Speed will get you noticed by the NFL, and that was certainly the case for Dante Miller, who parlayed a 4.27 40-yard dash at his Pro Day into a 2024 opportunity with the New York Giants. It won’t, though, make you a successful NFL player.
Miller had a good preseason last year, gaining a team-high 108 rushing yards in 26 attempts (4.2 yards per carry). Despite the tantalizing speed, the Giants cut him and he spent the year on the practice squad.
He knows now that he didn’t know what he didn’t know as
a rookie.
A year spent watching, learning, studying and honing his craft has changed a lot for the 26-year-old Miller.
“Personally, I think I have a better understanding of the playbook,” Miller said Saturday night in the victorious post-game locker room. “I know the playbook, I know the plays. I know how things are called on the field. The game’s slowed down a lot. That comes with experience, too.
“I feel like I have more of a veteran mindset when it comes to executing on the field.”
Miller said he knew he had to get better.
“If you’re going out there, you’re handling your business, you’re staying healthy, you’re doing your job, I feel like things things develop, things happen over time,” Miller said. “There’s a reason that I was on practice squad last year. I had to get a better understanding of the playbook.
“I had to get better at my position. I had to develop better. So that’s what I did. I delved into what I had to do, and I’ve been taking my time to handle the business.”
The work has paid off this preseason.
Miller had five rushes for 17 yards (3.4 yards per carry) and four receptions for 43 yards on Saturday vs. the Jets. All four of Miller’s receptions created first downs.
Miller leads the Giants with 11 receptions for 123 yards through two preseason games.
“I’ll say it again, playbook. Playbook is a big thing,” Miller said. ”I understand the playbook now.
“And when you’re on the football field, we’ve got different blocking assignments as a running back. There’s different route assignments. There’s different things that happen on the fly. You gotta be able to understand those things in a second.
“So I feel like this year, I feel way better.”
Both Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills and Saturday evening against the Jets, Miller was particularly effective in the screen game.
Why have the screen passes, especially the ones involving Miller, been successful?
“From a running back standpoint, you just gotta trust that the guys in front of you are gonna do their job,” Miller said. “And from their perspective, they gotta trust I’m gonna do my job. So it’s 11-on-11 football.
“You gotta trust. A screen is not gonna work if somebody doesn’t do their job. And we’ve been executing at a very high level, as we should.”
After the preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills, Giants head coach Brian Daboll pointed out that if he is going to make the roster as a backup running back Miller would have to provide value on special teams.
Against the Jets, he did just that.
Miller had a 22-yard kickoff return. Perhaps more important is what he accomplished in kickoff and punt coverage.
In kickoff coverage, Miller assisted on a tackle. As a punt gunner, Miller beat his blocker, then beat the ball and downed a Jamie Gillan punt at the 5-yard line.
“It’s a big thing. If you’re not that first running back up, you gotta play special teams,” Miller said,
I feel like, personally, no matter what I gotta do to help the team, I’m there. Whether it’s on punt, punt, block, kickoff, return, kickoff, I’m there.
“I’m gonna go out there and handle my job, handle my assignments to the best of my ability.”
With rookie running back Cam Skattebo not practicing or playing for the past couple of weeks due to a hamstring injury, Miller seems almost certain to make the initial 53-man roster.
Perhaps not wanting to give any hints about upcoming roster decisions, Daboll was guarded on Sunday when asked about Miller’s preseason.
“He’s getting plenty of opportunity on offense, plenty of opportunity in the kick game,” Daboll said. “Probably a lot like all the other guys – some good plays and then some things we can get better at. I like Dante’s mindset and he’s a competitor and we’ll just keep working with him.”
