One thing to know about New York Giants‘ defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s defensive scheme is that he relies heavily on safeties to move up to the line of scrimmage and drop back into deep coverage.
Luckily for Graham, he has a bevy of talented safeties to utilize on his new team. General manager Dave Gettleman made it a priority to bolster the secondary over the past two seasons with youthful foundational players.
Follow Our New York Giants Facebook page for all the latest stories, rumors and viral content!
1.) Xavier McKinney
The Giants landed McKinney with their second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, a place they never thought they’d land such a quality player. Xavier was the highest-rated safety on the board, and him dropping to the second round was a blessing in disguise for a team that has lacked a true field general in the deep half.
McKinney can prowl the secondary looking for deep passes but also move up to the line of scrimmage to rush the passer. His college statistics in 2019 protesters playmaking ability, as he forced four fumbles and recorded three interceptions. To go with his impressive turnover production, he recorded 3.0 sacks, 95 tackles, and recorded one touchdown on a pick-six.
Among SEC defenders, he ranked second with 59 solo tackles, sixth with 95 total tackles, eighth with three interceptions, fifth with 10 passes defended, and first in forced fumbles.
McKinney is bringing incredible versatility and technique to the secondary for the Giants, and at 21 years old, his best years are ahead of him. If he can develop into a consistent player for Big Blue, he can be a staple on defense and a bonafide leader. The team will be relying on him to transform the deep half of the field.
2.) Julian Love
Love is an exciting young player who has the potential to develop into a nice rotational option for the Giants on defense. He played at both free safety and strong safety in 2019, giving him a bit more diversity in his game. He is also capable of filling in at cornerback and in the slot if need be, as the Giants begin to take a more utilityman approach with their second-year player out of Notre Dame.
Love is considered a safety, but he played 176 naps in the box, 129 at slot corner, and 77 at three safety in his rookie season. He played well against the run and dropped back into coverage efficiently to start his career. Pairing him with McKinney and Peppers could give the Giants a fantastic three-headed monster moving forward.
His ability to diagnose plays and stop the run showed off last year and his ability to attack the ball carrier in run support increased his value exponentially at strong safety. In three safety looks, we can expect Julian to play close to the line of scrimmage against the run and to rush the passer. Both Peppers and McKinney can do the same, which will give Patrick Graham the advantage of unpredictability.
3.) Jabrill Peppers
Peppers took a significant step forward and 2019, playing in just 11 games after suffering a season-ending injury on a punt return. Despite playing in fewer contests compared, most of his numbers saw an improvement or landed slightly below his 2018 statistics (he played 60 more snaps).
The former Cleveland Brown posted 76 combined tackles, recorded five tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, three forced fumbles, one interception which he took for a touchdown, a 63.9% completion rate against, and allowed just one score.
Moving over to the strong safety position, Peppers looked a lot more comfortable in his attempt to replace Landon Collins. While he did miss 12.6% of his tackles, he will be looking to improve his technique with new head coach Joe Judge running the show.
His ability to cover tight ends efficiently is a major factor for the Giants, in a place they have struggled in recent years. If he can play all 16 games in 2020 alongside McKinney and Love, he could have his best year yet.
This post was published on 2020-07-06 07:30
