What to Watch: Defensive Backs Who Could Be On the Giants' Draft Radar

The feeling is the Giants won’t draft a defensive back high because the team used four draft picks in the last two years--corners DeAndre Baker (first round), Julian Love (fourth round)and Corey Ballentine (sixth round) and corner Sam Beal (third round, 2018 supplemental draft).

But let's expand the look at this position beyond the draft picks. First, Janoris Jenkins was released towards the end of the season, a significant move given that this is a heavy passing league, and a team can never have too many good corners.

The young corners all struggled in 2019, albeit the system was harder than the 2020 one should be to conceptualize. Individually speaking, as much as I love Baker’s upside, the consistency isn’t there yet; Sam Beal is constantly getting dinged up and has been adequate in coverage; Ballentine struggled mightily in the slot, and Love has been training to play safety.

If Baker suffers an injury, this team would easily have the thinnest cornerback unit in the league, and they arguably do now, with all the uncertainty.

While I feel it might be worth it to place a call to Byron Jones' agent, he's likely to be too expensive, and the Giants might have to go to more of a second-tier group if they're going to add to the cornerback unit via free agency.

Or they could add via the draft, as there are some corners in this class that would fit well with the Giants.

CB Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State

Height: 6-foot 1⅛
Weight: 205 lbs.
Hand Size: 9⅛”
Arm Length: 32⅝
Wing Span: 78⅝

I would love for the Giants to go in another direction with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, but there would be no feeling of melancholy from me if the Giants ended up with Okudah. It fills a need, not as pressing as some of the other requirements, and he’s an incredible player.

He has the ideal build of a cornerback and has all the athletic tools that a coach wants at the position. He’s so sticky in coverage and rarely ever gets out of phase, doesn’t allow wide receivers to maintain the redline up the field (will ride them on the sideline and not get too grabby), and he’s physical in run support with a large tackle radius.

He has excellent footwork all along through the route and does a great job with his hips at the line of scrimmage, not over committing, while also possessing the fluidity to recover if he does make a mistake.

If the Giants draft Okudah, he would be the number one cornerback who would be tasked to lock-down, like Xavian Howard, when he was healthy in 2019 for Patrick Graham. Okudah and DeAndre Baker would form a high upside, young, cornerback tandem that could develop into something special.

CB CJ Henderson, Florida

Height: 6-foot 1
Weight: 204 lbs.
Hand Size: 9”
Arm Length: 31 ⅝
Wing Span: 75 ⅞

A potential Giants target in Round 2 who has a good frame and build, with exceptional athletic ability, almost to a fault because he relies on it so much. His athleticism assists with his ability to recover and his short-area quickness outside.

He is quick, has very fluid hips, mirroring skills, and footwork. The reason he’s not talked about as much as Okudah is because he struggles with tackling thanks to sloppy mechanics and sometimes looking disinterested.

When offensive players have momentum moving towards him, he doesn’t seem overly enthused to slow them down, so there are competitive toughness questions about that.

There have been corners coming out of college that were drafted high with the same type of issues. I don’t feel this will appease Dave Gettleman, but the coverage skills, and fit as a man corner, are hard to deny.

CB Troy Pride Jr, Notre Dame

Height: 5-foot 11½
Weight: 193 lbs.
Hand Size: 9”
Arm Length: 30⅝"
Wing Span: 74"

Pride’s could potentially fill the nickel back role for a team that struggled mightily against the slot this season.

Pride possesses good movement skills, lateral agility, hip discipline, and nimble feet, which can allow him to operate in space, and at the line of scrimmage when receivers have that two way go.

He’s feisty at the line of scrimmage and is a willing tackler with good short-area quickness. He went down to the Senior Bowl and performed well throughout the week, and he may be available on Day 3.

Adding Pride would give the Giants a more stable option at the nickel position.

