Giants Country Round Table: Who Will Be the 2020 Team Captains?

Who are the top candidates to be captains on this year's Giants squad? In our first round table, Giants Country writers Patricia Traina, Pat Ragazzo, and Jackson Thompson make their picks for the offense, defense, and special teams.

The New York Giants will have an entirely new class of team captains this season. Who will those players be? 

Giants Country's Pat Ragazzo, Patricia Traina, and Jackson Thompson offer their choices who could be selected to wear the golden "C" this season in our first editorial roundtable. 

Offense

Pat Ragazzo: Daniel Jones is a “no brainer” to be named a team captain. As someone who will be on the field for every snap, this makes too much sense not to happen.

Heading into his second year in the NFL, Jones has displayed leadership in his first full off-season as a pro by getting with his teammates on numerous occasions to do some on-field training.

Jones gathered his skill players to get extra reps in and work on their timing together on numerous occasions while continuing to build strong chemistry within this group.

He even followed in the footsteps of his future Hall of Fame predecessor Eli Manning by hosting off-season workouts with his receivers.

Like Manning, Jones has the perfect temperament and composure to lead a team. While being named a captain in your second season could bring added pressure for a young player, Jones would likely embrace the honor.

Patricia Traina: The easy pick for me would be Saquon Barkley since he was a captain last year. But I'm going to go with receiver Sterling Shepard and not because he's the longest-tenured Giant.

Shepard is a guy I've enjoyed watching mature since he came into the league. He's well respected by his teammates, and before COVID-19 changed how we cover the team, I can remember seeing teammates flock to Shepard's locker many times.

This is a guy who has come such a long way in a short amount of time.

Jackson Thompson: Veteran offensive guard Kevin Zeitler was the Giants' best offensive lineman in 2019 and one of two returning starters from last year on the offensive line (Will Hernandez the other).

Zeitler, a nine-year NFL veteran, is heading into his second year with the Giants. Zeitler fits the culture that Judge is trying to build, and his skill and experience as an offensive lineman will be highly valued for the Giants as they look to rebuild the offensive line with a few new projected starters.

Defense

Pat Ragazzo: New Jersey native Jabrill Peppers is entering his fourth year in the league and second with the Giants after he was acquired via trade back in March of 2019.

Peppers is a guy who has shown progress every year of his career thus far and is coming off his most productive campaign in 2019. In 11 starts, Peppers had 76 total tackles, 5 for a loss, and an interception returned for a touchdown. He also allowed a 63% competition rate and only one score in coverage.

Unfortunately, the versatile safety suffered a back fracture, which ended his season prematurely last year. However, he is fully healthy now and primed for a significant role in 2020.

It would not be shocking if he were named defensive captain as he’s now a seasoned veteran and one of the more experienced players in the Giants secondary.

Peppers is also one of the most impactful players on the defense. Taking Holmes under his wing this off-season is a prime example of being ready to step up and be a leader for this team.

Will this pay off with a “C” on his chest this season? It very well might.

Patricia Traina: Call it a gut feeling, but I could easily see Blake Martinez voted as a team captain. Martinez, who will be making all the defensive calls and lining guys up, recently told reporters that he's looking to be the rock on defense, and if that doesn't scream captain, then I don't know what does.

From a playing perspective, Martinez revealed that his role in the Giants defense is likely going to change from that of a "clean-up" role to more of an attacking style of play.

That means that Martinez, who in the last three seasons has logged over 100 tackles, has a chance to sprinkle more impact plays into his numbers by attacking gaps rather than clean up someone else's mistake.

Jackson Thompson: Cornerback James Bradberry is going into his first season in New York as the team's top cornerback.

In Carolina, Bradberry didn't just hold number-one corner responsibilities, but he also acted as a mentor to Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson.

"I was just trying to help him just learn how to break down film and watch film, and make sure I stayed on top of him about watching tape because that’s how you anticipate routes, within film coverage," Bradberry said.

Judge has also praised Bradberry as a strong locker room presence and culture fit.

"He comes to work every day with a purpose. He's attentive in the meetings. He takes diligent care of his body off the field," Judge said. "You can tell he's learned through his time in the league how to prepare himself for a season."

Special Teams

Pat Ragazzo: I'm going with receiver Cody Core. It’s no secret that Cody Core became a special teams’ ace for the Giants in 2019 helping this unit out tremendously.

Core was claimed off waivers in September and quickly became a standout on his way to collecting a career-high eight tackles in 16 games. His strong year did not go unnoticed as the Giants decided to re-sign him shortly after the season concluded.

As head coach Joe Judge served as the New England Patriots special teams coordinator from 2015-2019, he should truly understand the value of personnel in this phase of the game.

Core has even proved to be capable of contributing on offense with 33 receptions for 388 yards and a touchdown in 4 seasons in the NFL.

The 26-year-old earned another year on the Giants due to his more than solid play and could see some reps as a returner.

If the Giants pick a “do-it-all” type of player to lead their special teams’ group, Core is one candidate that comes to mind when naming a captain.

Patricia Traina: I'm going with Nate Ebner for this unit. Ebner was Robin to Matthew Slater's Batman up in New England, but now that the band has been broken up, Ebner has a chance to take a group that could see an influx of youngsters and show them how it's done.

Since entering the league in 2021, Ebner has racked up 91 total tackles on special teams per NFL stats, 58 of which are solo efforts. He also has one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick (which came against the Giants last year).

And in four of his NFL seasons, Ebner has recorded double-digit tackles on special teams, most recently accomplishing that in 2018. That's really impressive production on special teams, and certainly, Ebner has been doing something right in his career to warrant consideration as a captain.

Jackson Thompson: Punter Riley Dixon has already made his mark on Giants franchise history.

Last season, he broke a Giants punting record for the second year in a row thanks to his 42.3 yard net average, a mark that broke the previous record of 41.8 yards set in his first season with the Giants in 2018.

He goes into the season as one of the team's few Pro-Bowl contenders and a long-term investment after signing a new three-year $8.7 million contract extension last December.

The Giants' special teams unit has been a legitimate team strength over the last two seasons, and Dixon's poise has been essential to that success.

If Judge is looking to set a tone for leadership by example, it wouldn't be a stretch to believe Dixon could be one of those guys.