When Kadarius Toney arrived in East Rutherford as a rookie, the hype was off the charts. But his debut season fell flat as injury and a vanilla New York Giants offense crippled his production and led to some unsavory feelings.
Toney had it out with the media at times and seemed frustrated by the team’s coaching.
But 2022 brought about change for Toney and the Giants. Out were Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge, and in were Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll.
Toney and Daboll have formed and early bond, which was evident earlier this week when the Giants played the song “Warrior” from the receiver’s “Warrior 3” album, which was published under the name “Yung Joka.”
“It just kind of surprised me,” Toney said of his song being played. “It had me juiced up. I appreciate them doing for doing it because it shows the willingness to build a relationship with me.”
While the Giants’ staff works to build a bond with Toney, he’s making more of an effort to bond with his teammates.
“I really feel like that’s important with anybody, not just me — throughout the whole team,” Toney said. “I try to have a better relationship with Daniel (Jones). I try to have a better relationship with Kenny (Golladay). Everybody around because it’s a team thing, not an individual thing.”
The change in offensive philosophy has made all of that easier. There’s less frustration with the calls, less concern about making a mistake and less overbearing discipline. That’s made everyone happier and much more loose on a day-to-day basis.
“I feel like it’s a lot of energy they brought into the building. A lot of flexibility,” Toney said. “It’s more open. . . with route-running and stuff like that, it’s not as pen and paper. Instead of just running it technical (routes), it gives a chance to win instead of having to do it a certain way every time.”
All of the changes have been music to Toney’s ears.
“It definitely is a lot of fun out there. A lot of juice, a lot of energy,” Toney said. “I like that (Schoen and Daboll) came here honestly.”
