New York Giants: 5 things to watch the rest of the way

1. Seeing which young cornerback will step up

The rookie season of first-round draft pick Deandre Baker has left much to be desired, as the 2018 Jim Thorpe award recipient (given to the nation’s best defensive back) has been one of the worst cornerbacks in the entire national football league. According to Pro Football Focus, Baker grades out as the 112th ‘best’ cornerback out of 113 qualifying players, but he wouldn’t be the first corner to struggle out of the gates to end up having a quality career. Hopefully the bye week will be a positive one for the struggling Giant, and the good news for him is defensive coordinator James Bettcher doesn’t figure to be around much longer, which should allow him to play closer to the line of scrimmage where he’s more comfortable. Seeing Baker have any level of success over the last handful of games would provide a lot of goodwill heading into the off-season.

2018 third-round supplemental draft pick Sam Beal is another young cornerback with a lot of pressure on him, as the second-year player just completed his first regular season game as a member of Big Blue. It’s hard to fault GM Dave Gettleman – or Beal himself- for the injuries that have plagued the former Western Michigan star, and getting a look at the athletic ability that dazzled pro scouts is sure to excite fans if he can live up to his potential.

Rookie sixth-round pick Corey Ballentine has contributed the most to the team, despite being drafted the lowest (by far). Ballentine dominated training camp and hasn’t looked back, as he now seems to have a strong hold on the nickleback position. Between Ballentine, Beal and Baker, if the Giants can just get two of them to pan out, that would bode immensely well for the future. That’s not a crazy thing to ask for, and coaches and fans alike are going to get a real chance to evaluate these young players over the last six games.

This franchise really needs to hit on a couple – or better yet- all of them.