Of all the areas of the New York Giants roster that need attention going into next season, the secondary is one of the most dramatic. Of course, the team has holes on the offensive line and could use help at other spots such as linebacker and potentially wide receiver depending on just how well Sterling Shepard is recovering from a 2019 season where he was highly affected by concussions. But the problems at secondary are some of the most glaring.
Last season, the Giants came into it with Janoris Jenkins and a number of young players at the position, with the notable exception of safety Antoine Bethea – whose age shows, while playing opposite of Jabrill Peppers at safety. And the weakness at the secondary spots for the Giants hasn’t gone unnoticed by voices around the league.
PFF rated the Giants as having one of the very worst cover defenses in the league, with only the Cardinals and the Dolphins being worse.
By season’s end, the New York Giants had said goodbye to veteran Janoris Jenkins and hello to a woeful 30th-ranked team coverage grade. To put it kindly, rookie cornerbacks DeAndre Baker (45.6 coverage grade) and Corey Ballentine (29.8) suffered growing pains, combining to allow 1,226 yards and 12 touchdowns on a combined 123 targets, while the defense as a whole gave up the sixth-highest completion percentage (70.9%), the fifth-most passing yards (4,376) and the eighth-most combined first downs and touchdowns (207). Safety Jabrill Peppers earned the team’s highest coverage grade (70.2), but it wasn’t enough to save his hometown team the embarrassment of another disappointing season.
The Giants will have a chance to improve in the draft and in free agency but it looks like their top pick is going to go towards outside linebacker Isaiah Simmons, or potentially an offensive position such as tackle or wide receiver. All of those things are needs to varying degrees and there’s no guarantee the secondary gets the attention it needs to bounce back – but then again, fixing all of the holes in one offseason is an impossibility due to the number of them.
The situation could still improve during free agency, and the Giants might be able to move up from being in the absolute basement in this area. They’ll need to, if they want to cut the amount of points the defense gives up each game, which has been consistently high over the past two years.