Giants Player Profile | Xavier McKinney, Safety

2019 Season Rewind

To many, safety Xavier McKinney was a first-round talent that the Giants were fortunate enough to get in the second round. That selection alone, in fact, has earned general manager Dave Gettleman high grades for managing to snag a player who offers tremendous value when he did.

And speaking of value, look at the countless ways in which McKinney excelled for Nick Saban in his defense last season. He played on the line of scrimmage as a blitzer or pass rusher, and he accounted for three sacks.

He played around the intermediate level, which helped him amass 95 total tackles and also allowed forced four fumbles.

In the secondary at safety, he was able to break up five passes and intercept three including one he returned for a touchdown--all that after a 2018 season that saw him amass 74 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, ten pass breakups -and two forced fumbles.

McKinney earned second-team All-America accolades from the AFCA, The Sporting News, and Walter Camp for his effort and contributions to one of the better defense in the country.

He was selected as a third-team All-American at safety by the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus. He was also named to the All-SEC first team by the league coaches and the Associated Press and was the 2019 Orange Bowl Defensive MVP.

Looking Ahead

Looking at the personnel already in place, including the free agents added, the natural hole is at free safety, which happens to be the position that McKinney plays.

He would be the ideal plug-and-play there because he's an intelligent football player who is used to making sure everyone is in a position to be successful. It's a big reason why he's capable of playing multiple positions-he knows what everyone on the defense is supposed to do.

That versatility brings up interesting options for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's defensive scheme. Does he allow McKinney, a rookie, to learn and get comfortable at one position first, or does he give him various responsibilities in multiple packages?

The presence of Julian Love also makes it more interesting. Love came on during the back third of the season and was the Giants' most productive young player in the secondary.

Many believe that Love should be playing free safety full time, but it is the position that he has the least amount of experience playing. Inserting Love into the lineup would most likely settle McKinney in as the nickel back.

It makes the Giants a faster team with better coverage, but they don't lose anything in the run defense because both McKinney and Love are able tacklers.

McKinney will be on the field. Whether he ends up in the deep middle or the slot may come down to Love's improvement as a safety.

If Love can become the legit starter at free safety, that allows the Giants to bring McKinney along slower in the slot and possibly on special teams. If Love is not the full-time answer, then McKinney will probably play free safety and move to nickel on obvious passing downs.

But you can't rule out McKinney being pivotal in creating this amoeba defense that consistently conforms to the opponent. It would not be a new development for him, as he's used to being asked to perform multiple roles.