Safety

     The Safety, the last line of defense if you will. As the years have gone on, it feels like the safety position has decreased in the amount of quality safeties there are. I personally only have a few safeties in the league ranked at an elite level and after that, a lot of safeties are just good. Today I'll be going over the few safeties the Giants have on the roster, however, I'll be starting with one of their most recent losses.

    Xavier McKinney has been great for the Giants, despite missing most of his rookie year due to fracturing his left foot. He's been consistent in the back end of the defense and brought continuity to the team. In the 2022 season bye week, McKinney broke his hand in an ATV accident, sidelining him until the end of the season where he helped Big Blue in their surprising playoff run. Up until this off-season, it felt like all signs pointed to the Giants giving McKinney a new contract to keep him with the team. However the Giants not only did not use the franchise or transition tag on McKinney, but they also didn't match the Packers contract offer for McKinney when he gave the Giants a chance to do so. Giants fans were shocked, and I was one of them. I thought they would bring back the rising safety but it appears GM Joe Schoen had other plans. This leaves a major hole in the Giant's defense for the 2024 season and presumably, it won't be addressed until the draft as the Giants have barely any cap space left after some free agency moves, which I will address in the next post. I wish McKinney the best of luck in his new home, although I'll be rooting against him when we play.

    Next up is the surprise contributor, Jason Pinnock. The New York Jets selected Pinnock in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft but was cut by them on August 30th 2022, meaning he only spent a year with the team. Howver he didn;t have to go far for his next team as the Giants picked him up the next day. What came next no Giants could have seen, Pinnock became the starter opposite Xavier McKinney and played well for his role. He played in 14 games that year, and then played 16 of 17 this past year as well. 2023 was his most productive year, with 85 total tackles, 59 solo, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions. Pinnock has been phenomenal for a waiver pick up and will be with the team again in 2024 as a starter. Who will be next to him is the real question, and someone already on the roster just might be the pick.

    That supposed starter next to Pinnock is none other than the Iowa Hawkeyes product Dane Belton. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft, Belton was picked to fill the Giant's gap at safety. Then, the Giants only had Xavier McKinney after the departures of veterans Logan Ryan and Jabrill Peppers. Belton was the first addition of that off-season for this group. However, Belton has only seen limited playing time during his first two years in the league. Despite playing 32 out of 34 possible games, Belton was primarily used in a rotation role for the G-men. Despite this, Belton has shown promise as a ball hawk when he plays. In his first year, he had two interceptions and 3 passes defended, and in 2023 he also had two interceptions and then 2 passes defended. Belton may not be at McKinney's level by any means, nor get to where McKinney is, but that doesn't make him a bad player. It is hard for young players to improve when used in limited roles and Belton fits that case. Yes, he has some tackling issues as well as coverage issues but he's still growing as a player and could make a year 3 jump if given the starting role.    Moving on potential additions to this safety group. They still have the rookie Gervarious Owens on the roster who played four games this past year with limited snaps. They also added veteran safety Jalen Mills in free agency, not a needle mover but adds veteran depth to a very young group. More likely than not the Giants are done adding safeties in free agency so I expect them to draft a safety come the draft in late April. However I haven't gotten a good look at the safeties for this upcoming draft, so I am going to instead give a quick analysis of a safety that is still available in free agency and that I think fits for the Giants.

    I believe a good fit for the Giants at the right price could be former Bills safety Micah Hyde. Hyde is on the older side but if the Giants can get him for the right price, it would bring another veteran presence to the safety group. So why do I like Hyde exactly? Well, Hyde is a former Bill, meaning he has ties to current Giants GM Joe Schoen as well as current HC Brian Daboll. Along with that, Micah Hyde has great positioning of his body, just look at the clip below from BLKonYT.

    Hyde expertly turns his body the right way the snag the ball right from under the wide receiver's nose. He won't be a game changer for the big blue defense but he will provide stability and fill the hole Xavier McKinney has left. Now do I think the Giants will bring in Micah Hyde? Most likely not. He's old, expensive, and has an injury history. This team has been moving away from older players and keeping the core young, but if there was one safety I think the Giants should bring in, it's him. Tune in next time for a review of the Giant's current free agency moves.