Giants’ Logan Ryan vouched for Adoree’ Jackson because “I know how much he cares”

Logan Ryan, a three-year teammate of Adoree’ Jackson with the Tennessee Titans, was a key part of the New York Giants’ successful recruiting of Jackson as a free agent. Thursday on Sirius XM NFL Radio he told co-hosts Lance Medow and Bruce Gradkowski why he used his influence to sell the Giants on Jackson.

“I vouched for him because I know the talent he has, I know how much football he has left in him and I know how much he cares and wants to be a football player,” Ryan, who played with Jackson in Tennessee from 2017-19, said.

“It takes your peers to know your heart. It takes your peers to know your competitiveness. It takes your peers to know how much film you’re watching, if you’re watching four hours of film every night so the next game you know all their routes, doesn’t matter how fast you run.

“I know all those things about these players that I’ve played with and I’ve been in the locker room with and you build those bonds with. So I know what Adoree Jackson’s willing to do to be great, and how to pull that out of him.”

Ryan flew into New Jersey to have dinner with Jackson the night before the cornerback met with Giants’ decision-makers.

“I just tried to be the bridge to let him know that he’ll be needed, and we want him, and I’d love to play with him again,” Ryan said of what he told Jackson.

Ryan, though, didn’t want to take credit for Jackson deciding to cancel a scheduled visit with the Philadelphia Eagles and join the Giants on a three-year, $39 million contract.

“That offer helped too, that offer was pretty influential,” Ryan said. “That money will never steer you wrong.”

With Jackson, Kenny Golladay, the return of Leonard Williams and several other smaller signings, the Giants have excited the fan base and raised expectations for the 2021 season. During his appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Ryan sought to add a dose of reality.

“We’re going to manage expectations. I’m not going to get any bold predictions and get me on the bulletin board of Joe Judge or anything like that. But, secondary-wise, myself, we’ll be extremely confident,” Ryan said.

“I’m just going to speak on the secondary. We have great talent. We know we have talented players and we have confident players, and I think you have to be confident to play defensively in the NFL. But at the same time you’ve got to put it all together. We’re going to need the practices, we’re going to need some of the games to piece that puzzle together.”

Ryan did, though, indicate that he understands why the Giants are suddenly drawing attention.

“You obviously are telling the fans, you’re telling the locker room that our upper management is trying to win, they’re trying to pay to bring in talented players. That’s a sign of saying, hey, we’re being aggressive, we want to put a winning product on the field and we’re willing to get the players to help you guys do that. Now it’s up to us, the players, to figure that out and make that work,” Ryan said.

“It’s always a good sign when you see your team trying to win.”

Ryan came to the Giants last season as a free agent, and signed a three-year deal of his own near the end of last season. Ryan admitted that Giants head coach Joe Judge was a big part of the decision to forego free agency and stay with the Giants.

“Joe Judge speaks my language, man. I was in New England with him. Winning is very important to me. Playing the game the right way is very important to me, and I’ve been fortunate to be in locker rooms for the majority of my career where guys care about ball,” Ryan said.

“There two types of NFL players. There’s guys who are professionals and guys that just like the lifestyle that comes with it. Joe likes guys that love practice, that love to play the game, that love to learn, love the challenge and I felt like I was a great fit there and obviously New York offered me an opportunity to stay and I chose to stay instead of see what free agency’s about and I felt like that was the best decision for me.”

Ryan added that Judge is “just a real dude.”

“He’s a genuine person. His standards are fair throughout and any good coach is a good leader in the room, they command the respect, they’re understanding, they listen and they also make sure that the expectations are out there so if they’re met or not met you know to be held accountable,’ ryan said.

“He’s very fair, he’s very hard-working and you want to work hard for the guy.”