Isaiah Hodgins, New York Giants

We continue inside Radio Road. This is at the Gelb Show Coast to Coast on CBS Sports Radio. And now joining us, one of the best stories from the NFL this past season from getting claimed off waivers by the Giants and then starring for the Giants down the stretch.

And then that post-season victory up against the Minnesota Vikings. He, of course, is Isaiah Hodgins. Isaiah, how you been? I've been good, man. Just enjoying my time down here in Arizona.

Super week and just soaking it all in. How do you put this all into perspective on what life has been like for you ever since you were born? What do you think you got claimed by the Giants in November and everything that happened since then? I mean, it's been a huge change, you know, just from literally being on the active in Buffalo to being cut to like, dang, where's my future hold? And, you know, day ball and the Giants bringing me in and having the success I had there winning playoff game and, you know, just all the different opportunities that I have now. So, you know, it's just kind of like a surreal moment for me. It shows you a lot of life is like who you know, you got to put in the work, but you knew Dayball.

You knew Joe Shane. They took a shot. You know, they did a good job. You know, they did a good job. You know, they did a good job. You know, they did a good job. You know, they did a good job. You know, they did a good job. You know, they did a good job.

You know, they did a good job. You know, they still believed in you multiple times. And did you feel a little extra incentive, even though this is an opportunity you want to ball out regardless that those guys continue to believe in you?

Yeah. And I think that just goes to show, like, especially in the NFL, just never really burned the bridges, you know, kind of as you're saying, just like who you know, and just like work hard whoever you're around. And I think, you know, they saw just the work ethic and, you know, how I, you know, approach the game and just like never given up and stuff. I think they saw that and knew that and, you know, brought me in and kind of told me that going forward and like, hey, like bring that same attitude and you're going to get opportunity here and make the most of it. If you make the most of it, you know, you're going to keep getting more opportunities. And, you know, I just try to do my best of doing that every single week. So five years from now, when I say the name Isaiah Hodgins, how are we going to be talking about Isaiah Hodgins?

He was a football player. Yeah, man, I'm trying to get a couple Pro Bowls under my belt, you know, all pro. I mean, you know, hopefully a Super Bowl. So, you know, just I'm trying to definitely take it to the next level, man, get some thousand hour seasons and stuff. So, you know, I think I could definitely do that with just continuing hard work. And just dedication to my game.

Sometimes you just need the opportunity. But why was New York, other than the relationship that you've had, the right fit for you to so quickly go into a place and you didn't really have time to learn and right away here on the field and not only on the field, but you're producing? Yeah, I think just, you know, Dave Ball and just Daniel Jones is just really the coaching staff are just putting that trust in me and just really give me opportunity just to go out there and play. And I think the similar system that they had from Buffalo, you know, the offense wasn't too different.

You know, they had some different wrinkles, but catch me up to speed on that. And I was already really familiar. So it was just time for me to go out there and play. And I think, you know, I got to learn from some great vets in Buffalo from Stefan Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, John Brown, Cole Beasley, you know, some other great young players like me, like Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, and, you know, really was in there crafting for two years and really waiting for my opportunity.

And I finally got in and, you know, ran with it. When you look at Daniel Jones, how do you describe him as a quarterback? Yeah, I mean, you could say so many words, man, but he's poised, he's cool, calm, collect, and he's always prepared. He's such a quarterback who takes his job serious.

You know, he's always doing an extra film study, brings the wide achievers and even, you know, running backs or whoever in for extra film and what he saw and extra routes and reps after practice in between periods during practice. So, you know, he's just he's a great leader, man. And, you know, he's such a good example for the whole team. There's no doubt in your mind. And we know that, right? He's going to get paid a lot of money. He's still going to continue to be what you think is a franchise quarterback? Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think he's going to take it up even another notch. And I think that's what fans, what everybody wants to see. And I think, you know, he definitely has that in him. And I just know the type of person he is. He's not going to take his foot off the gas.

If anything, he's going to, you know, press down a little bit more. When we talk about the Giants, we say they had a really good season, but it was such an impressive coaching job because you look at the roster. It's not the most talented roster in the league.

When you hear that, does that offend you with someone that you think is going to be the most talented? Being on that roster, being with the Giants' receiving room? You know, me and some of the receivers have talked about it a couple of times, you know, just made some jokes about it and stuff. But, I mean, we don't necessarily take offense.

Like, we're not going to let it affect us. But, you know, we did go out there every week and kind of, you know, try to make a statement and try to, you know, hey, there's a lot of your guys' favorite receivers and all these guys who were so good but, like, weren't in the playoffs or weren't really producing. So, you know, one of the reasons why the receiver group we had for the Giants was every opportunity we got, you know, we took advantage of it. What happened in the playoff game, the second one, up against the Eagles?

We know they're a great team. There's a reason why they're in the Super Bowl, but when you look back, what do you think you guys could have done better? Yeah, I think it was just more of an execution thing. You know, they were well prepared and, you know, that's, you know, kudos to their defense, defense coordinator, just everybody, but we just didn't execute properly on some of the things that we saw. You know, I think it was a combination of everybody.

It wasn't like one person's fault or, you know, one position group's fault. So, you know, that's kind of just like an execution of physicality, you know, just making sure that we're in the right place at the right time and just, you know, being on the same page. We know a little bit about your story, Isaiah Hodgins, but you lived every day of that story. You know what has gone in each and every single day. What do you want people to know about the story of Isaiah Hodgins at this point? Just long years of just waiting, just, you know, surgeries, just being patient, grinding, you know, just staying close to my relationship with God, with my family, and just a lot of prayer and just dedication to my game and hard work.

Excuse me. It took a long time. It took a lot of patience, but, you know, when I finally got the opportunity, like I said earlier, you know, I try to do my best to run with it, and, you know, I'm going to continue to do that again this year and following years to come. Was there a moment for you this year where you were like, I can't believe this is happening? Yeah, I would definitely say probably, I mean, my first couple catches, like on the Giants, was like cool just to see like how the fans react and stuff, but my first touchdown and how I did it because it was a route that I used to watch digs run all the time and, you know, it was a Colorado route in the red zone is what we call it, and, you know, I got an opportunity to run it, and when the coordinator called the play, I was like, man, no way. Like, I can't mess this up. Like, I got to score on this, and, you know, I ended up, you know, mixing the DB and scoring and just seeing like how all the fans reacted, my teammates, like it was just like a real surreal moment, so I was like that one, and like my playoff touchdown, I would definitely say was like, you know, pretty dope.

Yeah. Who wins this game coming up on Sunday in the Super Bowl? I mean, you know, I play for the Giants, man, so I got to go with the Chiefs, man.

That's who I'm rocking with. So you don't want to see the Eagles win. I know they're in division, but some people go, okay, at least we lost to the Super Bowl champion.

That's not you. Yeah, Giants fans are killing me if I was rooting for the Eagles, man, so yeah, I'm Chiefs all the way. Well, a heck of a story this year. Once again, congratulations and good luck moving forward. Nice to catch up with you. Appreciate that, man.

Thank you. The biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl is on Odyssey, and Westwood One brings it to you streaming live for free Sunday, February 12th on the Odyssey app. The Eagles have been the NFC's best team. It's the Eagles versus the Chiefs, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl again. Catch all the action from Westwood One, your Super Bowl, your Odyssey.

Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. The biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl is on Odyssey, and Westwood One brings it to you streaming live for free Sunday, February 12th on the Odyssey app. The Eagles have been the NFC's best team. Touchdown, Travis Kelce. It's the Eagles versus the Chiefs, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl again. Catch all the action from Westwood One, your Super Bowl, your Odyssey. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today.