5 New York Giants who must dominate at training camp
#2 – Darian Thompson
Darian Thompson’s roster spot might be safe, but he is not a lock to start at free safety for the G-Men. To bolster the position, Shurmur recruited former Washington Redskins safety Orion Stewart. And Big Blue still has 2016 undrafted free agent Andrew Adams in the fold as well.
Andrews has so far generated the most noise during spring workouts and has picked up where he left off in 2017.
#Giants safety Andrew Adams looks like the early favorite to start opposite of Landon Collins this season.@AndrewAdams33 held opponents to 7.4 yards per reception in his coverage last season, tied for 9th best among 89 #NFL safeties. https://t.co/uqYDMwneQI
— PFF NY Giants (@PFF_Giants) June 18, 2018
NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo predicts that the 25-year-old out of UConn will beat out Thompson for the starting job come training camp.
Luckily for Darian, he is the bigger player – standing 6-2, 210 lbs. He can be a disruptor in the red zone (Week 5 against Los Angeles Chargers). But he needs to utilize his frame better to become a more consistent open-field tackler.
Thompson was able to start a full 16 games, which was excellent considering his 2016 rookie campaign was cut short after a season-ending injury in Week 2.
He is one of those players who can benefit from the pressure of competition. It’s likely that defensive coordinator James Bettcher will find a way to involve both Thompson and Andrews early in the season.