Giants' Ihmir Smith-Marsette eager to prove he's more than just return man

The Giants didn’t give their fans much to cheer about last season, but Ihmir Smith-Marsette did his part in the home finale.

His 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Colts electrified a stadium that hadn’t seen a win all year up to that point. Now Smith-Marsette wants more moments like that in another role.

The fifth-year veteran and Newark native wants to have the type of impact on offense that he does on special teams. With the preseason beginning Saturday at Buffalo, Smith-Marsette aims to prove he can be a solid receiver as well as kick returner.

“I feel confident in the offense. Mistakes, errors, none of that stuff should be a problem,” Smith-Marsette told Newsday this week. “Now I feel locked in. I feel focused. I know exactly where everything needs to be. It’s like a puzzle, just putting the missing pieces together for me now.”

The big difference in Year 2 with the Giants? Having an entire spring and offseason to learn the playbook. Smith-Marsette signed with the Giants the day after the season opener last year, so the whole season felt like playing catch-up to him. His only looks at wide receiver came with the scout team.

He re-signed with the Giants, and with an entire offseason to grasp coach Brian Daboll’s offense, he is more comfortable now.

“It was pretty hard since the playbook was so complex. A lot of moving pieces,” Smith-Marsette said. “But, you know, now I feel really good about everything and confident.”

Smith-Marsette has mostly gotten second-team reps at receiver, but with several starters managing injuries, he’s had a few first-team reps sprinkled in.

He’s part of a promising second-team receiver unit that includes Montrell Washington and undrafted free agents Beaux Collins and Dalen Cambre. The quartet likely will get ample time to show what they can do in preseason, depending on how much Daboll wants to play his starters.

Smith-Marsette already believes he knows what he can do in the return game. Now it’s a matter of proving to the coaching staff that he can handle more responsibilities if Malik Nabers,  Darius Slayton or Wan’Dale Robinson gets hurt.

“I excel at one position, so I know what it takes,” Smith-Marsette said. “Just have that carryover to a complex offense and then just go out there, whenever we play, and showcase that in this preseason.”

He’s impressed the coaches with his improvement. He already made a good impression last year with his attitude and a fun personality.

Through    training camp, his play has led the coaches to use him in versatile ways besides just capitalizing on his speed.

“You see what he can do on the special teams side,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said this week. “On the offensive side, having that limited exposure last year and now having a full offseason, I think it’s starting to make sense for him a little bit more. We’re putting him in spots, not just playing the slot. He could be outside, so just kind of building off what he had last year and now getting more comfortable in the offense this offseason.”

With Nabers, Slayton and Robinson all back, it won’t be easy for Smith-Marsette to find reps in-season. Jalin Hyatt also will get chances to show if his connection with Russell Wilson can uplift what’s been a slow two seasons.

But Smith-Marsette isn’t worried. The preseason is all about showing if he’s worthy of earning more reps in this offense. While he’s almost guaranteed a roster spot as a returner, he’s not satisfied because he wants to be a well-rounded player.

“I’m not the type to settle. I’m always pushing to be the best version of myself,” he said. “And the best version of myself, the NFL hasn’t seen yet. I feel like that’s a potential that’s waiting to be shown out there on the field.”

Saturday will be the start of Smith-Marsette trying to do that. He already won over some Giants fans last year with his dynamic kick-6. Now it’s making sure he can impress them and the coaching staff in other ways.

“You’re gonna see a whole lot in the preseason,” Smith-Marsette said. “I just want to take advantage of that, then go ball in the preseason and show that I’m capable of being a dangerous person, whether it’s punt return, kick return or offense.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.