When James Bradberry signed with the NY Giants this offseason, many questioned whether he was worth the contract he signed.
Through two games with the NY Giants, cornerback James Bradberry is proving to live up to the huge contract he signed with Big Blue this offseason.
His detractors pointed to the fact that he had never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, although this is a perfect example of why those teams can be a tad bit overrated. Bradberry was clearly ascending during his time with the Carolina Panthers and he has really begun to come into his own after playing out his rookie contract as a second-round draft pick.
Already, Bradberry has 6 pass breakups (one of which led to a Julian Love interception) and an interception. He’s also allowed just 46.2% of passes thrown his way to be completed, as outside of one bad play where he gave up a touchdown he’s been the epitome of a shutdown cornerback.
If only James Bradberry could play all 11 spots on the NY Giants defense, the team might be in business.
Can James Bradberry mask the other problems in the NY Giants’ secondary?
Unfortunately, Bradberry can only guard one wideout at a time so the NY Giants are probably going to struggle as a secondary for the better part of the season. Corey Ballentine has proven that he is not going to be an answer moving forward and after Sam Beal opted-out due to COVID-19 concerns and DeAndre Baker’s legal troubles, Bradberry is likely going to be on an island for most of the season.
The NY Giants undoubtedly can’t wait for rookie second-round draft pick, Xavier McKinney, to return from the nasty foot injury he suffered in training camp as it would allow for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to try some different things out.
Julian Love will be a candidate to move back to cornerback when McKinney returns, although for my money he should already be getting looks there with Logan Ryan fully capable of playing the safety position.
One of the two of them needs to get more looks at outside corner, especially if Darnay Holmes is going to be taking his lumps while learning to play the slot position in the NFL.