This Giants Unit Among NFL's Most Improved in Free Agency

When it comes to navigating the free agent market to revitalize the New York Giants roster, general manager Joe Schoen is still seemingly cutting his teeth at the job. However, one position group he has addressed lately deserves some flowers.

That would be the Giants’ defensive secondary, which came into the offseason as one of the team's top three weaknesses.

When Schoen and Daboll arrived in 2022, the Giants tried to abandon having an overpaid secondary and build things from the ground up with youth, but that experiment has mostly failed to help the franchise be competitive.

While New York finally found a stud in Andru Phillips in the third round of the 2024 draft, who immediately rose to the occasion as one of the brightest rookie starters in the slot, the rest of the unit mostly held a sub-65.0 PFF coverage grade and, as a whole, finished 27th in that same metric last season.

Schoen and company wasted no time targeting a couple of the biggest names on the open market, signing ex-Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo and ex-Dolphins safety Jevon Holland to respective three-year contracts that caught the media's attention.

Each of those agreements was recently cited by Pro Football Focus as making the Giants’ secondary one of the most improved units in the NFL following free agency.

Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo (29) intercepts a ball intended for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Brooks (not pictured) during the first half at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Adebo was one of the 15-highest-graded cornerbacks last season despite dealing with a broken femur that sidelined him for the rest of the year after seven games.

He still managed to put himself into the top 20-man coverage defenders in that span, notching 10 forced incompletions, seven pass deflections, and three interceptions.

In the last two seasons, Adebo has been in the top five in those categories, with 43 total pass deflections and 10 interceptions, helping New Orleans finish in the middle of the pack in turnovers collected.

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On the other hand, the Giants finished with the fourth-worst ranking in that area and struggled not to get eaten alive on third downs and long-yardage situations.

The Giants’ secondary had a huge problem with slowing down the best outside wide receiving threats behind their Deonte Banks and Cor’Dale Flott duo.

Both players finished with a PFF coverage grade below 61.7 and allowed over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns between them, but Banks showed the more serious regression for a former first-round pick.

With Adebo entering the fold, the Giants can insert him into one of those perimeter corner spots and hand him the No. 1 role that has been missing while adding some much-needed depth to the unit.

The only concerns that might be in play are Adebo’s prowess as a man defender and Shane Bowen's acclimation to playing in a more zone-heavy system.

Perhaps the move will entice the Giants to start utilizing press man coverage looks more often, where Adebo can shine. This would make it more difficult for opposing receivers to punish them, as was seen on a weekly basis.

It’s the perfect combination of up-front pressure and stingy defense on the back end that New York will have to master in order to win in 2025.

Former Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland — Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) runs onto the field before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Meanwhile, Holland's addition was a very good sign that Schoen and the Giants' front office might have learned their lesson about letting top talent slip from their grasp.

They resigned Darius Slayton to a new three-year deal to keep his talents in the offense and mirrored that mindset by snatching Holland at a price that was way below PFF’s projection for the rising safety.

Holland will look to infuse the same level of talent that Xavier McKinney once did for the Giants while being a much better fit for their scheme.

He took 142 snaps in each of the free safety, box, and slot areas for the Dolphins during the 2024 season and allowed just 302 yards and three touchdowns while never being penalized.

The Giants lost veteran Jason Pinnock in free agency, but the departure wasn’t a big loss for the team.

Pinnock finished last in the position group with a 45.5 coverage grade. He, along with the rest of his teammates (including rookie Tyler Nubin, who flashed with 98 tackles before getting injured), allowed the opponent to complete at least 74% of targets against them.

Holland will bring experienced versatility and an elite set of eyes for the football, which will help keep the passing defense on point and potentially create more turnovers, putting the offense in positions to score more on the other end, an equally lacking issue from the 2024 season.

With these two signings, the Giants have ensured that the secondary isn’t a problem that they leave untouched for another year.

Short of filling the starting quarterback role and beefing up their offensive and defensive fronts, this was Joe Schoen's highest priority, which arguably led to some of his rare wins in the free agency period.

The Giants will throw out a more impressive lineup: Adebo and one of either Banks or Flott on the outside corner spots, Phillips and Tre Hawkins in the middle, and Holland and Nubin in the deep field.

That group should not be shredded due to its raw age and inexperience. Instead, it should help the system work closer to what was intended when the Giants hired Shane Bowen to fix a porous operation.

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