The New York Giants have been looking for a cornerback to supplement the loss of DeAndre Baker and Sam Beal for the 2020 season. While they brought in Ross Cockrell as a potential solution, the Giants were unable to secure his signature. I don’t believe this was a money problem, but more of management refusing to guarantee him a starting position.
Joe Judge is embracing the rebuild:
On a conference call with media on Wednesday afternoon, head coach Joe Judge indicated that his priority is developing players who are already on the roster and not free agents.
This attests directly to a full rebuild mentality, which the Giants have failed to embrace the past few seasons. General manager Dave Gettleman started his tenure with a win-now approach. This backfired significantly and forced him to start over in 2018. Trading away key players and overhauling the secondary, the Giants have a completely new team two years later. The longest-tenured defender is Dalvin Tomlinson, who is going into his fourth year on his rookie deal. That should give you an idea of just how much the Giants have changed.
New NFL rules allow for tryouts of free agents, but Joe Judge said his first priority is developing players who are on the roster not worrying about players on the street.
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) August 12, 2020
However, the team has plenty of talent and playmakers to build around. Ranging from second your quarterback Daniel Jones to rookie safety Xavier McKinney, both sides of the ball have the potential to develop into quality units. Nonetheless, the team needs time to refine their talent and bring the best out of each individual player. Judge’s mentality focuses on details and fundamentals predominantly. His desire to maximize the skill set of each player is exactly how New England operates.
With the Giants unable to sign Cockrell, it led them to undrafted free agent Prince Smith out of the University of New Hampshire. Ultimately, developing young players and finding talent is how you build a competitive roster. Signing a one-year stopgap doesn’t make much sense when you’re in the middle of a rebuild.
Many have clamored on about trading for star pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue or signing a high priced corner like Logan Ryan. Ultimately, neither of them hold enough talent to make the Giants a championship-caliber team. Saving money and developing youth should be the priority.