ready to get after the Eagles this weekend,” he said.

Smith, whose brother Rod, a running back, was with the Giants in 2019, decided to pick up jersey No. 45 for his stay with the Giants, the same number worn by his brother.

“It’s a blessing being able to my brother’s jersey,” said Smith, who picked his brother’s brain for some intel about the Giants organization and culture before signing with the team.

Smith who has overcome adversity before—he tore his ACL and MCL in the Fiesta Bowl while at Notre Dame which sent his draft stock plummeting—ended up losing his roster spot on the Cowboys as he slid down the team’s depth chart.

The Packers picked him up, but almost as quickly as he was in the door, he was cast back out on the street before the Giants came calling.

Now that he’s with the Giants, Smith hopes to stick around for a while.

“It's a humbling experience. It’s my first year really dealing with the politics and business side of the National Football League, but I'm a guy that I’ve been through so much, nothing can stop me,” he said.

“I'm a guy that's going to continue to work, continue to learn. Just a humble servant. But a guy that's young and got a lot of ball left playing at a high level. It was a blessing to be able to show that versus the team that drafted me last weekend. Now, it's just about moving forward.”

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