Giants 2022 UFA Primer: ILB Benardrick McKinney
Benardrick McKinney, ILB
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 257 lbs.
Age: 29
NFL Exp.: 7 seasons
College: Mississippi State
The New York Giants signed free-agent linebacker Benardrick McKinney to their practice squad six weeks into the regular season to provide depth to a unit affected by injuries and COVID-19 setbacks.
In November, the Giants promoted McKinney, who had been a standard practice squad elevation and/or COVID-19 replacement for three weeks prior, to the 53-man roster. In Weeks 11-15, McKinney recorded three starts and collected 19 of his 29 combined tackles over those five-game weeks.
Although McKinney played in 11 games for the Giants, his role on defense began to shrink as he was reassigned to provide more punch on special teams. McKinney didn’t log a single defensive snap over the last two game weeks of the regular season.
2021 Recap
After losing starting inside linebacker Blake Martinez to a season-ending ACL injury, the Giants inside linebacker group was left to scramble in finding a downhill thumper that could hold his own in coverage to pair alongside Tae Crowder.
They first tried Reggie Ragland, a UFA signing from the off-season, but when Ragland proved ineffective, McKinney was brought to the forefront. Unfortunately, he didn’t fare much better.
McKinney collected 29 combined tackles in 181 defensive snaps, did not muster a single pressure, and managed to be a burden in pass coverage, conceding 13 receptions on 19 targets for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Despite this being the second time in his seven-year career where he played 11 games or less, McKinney just didn’t nearly resemble the tenacious Pro Bowl linebacker he once was in 2018 with the Texans.
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Why Giants Should Keep Him
Considering his veteran experience and ability to play against the run, McKinney presents a handful of perks worth retaining. Aside from a dip in his tackling speed and efficiency, along with a hefty drop in his pass coverage ability, McKinney illustrated that he could be effective against the run (he recorded nine stops). He also was a solid tackler, only missing two on the season, a new career low.
Since the Giants don’t have the cap room to splash for someone else significantly better, bringing back McKinney could be their best bang for their buck should they look to pad their linebacker depth with competition.
Why Giants Shouldn’t Keep Him
As the season progressed, the Giants eventually decided to shift McKinney over to their special teams unit while they brought on free agent Jaylon Smith to fill his linebacker role for the remainder of the season.
Although he only played four games in 2020 for the Giants, McKinney put forth the worst performance of his career. In the four games and 234 snaps he played in 2020 (all of which he started), McKinney recorded more combined tackles (37), more solo tackles (19), and nearly twice as many stops (16) than he did in 2021 with New York.
McKinney also struggled in pass coverage, lacked athleticism, vision, and anticipation, and finished with a 28.6 pass coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.
Keep or Dump?
If there’s one position the Giants are in dire need of defensively for this upcoming season, it’s inside linebackers, where the Giants need an injection of speed and athleticism.
McKinney doesn’t provide that skillset. With this year's draft class being loaded in younger prospects offering those traits, the Giants might be better off moving on from McKinney.
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