Giants' Adoree' Jackson takes on mentor role, and young cornerbacks adore him 

Adoree’ Jackson understood.

The Giants drafted two cornerbacks in the spring. One of them, first-rounder Deonte Banks out of Maryland, was pegged to be a starter. Five rounds later, Tre Hawkins III arrived out of Old Dominion. Practice after practice, Hawkins proved himself.

It became clear to the Giants that they had not one but two rookies who would start.

How about that?

And what about Jackson?

He moved to the slot. Without complaint.

“I just take it as I’ve been blessed, basically, for my whole life,” Jackson told Newsday. “I see it as a good opportunity, not just for the team but for myself as well. I feel like we always talk about ‘we over me.’ And seeing how tremendously those rookies are playing, I think it’s just another step for me to just pay it forward as an athlete, but also as someone who loves the game. I’m able to [contribute] in a different way and show my value.”

And his values.

Jackson, 27, is in pay-it-forward mode. His younger self benefited from helpful older players, he said, from Logan Ryan, Kevin Byard and Malcolm Butler when he was at Tennessee.

During his early days in college at USC, Kevon Seymour was a mentor.

Now it’s Jackson’s turn to take on a leadership role.

“He’s real unselfish,” Banks said. “That means he has a lot of belief in us. That’s like a big-brother type of moment. I respect that and I respect him.”

It probably is not a coincidence that Jackson was voted a captain by his teammates this season.

“I’m not gonna lie,” he said. “That meant a lot to me.”

Jackson said he will continue to help and show interest in the rookies “because I want to see them succeed and be better than me. I want them to learn from my mistakes by me talking to them. So going inside in the slot is cool. I’ve done it before. It’s exciting for me to be able to show different [abilities], to still be outside [sometimes] and to be in the slot.”

Safety Xavier McKinney obviously watched the moves with interest.

“I think [the coaches] were doing what was best for the defense,” he said. “I think we got a lot of guys, and especially in our unit, who are willing to sacrifice and do the things that help the team.”

Especially when there are rookies involved?

“Yes,” McKinney said, “especially then.”

It’s almost as if the young cornerbacks energized the entire defense.

“We’re excited to see their growth,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale said. “Every day is a new day for them as far as there’s something else they find out, there’s a different kind of shift, there’s a different kind of movement. The faster that can become just natural to them instead of thinking while they’re doing it, the faster you’ll see them make more plays, and it’s fun to watch.”

Jackson has liked what he’s seen.

“Deonte is a very instinctual player, a great person,” he said. “Genuine, funny, very respectable. Definitely someone you want in the locker room as a competitor. You put that combination together — a competitor, great locker room presence and he has instincts that you really can’t teach or coach — that’s pretty good.”

Hawkins was the bigger surprise, of course.

“Man, that’s my guy,” Jackson said. “He’s quiet in a respectful way. You can tell he’s soaking up all the knowledge by being quiet. He asks a lot of questions. He’s a tremendous talent. I kind of view those two as the same. They come in, work hard, ask questions. Deonte doesn’t act like a first-rounder. Humble, respectable. That’s how both of them approach the game. When you treat the game like that, the game is going to pay you back in a good way.”

Hawkins said he thought getting early reps in training camp was pivotal in his winning the job.

“Experience helps you,” he said. “Staying in the [preseason] games, getting game reps helped me. It’s a lot different getting those game reps. And just having that curiosity, that urge to continue to grow, helped me.”

Playing well in preseason and in practices against the Lions last month was beneficial to Banks and Hawkins.

“I think that when the lights came on in a real game, they both played very well,” Martindale said. “Very well. That was fun to watch.”

Martindale was asked if he has any qualms about starting two rookie cornerbacks.

“None at all,” he said. “I mean, you’ve got to play the best guys.”

By Kimberly Jones

kimberly.jones@newsday.comkimjonessports

Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.