Springtime has a funny way of softening edges around the NFL. Even here in East Rutherford, where expectations for the upcoming season are practically subterranean, it is possible to watch a mid-June Giants workout and see something other than a gasoline-coated pile of tires awaiting the inevitable lit match.
The defense looks fast and aggressive. The receivers look surehanded and reliable. The sound bytes are happy and hopeful — heck, even ones from the always quotable Jameis Winston feel downright profound.
“The toughest way to experience something is through experience,” the veteran quarterback said at one point on Tuesday afternoon. As someone who has had to experience the Giants offense through experience the last few years, the man has a point.
It is beyond silly to reach any conclusions whatsoever when the flowers are blooming and the entire league is undefeated, but, well, we have to talk about something for the next three months. And so, with that important disclaimer in mind, I offer a bit of springtime optimism for your consideration after watching the team’s OTA on Tuesday:
What if Russell Wilson is ... good?
Not elite, mind you. No one expects the 36-year-old version of Wilson, who is entering his 14th NFL season, to become the quarterback who led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl in 2014. This includes the Giants, who tried to get two other aging passers — first Matthew Stafford, then Aaron Rodgers — before settling on Wilson as their Plan C this offseason.
Wilson lost his final five games last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that came one year after the Denver Broncos swallowed a record $85-million cap hit just to get rid of him. He was sitting atop the quarterback scrap heap for a reason.
But it wouldn’t take much for Wilson to be an upgrade, maybe even a significant one, over what the Giants have had at the position the past few autumns from Daniel Jones and other assorted quarterback misfits. Wilson completed 65 percent of his passes with 42 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions over the last two seasons. Again, that isn’t about to get the Giants that fifth Lombardi Trophy, but the bar for this offense is on the ground.
If Wilson is something approaching good, maybe the Giants can scratch out a few early wins against their brutal schedule. Maybe an improved defense — and, with the way top draft pick Abdul Carter has looked rushing the passer so far, there is real hope that unit will be more than merely good — will keep the team in contention longer than anyone expects.
If that happens, rookie Jaxson Dart can stay on the bench where he belongs as he learns on the job. If that happens, the head coach/general manager tandem of Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen might make it through another season without their security badges being disabled. If that happens, John Mara’s Giants finally will start to resemble a functional franchise again.
This much we can say with no equivocation: Wilson has plenty riding on his 5-foot-10 frame.
“I know what I’m capable of every day. I never lack confidence,” he said.
He has passed the eye test so far at practice. On Tuesday, he looked in command of Daboll’s offense, tossing a gorgeous pass to the corner of the end zone to tight end Theo Johnson and setting off a raucous celebration from his offensive teammates. It is easy for outsiders to forget that Wilson is arguably the second-most accomplished quarterback to slip on the Giants uniform, but the current players are responding to him that way.
“He’s that guy,” defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “He’s the guy that you’ve always seen. I think he has a great opportunity to lead us, and he’s been doing that and I’m confident in him.”
Wilson signed a one-year deal worth $10 million this winter, and if he struggles in September, the calls for Dart to replace him might end up flying over MetLife Stadium on the back of a propeller plane. Dart, who looks to have supplanted Winston as the team’s clear No. 2, is the future.
The longer the Giants can put that day off, though, the more prepared Dart will be to take over. That’s where Wilson can make the biggest impact for the franchise — and for the head coach and GM who brought him here — over the next few months.
On Caesars, The Giants regular season over/under wins line is set at 5.5 games. Our complete list of New Jersey sportsbook promos will help you determine which sportsbook to use. For all of the the best Giants futures bets, make sure to check out our in-depth expert takes.
“The opportunity here is so great,” Wilson said on a podcast recently. “I don’t mind the lights. I don’t mind that part of it. I think the other part of it for me is, I’ve been here before.”
He was talking, specifically, about MetLife Stadium, which is where he led the Seahawks to victory in Super Bowl XLVIII. He is using the same locker as he did back then, a reminder of the heights that he has climbed in a professional career that might end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday.
“What we’ve seen from Russ since he entered this football league — a pure leader, a playmaker, and just a true pro,” Winston said.
Is it too much to expect that Wilson can channel a fraction of his former greatness in New Jersey this fall? Maybe. For now, it’s still springtime, so there’s no harm in imagining what’s possible if he does.
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Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.