CB Lamar Jackson, Nebraska

Height: 6-foot 2
Weight: 208 lbs.
Hand Size: 9 ½”
Arm Length: 32 ¼
Wing Span: 77 ⅞

Yes, you read that correctly, his name’s Lamar Jackson, but we're not talking about the quarterback.

This Lamar Jackson has all the size a team could want in a corner. The question is, does he combine that with the essential athletic traits to succeed at the position?

Jackson is a long-limbed, high cut, physical corner that can jam and press well at the line of scrimmage, but whom I think would be susceptible to receivers who excel with their short-area quickness and who would also have some limitations in man coverage because his lateral agility and ability to stay in the hip of quicker receivers could be problematic.

With all that said, put Jackson in the right scheme--a predominate Cover-3 where he can play the boundary--and he could shine.

The Giants might be looking to play more man coverage, but bringing a player like Jackson to develop, and play special teams, isn’t the worst idea in the world.

Could he possibly be developed into a safety at the next level? Yes, but that transition does take time and is difficult.

S Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne

Height: 6-foot ⅞"
Weight: 217 lbs.
Hand Size: 10⅜”
Arm Length: 32⅞
Wing Span: 78½

This small school prospect is quickly making a name for himself not just because of his story, but for what he brings to the table.

He combines excellent measurables with incredible ability. He showed up at the Senior Bowl, and no one would have thought he was a Division II player as he was excellent in all the drills throughout the week and left Mobile with so many more teams and media, boasting about his ability.

Dugger should be in for an excellent combine as well. His athletic traits are very apparent when watching him; his explosiveness laterally and downhill jump out at you, as does his ability to accelerate, which is my main interest.

He has the athletic traits to play deep safety. I don’t think he’s there yet, still needs some work on understanding the speed of the game, angles, and a lot more of the nuanced based aspects of playing safety.

Dugger does have the range that coaches look for; it just needs to be maximized now, and Dugger hasn’t shown any lack of ability to comprehend those teachings.

The Giants have been hurting for a deep half safety for some time, and Dugger could possibly be developed into the answer.

S, Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois

Height: 6-foot 3
Weight: 221 lbs.
Hand Size: 9⅝”
Arm Length: 32⅛"
Wing Span: 77⅝"

Like Dugger, Chinn is coming from a smaller school (FCS). However, he showcases impressive athletic ability, physicality, size, burst, possible single high capabilities, and he also went down to the Senior Bowl and had a very good week.

Now Chinn may not possess the same athletic ability as Dugger, but he’s incredibly good in short areas, has fluid hips, and his acceleration is solid. He was very versatile at Southern Illinois, where he played over the tight end, deep half, single high, nickel/LB, and he excelled at his level of competition.

He has excellent catch radius, and ball skills were showcased at the Senior Bowl and throughout his career at Southern Illinois. Just like Dugger, Chinn can come into the Giants and develop/acclimate to the NFL game for the Giants.

The Giants have players that can execute similar roles to Chinn in Love and Peppers. But if Chinn slips in the draft, he would be an excellent addition.

S, Jordan Fuller, Ohio State

Height: 6-foot 1⅞"
Weight: 203 lbs.
Hand Size: 9”
Arm Length: 31"
Wing Span: 76 ⅛

Fuller has single-high capability; he’s explosive, understands angles well, and does a very good job utilizing his sideline to sideline speed.

He has very good range in this capacity, along with good ball skills and disruption ability. However, there’s a reason Fuller is going to be available on Day 3.

Despite his tackling numbers, he doesn't seem like he’s always motivated against the run. His tackling mechanics are sub-par; he drops his head way too much and leaves his feet when he doesn’t have to, but his athletic attributes are so intriguing, especially with the Giants' need at deep safety.

If he's selected, the coaching staff must ensure his tackling gets cleaned up, which is doable. If that happens, the Giants could find a very solid player that fills a dire need late in the draft.

The Giants have so many holes to fill on the roster, that they must make every single pick count, and then some.