The New York Giants’ defense was plagued by inexperience this season, particularly in the secondary. Entering the season, the Giants’ defensive backfield was comprised of a handful of young and inexperienced players, aiming to take that next step to establish themselves as quality starters. Unfortunately, that vision didn’t fully come to fruition this season with New York’s young secondary pieces struggling to play at a consistently high level this season.
The Giants need a veteran cornerback in their secondary
This offseason, adding talent to the secondary will be a top priority for Big Blue. While searching the market for a new cornerback, the Giants will need to target a veteran presence to add some experience and physicality to their secondary.
Adoree’ Jackson is currently their only true veteran presence in the defensive backfield. He is playing on a one-year deal and isn’t necessarily playing well. Thankfully, there are several veteran cornerbacks projected to be available in the 2025 free-agency period, including one physical talent from the Buffalo Bills.
The Giants could target Bills CB Rasul Douglas in free agency
Buffalo Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas will be a free agent this offseason, coming off a three-year, $21 million deal he signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2022. The Packers traded Douglas to the Bills mid-way through the 2023 season.
Douglas has been in the NFL since 2017 and has consistently found himself starting as one of the top two boundary cornerbacks on each team he has been on. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound cornerback brings plenty of size and physicality to the position, matching up well with some of the league’s strongest outside wide receivers.
The 29-year-old cornerback has a knack for getting his hands on the football with 19 career interceptions, three career interception touchdowns, and 79 pass defenses in his eight-year career.
Pro Football Focus has Douglas ranked as the No. 15 free agent in the upcoming 2025 class:
“Douglas has faced some challenges to start the 2024 season, but his knack for making plays on the ball ensures he’ll attract significant interest in 2025,” PFF.com detailed. “Heading into this season, he had recorded at least seven pass breakups in six of his seven NFL seasons and notched four or more interceptions in each of the past three seasons.”
Douglas has had a down 2024 season
The 2024 season has been a down campaign for Douglas. His 60.7 overall PFF grade is the lowest of his career since the 2020 season. He has let up a career-high 75.0% completion rate in coverage this season with a 124.1 passer rating against and only five pass defenses.
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Could the Giants sign Douglas at a bargain?
This downseason could be viewed in one of two ways by the Giants. For one, they could consider Douglas an aging veteran on the downslope in his career, discouraging them from signing a cornerback amidst regression. Or, they could consider this season an anomaly when compared to his prior three seasons of strong play, and aim to pay Douglas on a bargain deal this offseason while anticipating a bounce back in 2025.
Regardless of his somewhat disappointing performance this season, Douglas would be the Giants’ best cornerback by a wide margin. If the Giants were to target him in free agency this offseason, they could likely sign Douglas at an inexpensive price tag, upgrading their secondary with a seasoned pro at the cornerback position.
