New York Giants: Building blocks for young secondary in place

The New York Giants have been the butt of many jokes this offseason, but they have put together a very interesting young secondary.

The New York Giants have been taking a beating this offseason from analysts, fans of other teams, and pretty much anyone who knows anything about football, specifically because they traded one of the best young players in the NFL (Odell Beckham Jr., in case you forgot) in the biggest blockbuster trade of the NFL offseason.

Not only that, but the Giants followed that trade up by drafting Duke QB Daniel Jones with their top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

The Giants have probably rightly caught a lot of flak for their moves this offseason, but now that the dust has settled and everyone is moving forward, it’s clear that there was a method to New York’s madness.

They are far from a finished product on either side of the ball, but the Giants’ secondary is looking pretty nice with the young pieces they put in place.

Here are the pieces you should be reminded of, in the order in which they were acquired.

CB Sam Beal (Western Michigan), 2018 Supplemental Draft

The Giants surrendered a 2019 third-round pick for Sam Beal, meaning they used 2019 draft picks in moves to acquire all four of the players on this particular list.

The decision to get Beal came at a great cost as the Giant’s third-round pick was high in the round, but Beal has the talent to prove himself worthy of this selection. He was making plays throughout Giants OTAs and working with the first unit now that he’s back from a shoulder injury that took away his rookie season in 2018.

S Jabrill Peppers (Browns), 2019 Trade

Jabrill Peppers was dogged by draftniks coming out of Michigan because he looked like a player without a true position.

Two years into his NFL career, it’s clear that Peppers is capable of playing safety in the NFL long-term and he’s done a good job addressing questions about his ability to make plays on the ball.

He’s replacing Landon Collins in the Giants’ secondary so the pressure is high, but Peppers is a phenomenal athlete with great range and the ability to play physical in the box.

CB Deandre Baker (Georgia), 2019 NFL Draft

Say what you want about Baker’s athletic ability — the guy just flat out didn’t allow touchdowns at Georgia.

I think he has the right type of swagger and man coverage abilities to be able to excel in the NFL despite his lack of pure speed.

Ask Baker Mayfield what he thinks of Deandre Baker. This guy turns into a machine when the pads go on, and because of his athleticism (or lack thereof compared to other elite CB prospects) the Giants probably got a steal later in round one.

CB Julian Love (Notre Dame), 2019 NFL Draft

Analytics absolutely love Julian Love, who was a shutdown corner on the left side for Notre Dame the past couple of years.

As a matter of fact, Deandre Baker and Byron Murphy were the only two players in the country with a higher cumulative coverage grade than Love over the past three years.

I think he’s capable of playing inside right away at the NFL and locking down the slot. The Giants somehow stole him in the fourth round of this year’s draft, getting a starting caliber player who had 28 pass breakups over the last two seasons.

The Giants have a mix of veterans in the secondary besides these guys, but the path is clear for these four to really take starting roles this season and set the foundation on the back end of the Giants’ defense for the foreseeable future.