With the New York Giants losing DeAndre Baker and Sam Beal for the 2020 season, management has been scouring the free-agent market for supplemental players. Over the weekend, they reportedly signed a deal with veteran Ross Cockrell, but negotiations fell through as the deal wasn’t as sweet as anticipated. Whether it be money problems or not being guaranteed a starting job, Cockrell will take his talents elsewhere.
However, the desire to find a competitive corner was still a priority for the Giants brass. They went out and signed undrafted free agent Prince Smith, who was released by the Philadelphia Eagles several days ago.
The Giants are signing UDFA CB Prince Smith, per his agent @JLSports3. Not expecting this to be their last move at the position after Ross Cockrell deal fell through.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 12, 2020
Smith is coming out of the University of New Hampshire.
Here are three things to take away from Smith and what the New York Giants are getting in the Rookie:
1.) He’s as competitive as they come
According to bleedinggreennation.com, a Philadelphia Eagles blog that spoke with Roger Brown of the New Hampshire Football Report, Smith is an exciting young player. A four-year starter for New Hampshire, Smith is as competitive as they come. His No. 1 strength is competitiveness, so he will battle with Julian Love, Darnay Holmes, Chris Williamson, and Corey Ballentine for the CB2 role.
Starting a young and inexperienced player at CB2 could be problematic, in fact, it will be problematic. However, the Giants don’t have many choices to field at the position. Nonetheless, we can expect Smith to compete hard no matter the situation.
2.) Willing to stop the run as a corner
One of Smith’s more exciting traits it is physicality. As a press cover corner, he’s willing to stop the run and put his body on the line. His competitive nature makes him proactive in all facets of the game. While this could lead to injury, considering his 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame, his desire to attack ball carriers is positive.
Many good cover corners lack the motivation to step up and attack running back’s, due to the size advantage. Having a player in Smith that will do what is needed is exactly what New York Giants head coach Joe Judge is looking for in his players.
3.) Smith is a physical corner
Being a physical corner off the line of scrimmage could help him in Patrick Graham’s defensive scheme. Graham utilizes cover-1 heavily and man coverage about 50% of the time, so putting Smith in that role would be beneficial. While I don’t imagine he will be starting anytime soon, he has a developmental upside to make an impact if need be. New Hampshire is a decent program that has sent players in the NFL, but Smith’s weakness lies in technique.
Judge is keen on refining fundamentals and details within players, so improving his tackling technique and more should help Smith exponentially in his progression in the NFL.