5 biggest areas New York Giants must address this offseason

Cornerback

Cornerback is arguably the hardest defensive position to play in the NFL. It requires incredible speed and instincts along with an advanced understanding of offenses.

The Giants thought they found their cornerback duo when they signed Janoris Jenkins to a 5-year, $62.5 million contract and drafted Eli Apple 10th overall out of Ohio State in 2016.

Since then, Apple has been traded and Jenkins may be on his way out. Apple became a distraction during a tumultuous 2017 season in which Landon Collins called him a “cancer”. The top-10 pick appeared in the first five games of this season before being traded to New Orleans for a 2019 fourth-round pick and a 2020 seventh-round pick.

Jenkins played well in his first two seasons with the Giants, and while he was still New York’s best cover corner in 2018, he did not look like the same player. The 30-year-old struggled against opposing team’s top wideouts in man coverage.

There has been speculation, similar to Olivier Vernon, that the New York Giants could cut Jenkins to create cap space. New York would save $7.75 million toward the cap by releasing Jenkins. However, with talented cover corners extremely hard to come by, a more practical route would be to renegotiate the 30-year-old’s contract.

B.W. Webb was average at best opposite Jenkins in 2018. The New York Giants may look to re-sign Webb for depth.

Rookie Sam Beal could be the Giants’ x-factor at corner next season. Gettleman used his 2019 third-round pick on Beal out of Western Michigan in last year’s supplemental draft. The New York Giants placed Beal on IR following a shoulder injury in training camp. If healthy, Beal could replace Webb as the Giants starter opposite Jenkins.

Gettleman may also look to the draft to find a corner. If the New York Giants cut Jenkins, it would be likely that the Giants would target a corner within the draft’s first three rounds. With the position in such high demand, the top four prospects will likely be off the board in the first-round.

Greedy Williams is the top prospect in the draft and the New York Giants will surely give him a look at six. However, the need for a talented edge rusher, tackle, or quarterback will likely take priority. Julian Love is a talented prospect out of Notre Dame that Gettleman could target in the second round. The three-year starter is the Irish’s all-time leader in pass breakups and was named was first-team All-American in 2018.

The cornerback market is thin this offseason and the Giants will likely use their first-round pick on another need, but there will surely be an emphasis on finding capable cover corners to bolster Bettcher’s secondary.

With a multitude of needs, Gettleman will need to draft effectively to surround Odell Beckham and Saquon Barkley with more talent. There are holes at several positions, but with limited cap space and a top-six pick, the New York Giants will need to prioritize which are the most pressing.

Those decisions will be made in the following month after close study of this year’s game film. The New York Giants are more than one offseason away from contending for a Super Bowl, but this offseason could lay the foundation for a franchise resurgence.