One position the New York Giants ‘must’ address during the 2020 offseason

While you could make the argument that the New York Giants ‘need’ to allocate resources toward a bevy of positions, one that stands out is free safety.

The Giants haven’t hosted a top-notch free safety in years, and trotting out Antoine Bethea to act like a blind man in the secondary wasn’t the answer in 2019. Bethea was stout against the run but was an absolute liability in the defensive backfield, recording zero interceptions at least 10-yards away from the line of scrimmage and just six passes defended.

Despite Bethea’s lack of production at free safety, he was essential to DeAndre Baker’s adaptation to the NFL, and even then, Baker didn’t prove his first-round valuation.

Moving forward, the Giants cannot continue to disregard the free safety position, especially with an extremely talented crop entering free agency. As one of the most limited spots on the field for talent, the options that present value are Devin McCourty, Justin Simmons, Anthony Harris, and Jimmie Ward.

The New York Giants have some great options to work with:

In recent days, I’ve strongly advocated for McCourty to be a priority for Big Blue. New head coach Joe Judge is familiar with Devin coming from New England, and he featured as one of the game’s best free safeties in 2019. Playing on an extremely disciplined defense and enjoying multiple Super Bowl appearances, McCourty brings much more than just tangible talent with him to his next destination.

However, Simmons is another intriguing defender, as he logged four interceptions and 15 passes defended last season. Having played for the Denver Broncos the previous four years, he’s primed to cash in on a hefty deal, which might deter GM Dave Gettleman, who needs to allocate more money towards the offensive line and pass-rusher positions.

Simmons, though, might be the best of the bunch, and the Giants have the capital to get a deal done. Overpaying now won’t seem like a big deal in a few years when the salary cap continues to rise, and free safeties become even more scarce in the NFL.

The bottom line, the Giants cannot continue to neglect this position and plug in rookies to fill a glaring void. Locking down an extremely young secondary starts with signing a veteran corner and free safety, and it will be costly, the defense desperately needs the help.