Jihad Ward couldn’t wait to rejoin Wink Martindale with New York Giants

The New York Giants signed Jihad Ward on Monday, reuniting the defensive end with his former defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale 

New York Giants new defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale has long been one of the more respected coaches at his position in the league, and the newest Giants defender had East Rutherford atop his list of destinations because of the chance to play for him.

Defensive end Jihad Ward, signed by the New York Giants on Monday, arrives after producing two sacks for the Jaguars last season but couldn’t wait to get back into Martindale’s scheme, where he thrived from 2019-’20 with the Baltimore Ravens.

“Basically, just coming in with that aggression,” Ward told reporters Monday was a reason he enjoys playing so much in Martindale’s scheme. “Basically, just strong and really the aggression is just some blitzes and stuff. You don’t know when we’re going to come. That’s his type of style. That’s his type of deal. We’re going to come at you. With Wink and him coaching me, he’s a great coach.”

Jihad Ward thinks he’ll thrive with New York Giants, in Wink Martindale reunion

The Giants are banking on Martindale’s exotic blitz packages and propensity for bringing overload pressure to get the most out of a young stable of edge rushers who to date have yet to generate a consistent pass-rush over the past several seasons.

Ward, 27, has just 10 career sacks but last season logged 17 pressures in 240 pass-rush snaps.

The Illinois alum and six-year veteran credits Martindale’s use of multiple fronts for getting the most out of his defenses, something he believes can be replicated with the New York Giants.

“Everything is really simple,” Ward says. “The only thing is with the rest of the d-line that’s here, we’ve just got to basically understand its different types of fronts. When we play a different type of team, we might go straight to base on this one, like a basic front and certain teams, it’s quite difficult for us and we’ll change the scheme up based on whatever the personnel is.

“It’s basically like a mixture of everything. For example, you can’t really say it’s a 3-4. You can’t say it’s a 4-3, it depends what type of front that you’re in. That’s what he brings to the table. It’s going to be a lot of confusion and basically versatility if that makes sense.”