5 reasons NY Giants are 0-5 start with Dave Gettleman’s flawed roster building

Inability to identify premium talent at cornerback

Credit Gettleman where it’s due, James Bradberry has emerged as an elite cornerback in zone coverage and might be the Giants’ best all around defender.

However, Gettleman essentially wasted a third-round pick when the Giants took a flier in the 2018 supplemental draft on Sam Beal. Corey Ballentine, a sixth-round pick,  has been a liability in coverage and been benched multiple times in his first two seasons.

The Giants were forced to play Ryan Lewis meaningful snaps Sunday, in part because quarterabcks have frequently targeted rookie Darnay Holmes, who has a 36.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. 

In an era where the field is tilted significantly in favor of elite quarterbacks and passing offenses, Gettleman’s mishandling of the cornerback position in and of itself should be a fireable offense.

However, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that the Giants’ secondary continues to be a revolving door — outside of James Bradberry and possible deadline trade candidate Logan Ryan — because Gettleman steadfastly believes that games are won by effectively running the football and stopping the run.

Meanwhile, championship-caliber organizations have taken to building their defenses from back to front, while the Giants have won 9 of 37 games with Gettleman calling the shots.