Entering his eighth season with the Giants, Chase Blackburn never, ever has readied himself for a training camp in the position he’s in now. His name appears at the top of the defensive depth chart when it comes to listing the pecking order at middle linebacker.
“This is my first time going in that way,’’ Blackburn said this week as the mandatory mini-camp came to an end. “I like it, but at the same time I got to do my best to keep it.’’
Blackburn, 29, has been around long enough to know his designation as a starter in June is nice but, if not irrelevant, certainly tenuous. He never would have carved out an improbable and enduring career for himself without smarts, and he sees competition and potential replacements lurking around every corner of the defensive landscape.
“Never assume nothing,’’ Blackburn said. “Obviously you bring guys in, there are rookies, there’s guys that played last year, free agency we brought guys in. There’s a whole bunch of things that go into it. It’s my position to lose, I guess, but you never assume anything.’’
One of the guys the Giants brought in is Keith Rivers — who is everything Blackburn is not when it comes to NFL pedigree. Rivers, 26, starred at USC and was the ninth player selected in the 2008 Draft, the first linebacker off the board, going to the Bengals. Blackburn wasn’t drafted at all in 2005 coming out of Akron, which never has been known as the USC of the Midwest.
After four years filled with too many injuries and not enough big plays, Rivers is looking to resurrect his NFL life with the Super Bowl champions. He didn’t play at all in 2011 because of a fractured wrist. When the Giants traded for him, all they had to give up was a fifth-round draft pick. Rivers’ scheduled salary with the Bengals of $2.1 million was reduced to $1.25 million by the Giants, and he is on what he calls a “play for pay’’ deal, needing to prove he is worth keeping.
He said he believes he’s a keeper.
“I was the ninth pick in the draft.,” Rivers said. If he plays “anywhere near that [potential], and it’s beyond a steal. It’s armed robbery.”
Rivers is much more of an outside linebacker than someone who will man the middle, but if he ascends the way the Giants anticipate, it could affect Blackburn’s role.
Another possibility is Mark Herzlich, entering his second season, eventually could push Blackburn for a starting role.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that at this time a year ago, Blackburn was unemployed, as the Giants didn’t think he was athletic enough to stick on the roster as merely a special teams contributor. It wasn’t until November 30 when the Giants, ravaged by injuries at linebacker, finally called and plucked Blackburn off the couch and into the lineup, where he provided an immediate injection of smarts and was a key fixture during the playoff run, even intercepting Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI.
Can Blackburn recreate that magic and hang onto a job he never has before owned heading into a season?
“I can’t say he’ll stay there permanently, but right now Chase is our guy and no one’s clearly beaten him out for the position,’’ defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. “Chase has some distinct advantages over some of the other guys. I said to the defense in our meeting, if I want to rewrite my playbook, I would get Chase’s notes and rewrite our playbook. When I ask a question or when I talk about a defense in there, he puts the addendums in. So he has been the best extension of me so far because he probably knows as much about our defense and how to make the calls and run our defense as any of those linebackers, with the exception of Michael Boley, right now. That’s pretty good.
“I’d love for him to physically hang in there and [start]. No doubt about it. He does add something to our unit, so I would love for him to do that. Can he do that? I can’t say.’’
The answer will come in training camp and during the preseason, as Blackburn attempts to make it exceedingly difficult to remove him from the starting job.
“I hope it’s pretty hard,’’ he said. “I’m going to try my best to do everything I can to stay there.’’
paul.schwartz@nypost.com