It didn't take long for the Giants' Russell Wilson to establish himself within the locker room

Russell Wilson dropped back on Thursday and looked down the left side of the Giants’ practice field. He fired a pass toward Darius Slayton, one of the deep moon balls that has been a hallmark of his career, and the ball found Slayton perfectly in stride.

It’s a play that Wilson has made numerous times and one that the Giants hope to see more of to elevate an offense that lacked that kind of excitement last season.

That’s part of the quick impact that Wilson has had while taking first-team reps at OTAs. The Giants expected that when they signed him and it’s started to show more during the last two weeks.

“There’s a lot of things I still want to accomplish. So every day, I’m just constantly focused on that part of it,” Wilson said. “I think that for me, every time I step between the white lines, I want to be my best every day and understand that you’re just constantly growing.”

In the quarterback room, offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has been able to bounce more ideas off Wilson, 36, because of his experience. Wilson is still learning the offense, but coaches and players notice how his aura and work ethic have improved the confidence in the facility.

“The leadership, the command. You see that on the field and I think the players are responding to it,” Kafka said. “You see the competitiveness that he brings, the demeanor that he brings. I’m excited.”

Receiver Wan’Dale Robinson said Wilson is the same guy every day and added that Wilson’s consistent behavior has made it easier for players to follow his lead and study how he approaches his work.

Wilson also has done his part to get to know his teammates. He held a dinner this past week with running backs and the offensive line. Assistant general manager Brandon Brown said Wilson had a private workout with receiver Jalin Hyatt in Los Angeles within two weeks of joining the team.

Hyatt struggled his first two seasons, but Wilson has singled out his potential during interviews. Wilson has name-dropped teammates often since his arrival. That’s part of how he believes in building chemistry.

“I think the biggest thing for me is just being my best every day, leading,” he said. “I always think about just leading everybody, just leading every room, every moment, every time I get to step between the white lines and the opportunity of that.”

It’s also why he’s not worried about the future. The Giants traded up to draft Jaxson Dart in the first round, and while he’s not being rushed to take over, the quarterback out of Ole Miss likely is on a track to start by next season, if not sooner.

Wilson praised Dart as a great worker, teammate and somebody who will be “an extremely good talent,” but he added that nothing has changed with him being added to the quarterback room. Mentoring Dart is merely another part of helping the entire team with his actions.

“I’ve always viewed it as you’re always trying to be the best version of you, and then you’re always giving back to everybody else,” Wilson said. “I think that it’s not just about one teammate, it’s about all the teammates. It’s about everybody in the building.”

There are echoes of a situation that potentially is similar to 2012, Wilson’s rookie year. As a third-round pick, he beat out free-agent signee Matt Flynn to become the Seahawks’ starting quarterback, then went on to reach two Super Bowls, winning one. He kept the job until he was traded to the Broncos in March 2022.

But Wilson didn’t come to the Giants to just groom his replacement. He came to prove he can win games.

The Giants need that after going 3-14 last season. Helping Dart will come naturally, and Wilson said that he’s not shy about sharing any advice or pointing out things he’s seeing.

However, that’s secondary to the main goal of elevating the offense. His deep pass to Slayton hinted at what his teammates hope to see more of as he further endears himself to his teammates during OTAs and minicamp.

“That deep ball just drops right in the bucket, for sure,” Robinson said. “And then whenever he’s throwing just the shorter routes and stuff like that, it kind of comes in like a pillow. The first time we threw, me and [Slayton] were both like, this is actually better than we expected. And so we were ecstatic about it and couldn’t be more happy that he’s our quarterback.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.