Giants Double-dip into Cornerback Pool; Select ODU's Tre Hawkins III in Sixth Round

New York continued to add to the defensive backfield by plucking another defensive back with their sixth-round draft pick.

To no one's surprise, the New York Giants took advantage of a very deep cornerback class to add depth to a position that was one of need coming into this weekend's selection process.

With the 209th overall pick, the Giants added Tre Hawkins III out of Old Dominion. Hawkins is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, so he has decent size and length. He is, however, coming off a down year for him in which his 2022 season totals dipped across the board in nearly every major statistical category in 12 games started.

Hawkins finished fourth on the team with 57 tackles, down from the 76 he had the season prior, which set an ODU school record for most tackles in a single season by a defensive back. He also posted two interceptions in 2022, tying him for the team lead, and tied for the Sun Belt lead with three fumble recoveries.

𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙃𝙖𝙬𝙠ins III pic.twitter.com/JsyUWcGBQZ

— New York Giants (@Giants) April 30, 2023

Why the Giants Made the Move

Given the historically deep draft class at cornerback, it was just a matter of when the Giants would double-dip into the talent pool to reinforce a position that was a glaring need this off-season. 

Hawkins seems more like a developmental project--it will be interesting to learn why his production took the dip it did between the 2021 and 2022 seasons. But besides having length, he also has shown solid ball skills, which help him make up for the lack of ideal deep speed one might prefer for the position.

Scouting Report

Hawkins is a versatile player (much like Julian Love, though without the college production Love had) who can give a team snaps at safety. Per Pro Football Focus, his two-year ODU career snap distribution was 23 on the defensive line, 112 in the box, 18 at free safety, 63 in the slot, and 1,548 at outside cornerback.

Hawkins allowed 91 of 139 pass targets against him to be completed (65.5 percent) for 1,254 yards (283 after the catch), finishing with a 117.0 NFL rating. He allowed four touchdowns last season, down from the eight given up in 2021, and added his two interceptions to his resume last season.

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