New York Giants Are Betting on Young Corner to be Legit Starter in 2019

Sep 2, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Western Michigan Broncos defensive back Sam Beal (1) intercepts a pass intended for Southern California Trojans wide receiver Jalen Greene (10) during a NCAA football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC defeated Western Michigan 49-31. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants are extremely thin in the secondary of their defense, featuring only Janoris Jenkins as an experienced option. I expect the team to bring in a few veteran players as we get closer to Spring training, but there’s one player in specific that the Giants seem to be banking on.

The New York Giants need their second-round corner to rise to the occasion:

In 2018, general manager Dave Gettleman spent a third-round pick on Supplemental Draft corner, Sam Beal. The young corner injured his shoulder missing the entire season but is on track to return to full form in 2019.

The Giants can start training April 15 ahead of the regular season, and head coach Pat Shurmur believes he will be ready to go:

“We feel like he has those skills. He is doing a really good job coming back from that shoulder surgery. He had an excellent fall in getting himself ready to go,” Shurmur stated.

Beal has tremendous movement in the open field with soft hips and agility. The Giants were intrigued by his skill-set, as he has solid height at 6-1, and the fluidity to stick with any receiver. His height allows him to compete with all size wide receivers.

Despite Beal’s impressive tangibles, he will need to begin training at a high-level to become accustomed to the NFL. His injury occurred before training camp even started in 2018, and the Giants knew about his pre-existing shoulder ailment.

That fact only attests to the lack of confidence they had last season in the team or more-so that they would be engaging in a true rebuild.