B.J. Goodson will be the starting middle linebacker for the New York Giants when they open the season this weekend at the Dallas Cowboys, this after a rookie year in 2016 where he got barely any defensive snaps at all.
Goodson was a special teams stalwart for the Giants last year as a rookie while getting a very limited run with a defense that was second in the NFL last season in points per game allowed. But this offseason through training camp and into preseason, Goodson has impressed and earning the starting linebacker spot in the heart of the Giants defense.
It’s a prominent jump for Goodson, a fourth round pick of the Giants a season ago. But it doesn’t appear to be anything that has his head spinning.”
“I keep life simple, man. I keep life very simple. Just taking it a day at a time,” Goodson said on Wednesday. “Preparing and just having fun man. A lot of guys get caught up in the moment and forget to have fun.”
As for if the moment would ever come where he would be named the Giants starting linebacker, especially after playing just 13 defensive snaps last year, Goodson simply said that “I never doubted it.”
The expectation will be there for Goodson to step in seamlessly into a pretty talented group. Nearly all the pieces from last year’s defense are in place and the unit might actually be the strength of the team.
For Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, the emergence of yet another young player on this roster is a positive. That the Giants used a mid-round pick on Goodson and now he’s not only contributing but starting is another feather in the cap of an organization that prides itself on its record of drafting and developing talent.
“I mean he moves around like a football player. I talked to him today and I told him that he looks like he is born for the position, but most importantly, he has earned it,” McAdoo said. “First, second and third down, he’s out there. He takes ownership of the defense and I’m excited to watch him play on Sunday.”
