
The New York Giants are getting an elite playmaker in Xavier McKinney out of Alabama. As the number one rated safety in the 2020 NFL draft class, the Giants landed him at the top of the second round, an unexpected development that panned out in their favor.
McKinney is a high character player that received glowing reviews from legendary Alabama coach, Nick Saban. McKinney’s toughness and diversity are two positives that Saban mentioned, noting that he played multiple positions in college and has the ability to adapt and react on the move.
Saban said specifically:
“I think Xavier has a lot of diversity as a player,†Saban said. “He can play man-to-man, he’s got pretty good ball judgment, he’s a good tackler, he’s got a lot of toughness, he’s a very instinctive and effective blitzer. He’s got some burst and acceleration to come off the edge or blitz up the middle and he’s got enough power to take on a blocker if he needs to. So he can do just about all the critical factors in terms of what we look for in a safety here. As he got experience, he was smart enough to be able to play multiple positions.
“I think the guy’s got some dog in him. He’s a competitive guy. He’s a playmaker. We have a production point system here that we use, and he was always high on that board because he forces fumbles, shows up in the right place, does a good job of executing. He’s instinctive, he’s a quick reactor, he’s got a burst. He can be a knock-back tackler. So he’s always been a real playmaker for us and it comes in a lot of different ways, but that’s probably his greatest strength – his production.â€
The stand-out defender brings a ton of upside to the defense, specifically at the free safety position. The Giants have struggled to contain the long-ball in recent years, and now they have a player who can move up to the line of scrimmage and act as a ball hawk in the secondary.
However, McKinney brings four elite-level stats with him from college:
1.) Solo Tackles
The Giants’ defense has lacked a sure-fire tackler in the backfield, and McKinney brings elite fundamentals in that category. He ranked second overall in the SEC with 59 solo tackles in 2019. Having a player you can trust in the open field is precisely what the Giants have been missing, and he will be an essential factor for them on defense when it comes to containing plays across the middle or speedy-wideouts looking to expose the boundaries.