Tommy DeVito: How Giants sped up QB's rise and what's next with Tyrod Taylor set to return

EAST RUTHERFORD − Tommy DeVito has leaned on Tyrod Taylor throughout his maturation as an undrafted rookie quarterback tasked with the improbable assignment of starting at the position for the New York Giants.

If you asked DeVito to name the biggest influences within his rise in the seven months he has been here, outside of head coach Brian Daboll and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, not to mention the undeniable support of Saquon Barkley on the way to back-to-back Giants victories, there's no question Taylor is one who would be at the top of that list.

"Everything Tyrod knows, all the advice, I've taken that from him, his presence has been huge," DeVito told NorthJersey.com about Taylor's influence earlier this season, and that was before DeVito started his first of three consecutive games last month.

"He's been in the league for 13 years, seen everything, and I've watched, I've listened and learned. I'm a much better quarterback for a lot of reasons, and Tyrod's one, for sure."

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Now Daboll and the Giants are faced with a question as they return from their bye week on a modest two-game winning streak, the first of this season: do they send DeVito back to the sideline in favor of Taylor?

It's been speculated about, and drew closer to becoming reality Monday with the Giants designating Taylor to return from injured reserve. That opens Taylor's 21-day window during which he will be allowed to practice on the expected road back to action from the rib cage injury that has sidelined him for four games.

The last three of those have been started by DeVito, who replaced Daniel Jones in Las Vegas after the Giants' quarterback tore the ACL in his right knee and was lost for the season.

Who will start for Giants: Tommy DeVito or Tyrod Taylor?

The decision as to whether the Giants should start Taylor or DeVito really isn't as complicated as it will be made out to be this week. It really isn't.

The locker room respects Taylor, 34.

He has 56 starts in his career and has experienced far more in his 13 seasons.

The locker room respects DeVito, 25, and has rallied around the "Jersey juice" he has brought to the offense.

Does one player give this team a better chance to win more than the other? Probably not, if we're being fair, as the surging Green Bay Packers (6-6) - now in control of the final wild card spot in the NFC following Sunday night's upset of the Chiefs - come to MetLife Stadium for "Monday Night Football" against the Giants (4-8).

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It's not a QB controversy, even though that'll be what is thrown around this week.

The rationale in picking between the two should not be controversial at all.

If Taylor's healthy, no one with the Giants - not even DeVito would, truth be told - can argue he isn't the better QB right now. But we don't know how healthy Taylor is, and the Giants plan to find out in practice beginning this week.

Tommy DeVito's journey to Giants quarterback

From fans to the players - heck, the entire organization - the Giants have embraced DeVito's story.

It's been a wild and unexpected ride for one of North Jersey's own, from his high school days as a star at Don Bosco to the NFL as a long shot, becoming a hero for the salute to his Italian heritage with his "finger purse" touchdown celebration, leading to cult status at local delis and sandwiches named in his honor.

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Beyond all of that, the football from DeVito has been better than expected, too. Has it been perfect? Hardly. But no one expects that to be the case. The Giants have watched him work, put in extra time just to stay on the radar of the coaching staff, most notably Daboll, and the players have bought in.

"If you're in the National Football League, you're here for a reason, not by accident. I don't think Tommy flinched at all," Barkley said. "You're not here by accident. You're here to do a job, and every week he's been getting better and better."

Consider what Jalin Hyatt told NorthJersey.com about DeVito following the Giants' 10-7 victory over the Patriots.

"When Tyrod got hurt, and then Daniel, both of our quarterbacks were down, we were just going through it, man," Hyatt said. "Our team, it was tough for us. We had no confidence. We were losing games. Tommy came in, and he brought the confidence back."

Not enough attention has been paid to how DeVito has played the last two weeks.

Beyond the emojis, sandwiches named for him and all those Sopranos memes, DeVito is playing the position better than he should be at this stage of his development. He spent months fighting for scraps on the practice field, his reps limited to a share of scout team work until Taylor was injured Oct. 29 against the Jets.

The Giants saw DeVito's grind. His personality was engaging, his swagger contagious.

Since the start of training camp, Daboll met with DeVito every week, just the two of them. It was a crash course for the rookie, for sure, but also a way for the head coach to make sure the third quarterback on the roster received some personal attention. In practice, on a good day, DeVito got to throw to the running backs and tight ends in drills with assistant quarterbacks coach Christian Jones looking on.

"It's a demanding position and it takes a lot to prepare for a game, so you're devoting everything you got to the first guy, the second guy and you never want the third guy to feel left out at all," Daboll said. "So, I think those meetings that we have have been important."

The next chapter of DeVito's improbable underdog story is upon us.

In what has been a lost season for the Giants to this point, the investment in the local kid from Jersey who was not supposed to be here is real.

That's not going to change whether DeVito starts against the Green Bay Packers or Taylor reclaims the job, which speaks to his journey and how hard he has worked to stick.

But if this is a matter of who is more deserving, make no mistake: Tommy DeVito has earned the right to stay in the conversation.

Not even DeVito nor those closest to him, no matter what they might say now, could have imagined that scenario playing out like this a month ago.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Tommy DeVito: What's next at Giants QB position with Tyrod Taylor to return