If you were going to pick one negative aspect out of the NY Giants signing Logan Ryan, it would be the possible effect it could have on Julian Love.
NY Giants fans everywhere got their wish on Monday afternoon when the team went out and secured the best defensive back on the market in Logan Ryan to sure up the secondary after an offseason filled with injuries, arrests, and opt-outs.
Dave Gettleman was able to lock him up to a one-year deal for what most consider to be under his market value at $7.5M. The official terms haven’t come out yet, but that figure would have to represent the most Ryan could possibly make.
There’s a chance that some of that $7.5M could have to be earned in the form of incentives which would make this deal even better for the NY Giants.
Although I’ve preached a patient and rebuilding approach, it’s hard to argue with the logic behind bringing in the 29-year-old Ryan after how we’ve seen the secondary slowly crumble all offseason long.
While few are predicting the 2020 NY Giants to go on a Super Bowl run, no one wants to see the secondary get toasted week in and week out either, and there was a very real chance of that with 2019 sixth-round pick Corey Ballentine manning one of the starters spots (no disrespect, he’s just not quite ready).
If you were going to point to one negative aspect that this signing could have on the NY Giants’ secondary long-term, it would be that Julian Love may have his snaps limited in 2020 as a result.
Logan Ryan and Julian Love profile as almost the exact same type of player – one that rotates between free safety and slot corner – and Ryan is surely being brought in here to command a starting role.
With rookie Darnay Holmes impressing at camp and looking like he’ll command the slot corner role, that could leave Julian Love as the odd man out here.
There’s a chance that role could be as the team’s outside #2CB, but it’s more likely that he steps in at safety as he seemingly has transitioned there as he’s gotten older and that’s how his agent marketed him this offseason.
So, what would the best configuration of a NY Giants secondary look like now?
Again, how the NY Giants decide to use Logan Ryan will be the catalyst for how the rest of the secondary shakes out, but I’d love to see him at least try to win the outside cornerback job and attempt to start there to begin the season.
It’s all about getting your best players on the field, and barring another free-agent signing, Corey Ballentine would project as the team’s #2CB at the moment if Ryan was just to leapfrog Love on the depth chart.
Some have pontificated in the past (including myself) that Julian Love could very well be able to play boundary corner in the NFL despite him being a bit smaller and slower than your average outside corner, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets any reps there this week now that this signing has been made.
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has made no secret of the fact that he loves using three safeties at a time and that’s something I’m very much on board with in today’s NFL, especially if you have the personnel, which the NY Giants now do.
Julian Love has been thought to be a steal with very-high upside and a low floor ever since the NY Giants drafted him in the fourth round of the 2019 draft and it would be a shame to see him buried on the bench during a rebuilding season.
I’ve got confidence that Joe Judge and Patrick Graham will figure out a way to keep him involved, and hopefully, they let players like Ryan and Love move around and use their versatility as a strength.