Giants Xavier McKinney Lauds Challenge Posed by Darren Waller

Darren Waller presents a good challenge for the New York Giants' defense, which has historically struggled against tight ends.

Author:
Hunter De Siver
Publish date:
May 28, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

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New York Giants

When a team adds a Pro Bowl-caliber tight end to its roster, it could pressure a defense to get better. And New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney thinks new teammate Darren Waller is one of the premier tight ends in the league, a guy who can help the defense improve just as much as he can help the offense.

“You can feel his presence,” McKinney said last week. “He’s able to make plays inside, outside, against the corner, against the safety, it doesn’t matter. It’s fun to go out there and compete with him every day that he’s been here,”.

McKinney and the Giant's defense hope stopping Waller in practice will help them get an edge against other teams on Sundays, and he is excited to have the opportunity this spring to see the team come together on the practice field to improve each other.

“Right now, I think the biggest thing for us is competing as a team, getting better. Knowing when we’re out there competing against him, just knowing where he’s at on the field because he can make a lot of plays," McKinney said.

Heading into his fourth NFL season, McKinney is New York’s longest-tenured defensive back and is taking a leadership role for the younger defensive backs.

“I try to kind of get on them a little bit from time to time just to make them go a little harder, try to see what button I can push,” McKinney said, also praising youngsters Dane Belton, Jason Pinnock, and Trenton Thompson for their work ethic.

“Even though they’re young guys, you’re still able to learn from them, and they’re able to learn from us as well. It’s been fun just having the unit as one,”.

Part of being a defensive leader is donning the green dot, which designates who the defensive play-caller is. McKinney was the Giants’ primary defensive green dot holder last season. This year, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has several players wearing the radio in their helmets besides McKinney, such as linebacker Bobby Okereke.

That's just fine with McKinney. “Our focus is just having communication between everybody, being on point, and we’re just taking it day to day,” he said.

The Giants surprised the entire NFL community last year after reaching the NFC divisional round of the playoffs despite being considered a bottom-tier team before the season even kicked off.

This year there is still some mixed feeling about just how good the Giants can be, even with their off-season upgrades, but that said, McKinney said the team is shutting out the external noise.

“We don’t worry about last year,” McKinney said. “We just focus on today. Then each and every day, we’ll come in here and get better.”