Jasper Brinkley is entering his eighth NFL season. Never before has he been surrounded with so much experience at linebacker. Brinkley is one of eight players at the position on the Giants roster, and seven of them have fairly extensive NFL resumes.
“This is the first time I ever been in a room this deep with the talent that we have,’’ Brinkley told The Post after a recent practice. “Every guy has started and is capable of being a starter somewhere. I think that’s a great attribute.’’
The team’s only linebacker new in the NFL is B.J. Goodson, a rookie from Clemson who just might be the Giants’ middle linebacker of the future.
Brinkley lined up as the starter in the middle this Monday during the first Organized Team Activity session – the same spot he started in for the Giants at the end of last season. That has to mean something positive for Brinkley, right?
“I tell you what, I’ve been around this game for a long time: I can be with the 1s right now, and come training camp I could be with the 2s,’’ Brinkley said. “For me right now, it doesn’t mean anything. When we get to training camp and we get to that opening day roster, me being with the 1s would mean a whole lot. But right now everybody’s playing, everybody’s trying to do great things, we’re all working for one common goal.’’
It was no surprise Brinkley landed atop the depth chart this spring. He’s a 30-year-old who started nine games for the Giants in 2015 and has started 42 games in an NFL career spent mostly with the Vikings. He looks the part at 6-foot-1 and 255 pounds and sounds the part, vocal and commanding on the field. To keep the part this summer, Brinkley will have to fend off challenges from Keenan Robinson – acquired this offseason from the Redskins – and Goodson, who as a rookie probably is a year away from making an impact on defense.
Six of the linebackers on the roster – Brinkley, Robinson, Mark Herzlich, J.T. Thomas, Jonathan Casillas and Kelvin Sheppard – are between 27 and 30 years old and have spent between four and seven years in the NFL. Devon Kennard, 24, is entering his third season – the youngster among the veterans – and the Giants are waiting for him to shed his injury history and emerge as a forceful, durable player. Who stays and who goes will be decided after spirited training camp battles.
“The greatest thing about it is you can never get comfortable,’’ said Brinkley, whose strength is in stopping the run. “I’ve been in this game going into my eighth year, there’s never been a year that I’ve been comfortable. This is just how it’s always been, and it’s great. A guy like me, I’ve always had to fight, scratch and claw for everything I’ve earned. Being in this situation is no different.’’
The first OTA featured Brinkley flanked by Kennard and Thomas with the starting defense – a logical trio, given how early it is in the evaluation process. Robinson would give the Giants a sleeker, more athletic option in the middle, but he was in and out of the lineup with the Redskins, unable to stay healthy for extended stretches.
Brinkley knows defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system, which is a plus.
“I think the advantage for me is me going out, giving everything each and every day,’’ Brinkley said. “One thing a coach will never be able to question is my effort, me making the right checks, me getting to the ball. I always want to be the first guy to the ball and just my professionalism. Those are things I can control. I can’t control what coach says ‘this is going to be my starter’ or not.’’