Giants Defensive Lineman Jordon Riley Reflects on Journey to NFL

It’s common for college draft prospects to change schools along their path to the NFL draft.

But for New York Giants seventh-round pick Jordon Riley, a defensive tackle the team selected out of Oregon with the first of its two seventh-round selections, Riley is ready to settle in with one team moving forward, which he hopes will be the Giants.

“I came a long way,” Riley said last week at the team’s two-day minicamp, reflecting on a journey that began at Garden City Community College in 2019, before taking him to Nebraska, where he played sparingly as a reserve before finally landing at Oregon

for his final season of college football, in which he started all 13 contests and posted a career-high 21 tackles (1.5 for loss).

Such a path could be detrimental to one’s aspirations of being drafted, but there was a lesson for Riley to learn from the path he took.

“It was a humbling experience, just coming from DI and just being out there, not having all the resources, not having all the help that you usually get at DI, it taught me a lot,” he said of his humble beginnings at the JUCO level. “It helped me be the man I am today, and I just appreciate being out there.

The work he had to put in also reinforced his faith in himself and the process he was taking to get to the next level.

“I didn't ever lose faith. I believe in God, and everything like that, and I just kept going,” he said. “I just knew that I just couldn't stop. I've got a little daughter at home, and she means the world to me, and I just think stopping wouldn't have helped her, so I felt like, just keep going.”

Whereas some coaching staffs hesitate to play rookies right out of the chute, the Giants aren’t one of them. Head coach Brian Daboll has not been afraid to give snaps to a player who earns it, and he doesn’t care how the player landed in the locker room or how much money he’s making.

That should make Riley feel good about his chances, even though the cards seem stacked against him right now, what with the Giants already having Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, and A’Shawn Robinson ahead of him on the depth chart.

“This was just a blessing to be in this building. I come from a small town in Durham, North Carolina. Opportunities like this are slim. I think it's a blessing, and I'm glad to be here. With all the stops, I think I fell in the right place here in New York. I'm just blessed to be able to be in this great tradition, great building.”

The journey helped Riley prepare for yet another stop in his young life, this one being in the biggest media market in the nation. So, when he arrived at the Giants’ facility, getting acclimated to new faces and places was second nature.

“It's kind of like my journey,” he said. “I've been to different places. I've been to different colleges, and I had to meet new people, new facilities, and new coaches.

“Each part was a part of my journey. I just feel like I learned to never stop, never get too down on myself, just keep going, keep pursuing. Even with all the adversity I went through, I think just stay humble and just keep going.”

And if Riley, who said that his primary contact with the Giants organization was with defensive line coach Andre Patterson, must sit and learn behind those guys, he’s fine with that.

“I'm just here to learn every day,” he said. “Not necessarily just him but with all the guys, the coaches, coaching staff. I'm just here to work. I'm just here to soak in all the information I can from any other vets. I'm just here to learn.”

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