Jabrill Peppers enjoys time with ex-teammates in practice against Browns 

BEREA, Ohio — Very early in Thursday’s practice against the Browns, Jabrill Peppers was guarding David Njoku in a one-on-one drill. Both players jumped for the ball in the air near the goal line and Njoku, the tight end who has about five inches of height advantage on Peppers, came down with it even through the two tussled all the way to the ground.

"Just like old times," Njoku said to Peppers after the play.

It certainly was. Peppers and Njoku were both first-round picks of the Browns in the same draft class, so they spent plenty of practices on the very field where they found themselves on Thursday battling to see who could outdo the other.

There were other familiar faces for Peppers to spar with during reps and jaw with afterward, too. Quarterback Baker Mayfield was one who Peppers chirped with quite a bit throughout the workout.

"Me and Bake used to always go back and forth," Peppers said. "Just ball stuff. He’d tell me he’s going to throw 80 percent [completions] and I tell him he can’t see over the line. Things like that. It’s all good."

That Peppers was a Giant on Thursday and no longer teammates with Njoku and Mayfield and the rest of the Browns players? That seems pretty good too.

He was acquired by New York as part of a blockbuster trade package that sent players and picks flying between the two organizations. Odell Beckham Jr., the headliner in the swap, was sidelined as he recovers from a torn ACL with the Browns, held out but visibly antsy to participate. Olivier Vernon is a free agent still rehabbing from the torn Achilles he suffered with Cleveland in Week 17 last season. Guard Kevin Zeitler was released by the Giants and signed with the Ravens.

Of the four players actually part in that deal that rocked the NFL just two and a half years ago, Peppers was the only one on the field for either team on Thursday.

"I love where I’m at," he said of his new home with the Giants.

And they love him, too. Peppers never quite reached his full potential in his first two seasons with the Browns mostly because they were unable to give him the kind of freedom the Giants have. Here with his new team he is shifted all over the field, popping up everywhere to make plays. He even plays special teams, so much so that last season he was named a captain of that unit.

"Jabrill is a football player and he’s one of those guys that if you take things away from him, it takes away from him as a player," special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said earlier this camp. "The more you give him, the better he is."

It did not take long for Peppers to establish himself as a cornerstone player for the Giants.

"It’s just his constant energy," defensive tackle Leonard Williams said of what Peppers brings to the team. "Like he’s bouncing around, hopping around, we always say he’s on energy drinks, Red Bulls, coffee, all types of stuff all day. He just brings the intensity, whether it’s his body language or what he’s saying verbally, he just brings it… The defense runs off of energy and having him back there and just feeling his presence at all times definitely gets guys going."

And of course he yaps just as much with the Giants in practices as he used to with the Browns. As he did with the Browns on Thursday. Asked if Peppers is the most talkative player on defense, cornerback Adoree’ Jackson said: "I’d give him that award."

The next award he receives may be a new contract from the Giants. He is in the final year of his rookie deal and will be a free agent after this season. If he continues to play and lead the way he has since arriving from Cleveland, it should be a no-brainer to retain him.

That would seem to be fine with Peppers, who feels he has found a home with the Giants… even in a week like this where he is visiting his old one.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.