Joe Judge Hints at Upcoming Role for Cornerback Madre Harper

Harper is a guy the Giants had their eye on. Could he eventually become part of the starting lineup?

Except for veteran cornerback James Bradberry, the Giants cornerback situation has been an absolute mess.

Look no further than the last week and a half of training camp when general manager Dave Gettleman shuffled cornerbacks on and off the roster in an attempt to give the coaching staff what they needed to be competitive.

More recently, that shuffling has continued. The team added Logan Ryan at the start of the season, but their quest for finding another starter opposite of Bradberry has been like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Corey Ballentine, last year's sixth-round pick, currently holds a 155.7 rating, the worst rating of the Giants cornerbacks. After starting two games, he was benched for Isaac Yiadom, a player whom the Giants acquired via trade from the Broncos at the end of the summer.

Thus far, Yiadom hasn't been that much better, recording a 122.6 rating, the second-worst rating among the Giants cornerbacks.

This week, they signed Madre Harper off the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad, a guy who, according to Giants head coach Joe Judge, the Giants had an eye on.

"Obviously, there are no preseason games, so the exposure early on at the 53 cut was a little bit limited. He ended up staying in Las Vegas being a part of the practice squad. But he’s a guy we’ve had our eye on," Judge said, hinting that the Giants tried to initially sign Harper coming out of training camp.

In Harper, the Giants are getting a tall, rangy cornerback with good speed.

Harper is listed at 6'2" and 190 pounds according to his Southern Illinois bio page. After transferring from Oklahoma State, Harper appeared in 21 games for the Salukis, for whom he logged 88 total tackles, two interceptions, 20 passes defended, and one forced fumble.

"He’s definitely a developing player. I like the competitiveness he plays with," Judge said. "He’s definitely somebody that we’re anxious to get on the grass and start moving forward with him."

Harper wasn't cleared to work with the Giants until Thursday, which likely means he'll have a minimal role this weekend when the Giants visit the Rams this weekend.

"We’ll probably take that up to the wire and decide what we’re going to do with him this week," Judge said.

But Judge hinted that there might be a much larger role for Harper on the defense moving forward.

"We’re excited to have him in the building and get working with him."