The Giants number 11 in the 2021 NFL Draft. This year, compared to most others, they can go in many different directions with their first-round pick, and opinions on what their top priority should be vary.
Here, in the second part of a four-part series, A Case Can Be Made for the Giants with the Cornerback with Number 11. Cumming Tomorrow: Wide Receiver.
Are most cornerbacks the same as many reliever pitchers?
Think about it. There are actually quality players and a lot of people, who are prevalent in one year and different the next year. Now you see them, now you wish you didn’t.
The problem is that a team can never have too many capable corners, but most teams rarely, if ever.
In a year when the Giant can think of a wide receiver, offensive lineman, or edge razor, using a first-round pick on a corner is hardly an out-of-the-box idea. This particular draft is not top-heavy with corners, though (sometimes there are unanimous top-10 picks) and the desired interrelation of necessity and value may not be the most sensible veteran pick in a corner this year.
But it can work in this way.
There is a chance that the Giants will shoot a shot at the top-rated corner on their draft board, as scouts are unclear as to who will be selected in any of the first 10 corners. If one goes, it’s most likely that Alabama’s Patrick Sartain II – whose father was a top-notch NFL player, three-time Pro Bowl cornerback. If Suret is off the board – the Cowboys are most often linked to No. 10 on the team – it is unlikely that the Giants will have Jesse Horn (South Carolina), Caleb Farley (Virginia Tech), Efeta Melifonwu (Syracuse) or Greg Newsom (Northwestern) rated it high enough to be worth a total of No. 11. It is also unlikely that the Giants will be primed to go down to get one of these players, as general manager Dave Getelman has never traded down in eight previous drafts. Trading down for an edge rusher makes more sense.
There is disagreement that Surratt does not have a high-speed, which can be labeled a miss-miss possibility. Still, if he is there to take over, the Giants will have to consider him. Because … you can’t have too many corners.
It is not that the giants are starving in the situation. In a 2020 free agency salvo, he revealed $ 43.5 million on a three-year deal for James Bradberry and, a year later, it is considered to be well-spent money. Bradberry did everything needed to commit a No. 1 corner and did it all in a low-key, no-bravo manner that made him even more attractive to the front office and coaching staff.
The second outside cornerback was a problem-zone, with Isaac Yiadom getting the most work (nine starts), showing he should get a spot on the roster, but not nearly showing the lining on the other side of the warrant on a weekly basis. Area from Bradberry. Enter Adoree ‘Jackson. He rode the offseason for $ 26.5 million, leading to a season of injury for the Titans. If he is perfectly healthy, Jackson, a 2017 first-round pick, should be a major upgrade and the Giants should give Bradberry a young and athletic congratulations.
Other players may use defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Darnay Holmes turned in an encouraging rookie year, and he seems a legitimate factor as a slot corner. Julian Love, a cornerback from Notre Dame, converts to safety with the Giants, but still possesses the corner skills that Graham calls when needed. In a lesser and more specific role, Yiadom may be useful. Nobody knows, says Sam Beal, that the 2018 third-round supplemental draft pick has barely looked at the field, and was selected as a whole last season.
With multiple defenses, the Giants can get an injury away from a corner away position. If the season opener comes against the Cowboys, there is always a strong possibility the Ones will immediately be on the defensive zone – with Amari Cooper, Sidi Lamb and Michael Gallup to deal with. Depth is drawn mighty thin at the corner. Add talent like Surat to the mix and just like that, veterans can match anyone. In a league designed to favor the receivers, it is of great benefit to fill the field with defensive players who are favorably matched with the pass-catching talent thrown against them.
With Jackson’s signature, the frustration of turning a corner in Round 1 is mitigated, but not eliminated. It all depends on where the Giants are at the top spot with the top players at other places, where the first round spending is justified. Nobody ever said that cornerbacks are not worth such an investment, as long as they are called.
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