The New York Giants entered the 2019 NFL Draft will a mere fraction of the secondary strength they currently possess. Janoris Jenkins, Sam Beal, and Grant Haley made up a bulk of the talent – one great corner and two unproven, one of which hasn’t even stepped on an NFL field yet.
The New York Giants upgraded their secondary in the draft:
It was safe to say the secondary was a mess, but after drafting Georgia standout Deandre Baker and Notre Dame’s Julian Love, the narrative is changing quickly.
General manager Dave Gettleman elected to trade his second and fourth-round picks to move up into the first-round to snag Baker with the 30th overall pick. He surely would’ve been off the board at No. 37, so this was an extremely well-timed move. Shortly after multiple corners were selected.
Baker brings extensive natural instincts as a man-coverage specialist that can match up with wideouts. He was the top-rated corner in the draft and the Giants didn’t have to give up too much to grab him. With Love, Big Blue received great value in the fourth round
Giants move up to No. 30 to select CB Deandre Baker pic.twitter.com/kImYRA7SKS
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 26, 2019
Gettleman stated that Love “stood out like a sore thumb” on their draft board, making him an instant impact player and a potential starter in the nickel.
Love’s dynamic and versatile style of play benefits the Giants greatly. He can flip-flop from an outside corner position to the interior.
If that ain’t the most BPA pick ever, I don’t know what is.
Julian Love to the #NYGiants pic.twitter.com/0Qyf5zvUJR
— Fair Shake Football (@FairshakeFB) April 27, 2019
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein stated in regard to the Notre Dame corner:
“Pure and simple, Love is a cover guy who possesses the feet, hips, instincts and competitiveness you want in a corner. He operates with outstanding technique from both man and zone, and his ability to anticipate and recognize routes allows for stickier coverage. He’s more finesse than physical and his lack of top speed might need to be schemed around with certain matchups. However, Love’s cover talent, intelligence and ball skills give him a good shot at succeeding outside or from the slot.”
Julian was a projected second-round pick but was snagged in the fourth by the Giants. Pairing him with Baker makes the secondary that much better – essentially adding a first and second-round value to a team that had only one true starting corner.
More about: New York Giants
