Now that Brandon Jacobs is gone, Ahmad Bradshaw plans to take on even more of a leadership role this season.

He is already well-respected in the locker room but he plans on being a bit more vocal and he already wants to mentor first-round pick David Wilson. Both are from Virginia and Bradshaw mentions that as a starting point to bond on.

“I plan on using him as my project,” Bradshaw said on the team's website. “He’s a very talented running back and he’s from Virginia. Two Virginia guys in this running back corps is going to be dangerous. I expect to use him as my project to get him better, to get him smarter and just to mature him a little bit, just to help him understand the NFL.”

The first challenge will be learning the Giants playbook. At least Wilson will have a full offseason of coaching from the staff and mentoring from Bradshaw -- something Da'Rel Scott did not have last year due to the lockout.


“As a Giant running back, it’s one of the toughest things,” Bradshaw said. “I don’t see a lot of guys coming in and being able to grasp all of the different things you can do as a running back. You just have so many pass protections, so many pass route terms, so many run terms."

"It’s just so much different terminology with us and then we have so many keywords and hidden phrases," he continues. "Different teams won’t know exactly what you’re doing every game. When I came as a rookie my plan was to try to impress the coaches and learn that playbook. Once I was able to learn that playbook I was able to impress the coaches by going out there and using my God-gifted talents and go out there and do what I do best.”

Bradshaw plans on making the running back room his own and becoming the leader of that group.

“I’ve been through a lot and they say hard work pays off, but this is something that I’ve always dreamed of,” said Bradshaw, who was drafted in the seventh round out of Marshall. “I plan on being the vet in the running back room. I look forward to the opportunity. I look forward to being able to have him as my project and getting him better and just making everybody else better behind me. You’re only as good as your weakest link and I want the best out of all of our running backs, especially.”