The New York Giants learned some disturbing news on Wednesday afternoon. Rookie safety Xavier McKinney was diagnosed with a fractured left foot, which will keep him out for a majority of the 2020 season. While it is possible he does see the field later on in the campaign, the expectation is that the Giants will have to move on without him.
In addition to McKinney, linebacker David Mayo also suffered a torn meniscus. While reports indicate he could only miss a few weeks as they will trim the injured meniscus, it is an injury that forces the Giants to adapt with unreliable talent in the reserves.
The Giants do have second your player Ryan Connelly as an option, but he has sat the past few days of practice after healing from a torn ACL in week four of the 2019 season. With McKinney out, finding a supplement will be difficult. However, there is one glowing option that makes the most sense.
Options for the New York Giants to supplement the loss of Xavier McKinney:
1.) Julian Love
The former Notre Dame cornerback has spent training camp at free safety, and good thing he has since he will likely be asked to start the season there. Love did experience some reps at free safety in 2019, but he was used in a creative way to help him adapt and act as a utility player across the board.
During his rookie season, he tallied 37 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, three passes defended, and one interception. He allowed just one touchdown on a 65.5% completion rate against.
Ultimately, Love has the tangible traits to fill in as a starter for the time being. There was a good chance he would have gained significant playing time regardless of McKinney being healthy or not.
With Xavier out, this allows the former fourth-round pick to establish himself at the NFL level and potentially lock down a starting position. Nonetheless, it will be devastating for McKinney’s development, and it will ultimately set him back quite some time.
2.) Montre Hartage
Hartage spent his rookie season with the Miami Dolphins in 2019. His experience with Patrick Graham led to the Giants signing him as a reserve option.
Hartage played in just four games last year, tallying eight combined tackles, and allowing an 87.5% completion rate against. Don’t be alarmed by this excessive number, as his sample size is exceptionally low. It is possible he pushes for starting reps in 2020 with the secondary thin, but I believe keeping him as a reserve and letting Julian Love start is the ideal scenario.
3.) Logan Ryan
The New York Giants could go out and sign Logan Ryan, who has since proposed the idea of moving to safety. Looking at his statistical production, he has some of the best numbers for a corner in the NFL. That is primarily because he was targeted 103 times in coverage, allowing 68 completions.
Giving up five touchdowns in 2019 was problematic, but utilizing him as a deep field safety might be more beneficial. They could also look to sign him as a slot corner and move Darnay Holmes into the CB2 role. There’s still a lot left for the Giants to do regarding the roster, and with the regular season just three weeks away, they’re going to need to expedite the process.