The New York Giants completed one of the most shocking trades in recent memory last offseason. After five spectacular seasons with the Giants, the team traded away superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. In return, the Giants received the Cleveland Browns’ first and third-round picks, along with Jabrill Peppers, a former first-round safety.
Jabrill Peppers was the key to getting the trade done. Reports indicated that the Giants would not trade Odell unless they got at least two first-round picks in return. Ultimately, they did not, but to the Giants, getting Peppers was like getting a first-round pick. Jabrill was certainly a first-round talent but he had already played two full seasons in the NFL by the time the Giants acquired him.
In Jabrill Peppers’s third NFL season, there were plenty of great moments, mixed in with a fair share of disappointments. The biggest disappointment of the young safety’s third season was his season-ending injury. Peppers suffered a back injury in Week 12 that kept him sidelined for the rest of the year. Fully healthy entering his fourth season with his fifth-year option picked up, Jabrill Peppers is primed to break out as a true defensive playmaker on the Giants’ defense in 2020.
Jabrill Peppers Stats and Highlights
Jabrill Peppers played and started in 11 games for the Giants in 2020. In those 11 games, Peppers was easily the best playmaker on the Giants’ defense. He totaled 76 combined tackles, including 51 solo and 5 tackles for loss. In 2018, Peppers played in all 16 games with the Browns. He recorded only 3 more combined tackles in 2018 than he did in 2019 and the same number of TFL’s.
The New York Giants’ defense featured Peppers in a prominent role. He lined up all over the team’s defense and made plays in every facet of the game. The Giants brought Jabrill on 27 blitzes last season. He recorded a pressure on 6 of those 27 pass-rushing snaps.
Jabrill Peppers also significantly improved in coverage last season. In 2018, Peppers’s coverage was targeted 48 times. He allowed 29 completions (60.4%), 368 yards, and 5 touchdowns for a passer rating of 110.4. In 2019, Jabrill brought that passer rating all the way down to 84.0, allowing the opposition to go 23/36 with only 268 yards and 1 touchdown. Peppers recorded 1 interception in both seasons, including a pick-six in 2019.
If there is one thing that Jabrill Peppers needs to improve on, it is his tackling. That is arguably Jabrill’s best skill, but it is also something he needs to do with more consistency. Jabrill Peppers’s missed tackle rate in 2018 was 12.2%. In 2019, it was 12.6%. Jabrill missed 11 tackles in both seasons. 11 missed tackles in 2019 means he missed 1 tackle per game. Jabrill was a turnover machine in 2019, forcing 3 fumbles. He is an aggressive, hard-hitting safety that excels in run support. But in 2020, the Giants will need to see Jabrill Peppers become a more consistent tackler.