Kenny Golladay Not Worried About Slow Start to Giants Training Camp

After three practices, Giants top receiver Kenny Golladay isn't off to a blazing start, but Giants head coach Joe Judge isn't worried that Golladay won't be ready for the season.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Jul 31, 2021 10:49 AM EDT

Giants receiver Kenny Golladay isn’t worried about his sluggish start to his first training camp with New York.

Nor should he be, at least not yet.

“It’s day three,” he said Friday. “We’ve got a lot of training camp left, a lot of ball left. I’m out there just trying to get better each and every day.”

He certainly is, and one thing Golladay has faithfully done dating back to the spring is that he takes advantage of every opportunity that comes up to work on his timing and rhythm with quarterback Daniel Jones.

Whether it’s staying after practice to run some routes or taking advantage of downtime when special teams are on the field, Golladay knows that much is being expected of him in the team’s offense after it invested a four-year, $72 million contract in him.

Golladay and Jones haven’t exactly had to start from scratch in building chemistry since training camp opened; instead, they’re looking to build on it.

“Exactly, pretty much so it can just be like clockwork,” Golladay said. “You know, anything you do a lot of times, you get comfortable with doing it. Pretty much, when we do extra stuff after practice, it’s so we can be better the next day at it or whenever it comes up.”

Giants head coach Joe Judge isn't worried about Golladay's slow start. In fact, he's been encouraged by what Golladay has shown so far.

“One thing I’ve been very encouraged with Kenny is, first off, the guy is tremendous to work within meetings,” head coach Joe Judge said. “I mean, this guy is keyed in, focused, locked in, like he’s staring through you the whole time. He’s absorbing everything. He’s very ahead on how he pays attention in meetings, and he carries it over to the field.

“Mentally, he’s really caught up really fast on what we’re asking him to do. He was good in the spring, as far as working. The time throughout the summer with Daniel and the other receivers, I believe that helped him and all the other receivers, as well. He practices really hard, that’s something that’s very important.”

There’s another layer of getting better for Golladay that is very much present this summer. The coaches haven't gone easy on him to help speed up his learning curve or let him get into a rhythm. Instead, they've put him against different cornerbacks so that Golladay can continue building as many calluses as possible against different skillsets.

Golladay's battles against James Bradberry and Adoree' Jackson, in particular, have been the most fun to watch as the corners are also trying to sharpen their respective games as well.

“Those two guys are totally different players,” Golladay said of the Giants’ top two projected cornerbacks. “Adoree’ is a little smaller, Bradberry a little more my height and more of a physical guy.

“The noticeable difference is just height and length. Taller guys, footwork is a little bit different, even though JB has great footwork. Adoree’ is a little bit quicker, but both are great competition.”

While Bradberry and Jackson have given Golladay problems, he has returned the favor on more than a few occasions, as he has against Jackson.

And the same goes off the field. When Bradberry joked he might let Golladay catch a few contested passes, Golladay playfully returned the favor by saying he might let Bradberry break up a few passes.

And that's just fine with the Giants--so long as they do it against each other and not players from other teams.