New York Giants Training Camp Profile: CB James Bradberry
With the New York Giants needing and wanting to get the Joe Judge era off to a fast start, one of the themes of the 2020 roster-building season was familiarity.
In the case of cornerback James Bradberry, it was general manager Dave Gettleman who had the familiarity with Bradberry, widely regarded as the second-best cornerback on the free-agent market, behind Byron Jones.
Bradberry, it turned out, was a godsend for a Giants defense that was looking to deploy man coverage. While most of his 2020 stats weren't career highs, Bradberry delivered a strong enough showing that earned him his first Pro Bowl berth and helped stabilize a shaky situation at cornerback for the Giants.
Background
Bradberry was a second-round (No. 62 overall) pick by the Panthers in the 2016 draft out of Samford University, whose stock began to skyrocket after the Panthers released cornerback Josh Norman.
If iron sharpens iron, then it's no wonder that Bradberry is among the top shutdown cornerbacks in the NFL.
Playing the first four years of his career in the NFC South, Bradberry faced some of the game's top receivers like Julio Jones (Falcons), Mike Evans (Bucs), and Michael Thomas (Saints) twice a year.
So how did he do in four years against that top competition? He posted eight interceptions and 47 pass breakups to go along with 222 solo tackles, including seven tackles for loss and three sacks.
In other words, just another day at the office for Bradberry, who earned his first Pro Bowl berth with the Giants after finishing last season with a career-best 70.1 NFL Rating.
What He Brings
Besides being the classic NFL shutdown cornerback, Bradberry brings the kind of versatility to the defense that it wouldn't be surprising if defensive coordinator Patrick Graham hoped to get a dozen more players with Bradberry's skillset.
Bradberry is a scheme-friendly player who can thrive in the slot or on the perimeter. He is just as good in zone coverage as he is in man, and when it comes to selling the goods to the opponents, his poker face is second to none.
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In short, that allows Graham to do all kinds of fancy things with the back-end of his defense in terms of exotic blitz packages and coverages that start out looking like one thing and then morph into another.
If the skillset isn't enough, then how about his durability? Bradberry has started in 75 of the games in which he's appeared, including 15 for the Giants last season (he missed one game after coming in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, which necessitated him going on the reserve/COVID list).
All in all, Bradberry has, at least so far, delivered a return on investment that most general managers dream of getting on their priority free agents.
And with the Giants having added talent to their cornerback unit, the sky's the limit for this group and, in particular, Bradberry, who excels in man-to-man coverage.
His Contract
On March 26, 2020, Bradberry signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract with $31.9 million guaranteed. If Bradberry is on the Giants roster on the first day of the 2022 league year, $2 million of his base salary that season will become fully guaranteed.
Earlier this off-season, Bradberry converted $8 million of his salary to a bonus that saves the Giants $4 million against the 2021 salary cap but increases the 2022 cap number (the last year of his contract) by $4 million.
Roster Projection/Expectations
Barring injury, Bradberry will return as the starting left cornerback, where it's likely he'll continue to match up against the opponent's top receiver.
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