New York Giants Xavier McKinney Adjusting Well, but Aims to Get Better

Giants rookie second-round pick Xavier McKinney is thrilled to be a New York Giant. But in terms of being an NFL safety, he’s nowhere near where he wants to be.

“I’m just trying to get better each and every day,” he told reporters Thursday. “I’m not exactly where I want to be right now. Try to earn the respect of my teammates, try to earn the trust of my teammates. That’s what I’m going to do.”

McKinney has had his moments, such as when he has picked off passes during practice this week. He’s also broken up passes, but while some might accept that as a moral victory, McKinney doesn’t.

“No, never satisfied. That’s my biggest thing right now,” he said. “For me, I know what I can do. I know what I’m capable of. A lot of the times I go back and watch my film and when we watch film as a team, I always study and see what I did wrong and what I can do better so I can improve on a play. Whether it’s a down or whoever I’m guarding, I try to make sure I key on that every time I watch film.”

Unlike some of his fellow rookies, McKinney has the advantage of having played in a college system widely regarded as one of the most NFL-like systems in the country, that being Nick Saban’s program at Alabama.

While McKinney’s transition to the Giants has been relatively smooth because of where he came from and because in Joe Judge and some of the other Giants assistant coaches, there is some familiarity with what he did in college, the most significant transition for the rookie has been the pace.

“It’s definitely a different level of speed and tempo,” he said. “It’s still somewhat similar as far as what we do. As far as tempo-wise, it’s a little bit faster. It has a lot of similar things to it.

"When I kind of figured out and when he discussed some of his rules and how he wanted things to be handled and how we wanted us to be as a team, it was almost like a mirror version of how it was at ‘Bama for me.”

In terms of fitting into a still young Giants defensive secondary, McKinney has been encouraged by how the chemistry has been developing.

“As a DB room, including the corners and all the safeties, we’re building it every day in film, when we are out there in practice,” he said.

“When we are walking through, we always try to make sure we are good communication-wise in what we do. Try to make sure we are on the same page so when we get out on the field everybody is working on a string so it’s a lot easier to play like that. I think it’s coming along really well for all of us.”

Besides working and growing together, several young players and young veterans such as corners James Bradberry and Julian Love and safeties Jabrill Peppers and Nate Ebner have stepped up as leaders in showing the younger players the right way to do things.

“They are trying to teach us all the things to do. Whether that’s off the field or on the field, they are trying to make sure we have the right mindset coming into it, so we don’t get lazy or nothing gets bad from that standpoint. There are pushing us and making us work really hard,” McKinney said.

But despite all that leadership, the defensive backs are far from being a finished product.

“We as a group still have a lot to work on and improve,” McKinney said. “That’s what we make sure that we do every day when we walk in the film room and get out there for practice.

“For me, my main focus as a rookie is trying to get better.”

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