Russell Wilson a Mentor For All New York Giants

Russell Wilson a Mentor For All New York Giants originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The New York Giants brought in three quarterbacks this offseason, veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and first-round pick Jaxson Dart. Wilson is a Super Bowl winning quarterback who was signed to lead the Giants' offense this season.

The trio of newbies and incumbent backup Tommy DeVito provides a deep quarterback room with opportunities to learn up and down the depth chart, but also room for competition for reps. Wilson is the likely Week 1 starter, but that doesn't stop him from being a leader and mentoring all the players he can.

"I've always viewed it as you're always trying to be the best version of you, and then you're always giving back to everybody else," Wilson said. "I think that it's not just about one teammate, it's about all the teammates. It's about everybody in the building. It's about from all the way to the quarterback room, to the receivers, to the running backs, to the tight ends, to the O-line, and the relationship there, all the way to the defensive line, to the corners, and all the way to the training room. ... So it's like, to me, it's all inclusive, and that's always the approach."

Wilson was signed on a one-year deal, but he's been an exemplary teammate. The veteran organized a dinner this week with the quarterbacks, offensive linemen and running backs. Wilson also had throwing sessions with different players across the country. Wilson's had a profound impact on the team in just a few months.

"We haven't had a quarterback that's going to command everything, and you know exactly what you want," wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson said. "[Wilson] has been great."

The Giants traded up into the first round to select Dart. But, according to Wilson, nothing has changed for him, the pressure remains the same.

"No, it doesn't change anything at all," he said. "I think the biggest thing is for me is just being my best every day, leading. I always think about just leading everybody, just leading every room, every moment, every time I get to step between the white lines and the opportunity of that."

Wilson isn't concerned about if or when Dart earns the Giants' starting job.

"I just think about having success today. It's always been my approach," Wilson said. "Every day is like I'm trying to be the best in the world. I think that for me, mentally, you have confidence in yourself. You have confidence in what you do, your process. I constantly stay the course and understand that if I'm the best me, I know how great that is.

"And so, for me, I always just stay within. I don't really think about outside. And I know you guys have a great day job to do and everything else. But for me, I just stay focused on the process of it all."

The Giants haven't asked Wilson to prioritize being a leader on the roster. They just want him to be himself and do the same things he's always done. For Wilson, those naturally include leadership.

"It's a natural thing just going about your business rather than, 'Hey, I need to be the mentor to this guy,'" head coach Brian Daboll said. "You know what I mean? I think that goes with every room. I think it's easy to say 'mentor.' I mean, it's a competitive business. We all know it's a competitive business. ... The guys that have played and have experience, they always give good input to the younger guys, and the younger guys' job is to soak up as much information as they can from the coaches. But I think there's an added element to talking to a veteran player and asking them about, 'Hey, how do you see this? What would you have done? How is your routine?'

"So that is why you try to get some veterans to add to the leadership part of it, which I think we have."

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.