Giants Defensive Lineman Jordon Riley Makes Confident Declaration
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Like any rookie partaking in his first NFL action, New York Giants defensive lineman Jordon Riley had the jitters.
But in having benefitted from a couple of joint practices with the Detroit Lions, Riley, the first of the Giants' two seventh-round draft picks, soon found the game slowing down for him as he established a comfort level.
"Yeah, it was a lot of excitement, a lot of jitters, but I think being in those joint practices kind of helped out," Riley said after Monday's practice.
"It kind of slowed the game down, you know, once game time came. And then just the coaching, like taking in all the coaching from the vets and Coach Dre (defensive line coach Andre Patterson), Coach Cox, it just helped."
Initially, not much was expected from Riley, who began his collegiate football career at North Carolina in 2017, where he appeared in five games and recorded six tackles.
After redshirting the following year, Riley transferred to Garden City Community College, appearing in nine games and producing 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks in 2019.
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In 2020 he was on the move again, this time to Nebraska, where he played six games in his first season and then ten games the following year, where he was named to the conference all-academic team.
Riley's final stop in his college odyssey brought him to Oregon, where he started 13 games and recorded 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack in 2022.
That might sound like a lot of moving around, but it taught Riley something very valuable about himself.
"What I learned most is how to battle adversity," he said. "No matter where you end up, it's pushing through toward the end goal, never looking back, and trying to move forward."
That lesson helped Riley get drafted. The Giants took a flier on him in the seventh round, impressed by his length and his bend. And while usually not much is expected from a late-Day 3 draft pick, Riley, who has played most of his snaps at nose tackle, has been quietly taking advantage of the opportunities that have come as a result of guys ahead of him being injured.
"I think he’s made steady improvement," head coach Brian Daboll said. "He’s come along slowly; he’s improved every day since he has been here. Thought he showed out well for himself. He’s in a good spot relative to the room he’s in and the people that he can learn from. He’s got the right mindset."
Despite playing an unglamorous position, Riley has fully embraced it for one reason alone.
"Man, I just love playing to run," he said, his face lighting up. "I love stopping to run and doing the dirty work. I know plays are gonna come to me, with the scheme of the defense and doing my job the correct way. Just have to be patient."
And with him being in a veteran room that includes Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, A'Shawn Robinson, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Riley considers himself blessed to be surrounded by such all-star talent.
"I know I belong here," he said. "I'm here for a reason, or they wouldn't have drafted me. But just seeing all this talent and how we can piece it together is exciting and special, and I look forward to it every day."
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