Stock up, stock down for NY Giants: Post Draft Edition

Stock down: FS/CB Julian Love

The NY Giants took Julian Love in the 4th round in 2019. Julian has been lauded for his high football IQ and versatility. The team experimented last year with using Love as a cornerback in the slot and utilizing him as a roving safety in the back half of the defense.

Coming into the draft, it seemed that Love had a stronghold on the starting safety job next to Jabrill Peppers. However, the Giants ended up taking 1st round talent Xavier McKinney with their 2nd round pick and also nabbed two more mid-round cornerbacks in Darnay Holmes from UCLA and Chris Williamson out of Minnesota.

Now, Love’s fit in the team’s much-realigned secondary is in doubt.

The main pressing question is will Love stay at safety, move back to cornerback, or do a bit of both? Joe Judge acknowledged this thought shortly after selecting highly touted Xavier McKinney from Alabama. “Julian has a great skill set. Hey may be an every-down safety, he may be an every-down corner.”

Judge later stated that this could change on a weekly basis depending on the upcoming opponent and Patrick Graham’s gameplan.

The NY Giants have now taken five cornerbacks in the last two drafts, used a supplemental draft pick on Sam Beal in 2018, and signed James Bradberry to a 3 year, $45 million deal this offseason. To me, this signals that the team is not fully impressed with what they have at the cornerback position.

Love is a very talented player that can be useful in many situations. Julian will need to have a great training camp to lock down roles in different packages. For now, Julian Love should be able to see the field this season, both in the slot and in three safety packages.