When New York Giants‘ GM Dave Gettleman elected initially to move up into the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to snag cornerback DeAndre Baker out of Georgia, most were excited about the talent he was bringing to the position.
Optimism was high surrounding the young corner, but the struggles in his rookie campaign outweighed the hype that followed his drafting. While he was frequently targeted by opposing quarterbacks, he quickly learned that arrogance at the professional level isn’t tolerated until you’ve proven yourself.
Former Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz spoke with Baker about his progression last season and what he expects moving forward:
Cruz asked Baker what he wanted to build upon throughout the season and what he wanted to do:
“Just the mental part of the game, just learning how to break down film, tendencies of the receivers, learning from the older guys, things to help my game,” Baker said.
The following question looked at his mentors in the locker room and who he relied on the most in his development:
“AB, Antoine Bethea, MT, Mike Thomas. They would help me break down the film in different ways and play different techniques, stuff like that.”
The influence the veteran players had on Baker was significant, even though he struggled for a majority of the campaign. The hope is that he can progress into a reliable corner in 2020, given the Giants cut Janoris Jenkins late in the season and don’t have a No. 1 option to hold down the fort in his absence.
The New York Giants need to play the secondary safe this offseason:
If the Giants don’t address the position in free agency, they will look to Baker to fill the void in the meantime, however, with ample cap-space, I would be surprised if Gettleman doesn’t allocate resourced towards the spot.
Baker did mention one significant factor that hurt his success during his rookie season — the timing of the quarterback’s passes and how quickly the ball leaves their hand. He specifically mentioned how difficult it was to adapt to the speed of things.