Giants players voted Daniel Jones, Xavier McKinney, 8 others as team captains

The New York Giants have set their initial 53-man roster for the 2022 season.

Head coach Brian Daboll spoke to the media before the team’s 1pm practice on Tuesday, and he made a point of announcing the team’s captains as a part of his remarks. The Giants will have 10 team captains this year, with three each representing the offense, defense, and special teams. Safety Julian Love was named a hybrid captain representing the defense and special teams.

The team captains were voted on by the players themselves.

Daboll said he will have weekly meetings with the captains, whom he called “the voice of the locker room.”

Offense

• Daniel Jones
• Saquon Barkley
• Andrew Thomas

There aren’t really any surprises here. Last year the Giants voted OL Nick Gates a team captain, but this year that honor falls to left tackle Andrew Thomas. Thomas has improved remarkably since entering the league and it seems this is his offensive line now.

Defense

• Xavier McKinney
• Leonard Williams
• Dexter Lawrence II

We should probably start saying that McKinney is the leader of the Giants’ defense. Not only did he inherit the green dot (and mic that comes with it) from Blake Martinez, he has also inherited the captaincy.

Special Teams

• Casey Kreiter
• Graham Gano
• Cam Brown

No real surprises here, considering these are the Giants three best special teams players.

Defense/Special Teams

• Julian Love

Love has done everything asked of him by the Giants since he was drafted back in 2019. It’s great that he’s gotten this recognition from his teammates for his leadership and versatility. This is definitely an unusual designation, but Love has earned it.