Locksley Explains How Leake Can Find Niche in New York
It didn’t take long for someone to scoop former Maryland running back Javon Leake following the 2020 NFL Draft. After signing with the New York Giants, Leake now returns to his home state to begin the next step of his playing career though reps will be hard to come by when the starter is Saquon Barkley. Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, however, sees Leake finding his niche on the roster as he provided a breakdown to Big Blue View.
“Home run speed, toughness, catches the ball well out of the backfield,” Locksley said in the interview. “Obviously it’s his value as a returner—and I think he can also be a punt returner, something we made him work on throughout his career even though he wasn’t the primary guy but has great ball skills so there’s no doubt in my mind he has the ability to be a three-down guy, the ability to play on third downs and be a receiver that gives you something.”
The Giants failed to record a touchdown on special teams last year as they rotated between safety Jabril Peppers and wide receivers Da’Mari Scott, TJ Jones and Golden Tate. Meanwhile, Leake’s vision and toughness allowed him to find ample space on special teams as he finished his junior year as the Rodgers-Dwight Big ten Return Specialist of the Year after posting a pair of kick return touchdowns and led the Big Ten with a 26.8-yard kick return average. That skillset displayed on special teams carried over at running back where he filled in seamlessly for a depleted running back room as a junior, providing Leake the platform to shoulder the load in an extended role. His three years worth of production instilled his confidence in going to the league and despite going undrafted, Locksley still has the utmost confidence that Leake will find his success at the next level.
“There’s no doubt in the return game he does and will be able to because he left here Big Ten Returner of the Year award, made a lot of plays during his career here in the kickoff return. And as I said, I also feel strongly that some ability as a punt returner and because of his vision and toughness and speed, I think that he’ll make a mark as an NFL returner.”
His junior year production was overshadowed by his combine performance where he posted a 4.65-second 40-yard dash, but Locksley had a quick response when asked whether there’s concerns about his speed.
“I can’t tell you what happened at the combine, I just know this: when Javon Leake got out in front of people in the Big Ten that have been drafted a lot higher than he has, he has not gotten caught. So, on any given day with those track times, 40 times, anxiety and all those other things, he went away and did training. May have been a little heavier than he normally would be, but if you put on the tape, he doesn’t get caught and this is by some of the top teams in the country—the Ohio States, the Penn States, the Michigans, you see him run away from people. There’s no doubt in my mind that time isn’t indicative to how fast he plays and how fast he’s shown to be on tape.”
