Montrell Washington wants to ‘force' Giants into keeping him come Week 1
He'd been in wide receiver rooms featuring DeAndre Hopkins, Jerry Jeudy, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Courtland Sutton. He'd even won a Super Bowl ring with the 2023 Chiefs.
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As part of a group of young wideouts competing for a spot in Giants training camp, Washington doesn't possess the typical background of a bubble player.
He might lack statistics — no catches in a game since 2023 — and a track record to instantly propel him toward an automatic roster spot, but he has been surrounded by an unmatched wealth of football knowledge after getting selected by the Broncos in the fifth round of the 2022 draft.
He impressed in camp again Thursday, when he connected with Jaxson Dart for a pair of nifty catches during reps with the second team, and Washington has worked as a returner, too, providing some semblance of special teams value required for any bubble player pushing for one of the final roster spots.
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'I can play with Russell Wilson,' Washington told The Post. 'I can play with Pat Mahomes. I can be around De'Andre Hopkins. I can be around JuJu. Guys like that. I can be around anybody. Them guys are contract guys, big-name guys.
'I feel like I can ball with anybody.'
Washington, who signed a futures contract with the Giants in February, said he told Wilson — who looks 'even better' than he did with the Broncos — once they both arrived that he wasn't ready as a rookie in 2022.
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He didn't take full advantage of the opportunities presented.
5 Giants wide receiver Montrell Washington (80) gets by cornerback Tre Hawkins III (37) at practice during OTA's in East Rutherford, N.J.
Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Didn't have a study plan for learning the playbook, either.
He appeared in 15 games that year but caught just four passes for 2 yards, while also rushing for 30 yards, and returning 32 punts and 18 kicks.
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When the Broncos released him before the start of the 2023 season, the Chiefs signed him to their practice squad, and he spent the past two years shuffling back and forth — elevated for some games, then assigned back — while experiencing the Andy Reid operation that won a second consecutive Super Bowl in 2024 and fell one win short of a three-peat last season.
5 Giants wide receiver Montrell Washington practices during OTA's in East Rutherford, N.J.
Bill Kostroun/New York Post
'It's cool getting the ring, but now you want to be the one actually playing in that game,' said Washington, who wasn't elevated during either of the Kansas City playoff runs but experienced the Super Bowl win from the sidelines. 'Making a difference in that game. That's the goal I got for myself, to [the] next one, hey, I want to be playing. I want to be a factor. A real big factor in the game, which I know I can be.'
Washington's first step toward that involves sticking on the Giants' roster and carving out some career stability.
For the most part, the Giants' wide receiver room is set — with Wan'Dale Robinson, Darius Slayton and likely Jalin Hyatt following Malik Nabers atop the depth chart.
5 Giants receivers Montrell Washington (80) and Lil'Jordan Humphrey (81) and quarterback Jaxson Dart (6) celebrate a touchdown the team's during training camp on July 29, 2025.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
With Bryce Ford-Wheaton out for the year, Washington falls into a group of receivers vying for likely two spots — a group that includes undrafted free agent Beaux Collins (who has impressed head coach Brian Daboll with his physicality and blocking), Lil'Jordan Humphrey (entering his seventh season) and Da'Quan Felton.
'He's learning the system, new to the system, but he's got some quickness and he's done a nice job of what we've asked him to do,' Daboll said of Washington.
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5 Giants' Montrell Washington practices during OTA's in East Rutherford, N.J.
Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Washington has tried to make a play each practice to stand out.
He wants his play to 'force the Giants to not get rid of me.'
To make it 'real hard for them.'
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To channel all of his observations from the star-studded Chiefs and Broncos rosters, and combine them with his all the ways he has become a different player since the last time he overlapped with Wilson.
5 Montrell Washington and Dre Phillips (22) practice during OTA's in East Rutherford, N.J.
Bill Kostroun/New York Post
'I'm glad I get to show him,' Washington said of Wilson. 'Like, hey, I'm ready.'
One promising day of camp — or even two or three — won't solidify his roster spot.
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That'll take the rest of the summer, the preseason games, all of it.
But Washington, as far as bubble players go, has a unique résumé and a taste of football immortality that even plenty of stars never get.
He just needs to turn it all into a chance.
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'Everywhere I've been, I kind of had, like, those big-time guys,' Washington said. 'For me, it's just … learning. That's one thing I do. I'm always learning from somebody, no matter if I'm playing or not.'
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