If finding a franchise quarterback is a Giants No. 1 offseason priority, then an upgrade at cornerback should be considered No. 1A.
What is very important for the Giants is that the medical evaluation component of next week's NFL Combine is that the outlook for the 2025 cornerback draft class could be mistaken for an orthopedic surgeon's waiting room patient.
After general manager Joe Shane highlighted the history and availability track record of clean injuries in the roster building last year last year, he made long-term running buddies for Dent Banks and slot corner Dori Phillips. If you're planning on drafting, you won't like what he sees with his two-round pick (or trade up from No. 34 to the back of the first round).
Colorado cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter has a clean outlook with unanimous top-for projections, but Michigan's Wil Johnson missed last season's last seven games with Turftoe.
Anyway, widely expected to become a top 12 pick anyway, Johnson had knee surgery that previously sidelined him in his first three games of 2023.
Among the targets that could be within the impressive range of the Giants…
Notre Dame's Benjamin Morrison missed the last 10 games after undergoing hip surgery, while East Carolina's Soap Voice Jr. missed the last 10 games after toreing the ACL during practice, and Kentucky's Maxwell Hairston required five consecutive hospitalizations with a shoulder injury.
“You just don't know because a lot of the cornerbacks who have been injured in a lot of the preseason hype have been injured,” ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid told the Post. “The one who's really up the board is Thomas from Azarey in Florida. Thomas has the potential. [to develop into a No. 1 cornerback] I think he's an athletic freak and the best pressman corner. He is only 20 years old, so young people work on his side. ”
In today's Pass-first NFL, it's a volatile place to live that requires a franchise quarterback and a number one cornerback.
The Giants ranked second in the NFL for cornerback spending last season ($9.3 million), and the bill would only jump to just $11.6 million in 2025, according to OverTheCap.com.
Only the three-time defensive AFC champion chief who was transforming the 2022-23 draft class in the secondary spent less.
Added the concerns about draft class health, along with the internal desire to remove some pressure from the bank after he took a major step into his development, as well as Shane's belief to assign resources to premium positions. The three-part equation could be on the Giants' major investment crisis at cornerbacks.
It is where supply equals demand.
The cornerback is the deepest position in the free agency starter, so the Giants were able to meet that need between watching the rookie's medical care and then riding the draft clock.
Only the Browns produced fewer intercepts than the Giants (5).
Jets DJ leads, 49ers 'Charvarius Ward, Lions' Carlton Davis, Chargers 'Asante Samuel Jr., Vikings' Byron Murphy Jr.
Pro Football Focus will inked a three-year contract projecting all five free agents and paying $14 million to $17.3 million per season.
Reid already knows he deserves New York pressure, and the Giants have just hired a former Jets Safety coach (2021-24) as defensive back coach.
One factor that allows you to turn everything above your head is when the Giants land veteran quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Matthew Stafford while holding the third pick.
The idea of pairing the Hunter with both the Giants' past two first-round picks (Banks (2023) and Malik Narvers (2024) on attack) then piques the appetite.
The Giants hired former Patriot Great Troy Brown as an offensive assistant coach. Hmm.
“If you limit the hunter to one side of the ball, you're taking away who he is,” Reid said. “In my opinion, he is a better cornerback, but he's such a rare player. He takes him to your building and see which side of the ball he's most comfortable with. Let me play.
“If his body can withstand playing on both sides of the ball, you let him do it. Your job as a coach or GM is to put the best 11 players on the field. There can be a strong argument that he is in the top 11 on both sides of the ball.”
