1) S – Jabrill Peppers
In a way, the NY Giants might have telegraphed how they feel about Peppers, when rather than sign him to an extension last offseason, chose instead to pick up his fifth-year option.
Suddenly, the NY Giants’ secondary is among the deepest positions on the roster, and arguably one of the most improved defensive backfields in the NFL.
Still, Peppers remains a key contributor and will likely open the season as the starting strong safety alongside Logan Ryan.
Why Peppers will get an extension
Peppers is coming off one of the most productive, and prolific seasons of his career.
If Peppers can build on his career-high 91 total tackles, 2.5 sack, and one interception 2020 campaign as an anchor on the back-end of coordinator Patrick Graham’s defense, that might be enough for the NY Giants to commit to him long-term.
Why Peppers won’t
Despite his productivity Peppers at times was a liability in coverage, his 57.2 coverage grade from PFF reinforces what the eye test showed of his play in 2020, and being charged with 13 missed tackles is suboptimal for a safety.
Meanwhile, the NY Giants have invested significant resources in the NFL Draft — and free agency — at safety the past two offseasons, including signing Ryan and drafting Xavier McKinney in Round 2 last spring.
If the NY Giants believe McKinney or Love have higher ceilings, and those young players show they can be competent alongside Ryan in the reps they get there in 2021, the organization could choose the younger and more affordable option to Peppers.
Agent’s take on what an extension will look like:
“I feel like he could get somewhere around $10 million per year. He’s part of a good group of safeties, but he’s not a stand out player by himself. The thing with him, and the Giants is they may want to lower the cap hit this year and extend him now.”
Matt Lombardo is FanSided’s National NFL Insider and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday. Email Matt: Matt.Lombardo@FanSided.com, Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL