When the New York Giants were on the board in the fourth-round it took them only a few seconds to decide on their next pick. General manager Dave Gettleman stated that the player selected stuck out like a sore thumb on their draft board.
Notre Dame cornerback, Julian Love, was the pick, and he might be the biggest steal for the Giants and their secondary. The negative narrative surrounding the lack of talent in the backfield was quickly alleviated after the Giants brass allocated significant draft capital towards upgrading the unit.
The New York Giants made some necessary moves:
The drafting of Love and Deandre Baker immediately provides support to the secondary, a unit that was comprised of just Janoris Jenkins, Sam Beal, and Grant Haley two weeks ago. Baker is an immediate starter opposite Jenkins and Love has been thrown into the mix in the slot.
Todd McShay coined Love as a potential steal for the Giants, stating:
“Outside of quarterback — which the Giants did address, even if it was in a questionable way with Daniel Jones — cornerback was the team’s biggest problem. There was no one there outside of Janoris Jenkins. But Big Blue adds Love and Corey Ballentine to clean the position up a bit. Love is one of the more instinctive cornerbacks in the class, and while he is definitely at his best in off-man coverage, he can also play press. Love has fast eyes and pretty good ball skills, and he is an above-average tackler who won’t shy away from contact.”
Love’s quickness and smooth technique provide Big Blue with a potential nickel player that can start right off the bat. He has the potential to even beat out Baker for the No. 2 spot, but I imagine they will look to use both simultaneously.
Gettleman and Co. found themselves a day 1 starter in the fourth-round, a very rare occurrence.