The New York Giants have been rebuilding their secondary. Last offseason, the Giants invested heavily into their secondary during the 2019 NFL Draft. New York spent three of their draft picks on defensive backs in the draft (four if counting Sam Beal).
2019 was a step in the right direction for the Giants’ secondary. However, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. The Giants’ pass defense ranked fifth-worst in the NFL this season allowing 264.1 passing yards per game.
This offseason, the Giants need to prioritize rebuilding their secondary again. They are estimated by Spotrac to have over $69 million in cap space before they start trimming the fat and cutting veteran contracts. This gives New York the capability to sign big-name free agents in the secondary.
Luckily, there is one superstar cornerback that is set to hit the market in 2020. The Dallas Cowboys’ cornerback Byron Jones will be one of the most highly-coveted cornerbacks in the 2020 free agency period, and he should be one of the Giants’ top targets.
Byron Jones Stats and Highlights
The Giants’ division-rival Byron Jones is one of the best cornerbacks in the league. At 27-years-old, Byron would be a perfect addition to the Giants’ youthful defense.
Byron Jones is a versatile cornerback that makes a significant impact in pass coverage. He has experience playing both safety and cornerback at the professional level and has done both exceptionally well. Jones is 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. He’s a large-bodied cornerback with peak physicality to cover larger receivers and tight ends
Beautiful Back-Shoulder Fade Defense from Cowboys CB Byron Jones
?? In-Phase = Hips Even with the WR
? Get “Chest to Chest” when the WR Opens to the Back Shoulder
? Snap Head to Find the Ball
?? Play Through the Hands pic.twitter.com/VpgeKTKuhS
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) July 24, 2019
The 27-year old defensive back out of Connecticut spent his first five seasons with the division-rival Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are in a bit of trouble regarding their salary cap. They just paid Ezekiel Elliot and Demarcus Lawrence, and they still have not paid Dak Prescott. New head coach Mike McCarthy will have some tough decisions to make regarding the team’s impending free agents, and he might have to let some big names walk out the door. Byron Jones could be one of those big names to depart.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jones had a forced incompletion rate of 15.1%, which ranked 22nd among corners through Week 17, and he held opponents to a 22nd-ranked 11.0 yards per reception. Jones has also tallied 20 passes defended over the last two seasons to go with 111 combined tackles in the same span.