Is Ryan Lewis The Giants' Answer at the Second Cornerback Spot?
Is the third time the charm?
After two unsuccessful attempts at finding the second boundary cornerback spot with Corey Ballentine and Isaac Yiadom, the Giants might have found their answer for the time being in Ryan Lewis.
Lewis was inserted in place of Isaac Yiadom, who started the game but was benched in the first half.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lewis came in and allowed four receptions on six targets for 41 yards, playing 74% of defensive snaps at the boundary.
He certainly wasn't a world-beater for the Giants' defense, but it was arguably the best performance but up by any Giants cornerback not named Bradberry this season, and enough to earn the praise of head coach Joe Judge.
"I'm pleased with Ryan with how he played (Sunday)," Judge said. "He showed a lot of positive things in terms of how he played on outside routes.
"We have to keep putting him in positions where he can really use his speed and some of his instincts to make plays for us. Look, there are other situations where Ike is going to have a predominant role based on how we're trying to match certain things up and really get him worked in."
Lewis' resume speaks as a player who deserves a chance at a starting job.
As an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh in 2017, Lewis has made six starts in his carer with 43 tackles, one interception, eight passes defended, and two forced fumbles over the past two seasons.
In 2019, he spent eight games in Miami with the defensive coordinator Patrick Graham after joining the Dolphins in October.
Under Graham's leadership, Lewis held his own against opposing receivers, giving up just a 58.3% completion rate and just one touchdown on 36 targets.
Overall, Lewis had some good moments in the game and has given the Giants coaching staff something to work with this week.
Still, he will have to be more consistent in man coverage and must do a better job and reacting and anticipating where his receiver is going to be to avoid giving up the easy completions that he allowed in Week 4
Lewis will have much less room for error if he sees the same workload this week against the Cowboys, as Dallas boasts an elite passing attack with deep threat wide receivers Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and rookie CeeDee Lamb.
Head coach Joe Judge has reiterated that there aren't any true starters in the secondary, as the team deploys its defensive backs depending on what the packages call for.
Still, Lewis is on track to see his fair share of snaps based on the Giants' current cornerback situation and will be depended on to hold the responsibilities similar to that of a starter.
