Giants and Joe Schoen should go all-in for one of the top safeties still available
As great as some of the moves have been for the NY Giants this offseason thus far, people are still quite concerned about the lack of depth for the secondary. It's up in the air who will start on the opposite side of the field from stud cornerback Deonte Banks.
In the middle, someone will have to step in and take over for safety Xavier McKinney after he signed a four-year, $68 million deal with the Green Bay Packers. What about Colts' free agent Julian Blackmon for that spot? In a recent post from Pro Football Focus, they named the G-Men as the best landing spot for the veteran DB.
The Giants landing Julian Blackmon would be a major win in free agency
"Blackmon started for two seasons in college at cornerback, and he has logged more than 350 slot snaps since 2022. In Gus Bradley's Cover 3-heavy scheme, Blackmon spent plenty of time as a single-high safety. Almost half of his snaps were down in the box in 2023. Blackmon appears to be a better fit near the line of scrimmage due to his average recovery speed, but his plus lateral movement and solid ball skills from his days as a cornerback show up more often when closer to the line of scrimmage. Blackmon's 30 defensive stops in 2023 were more than his career total before this season, and he missed a career-low 7.4% of tackle opportunities."
- PFF's Brad Spielberger
If not for Justin Simmons, we'd have no problem saying Blackmon is the best safety who is yet to sign with a new team. The 6-0, 200-pounder is coming off a tremendous campaign with the Colts, finishing with 88 tackles, eight pass deflections and four interceptions, all career highs for him.
Standout Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke saw NY linked with his former Colts teammate and he didn't waste any time trying to recruit him on social media. Will Joe Schoen end up trying to sign him to a new deal?
It's tough to say, as the Giants don't have a ton of money to work with cap space wise. However, we continue to wait on a Darren Waller decision. If the veteran tight end hangs up his cleats, it will open up around $6.5 million in cap space for the team to work with.
The Giants could opt to try and bring in a safety on Day 2 of the NFL Draft to push for the starting job, or they could look at the free-agent market. Simmons likely isn't in NY's price range, but the same can't be said for Blackmon. Him joining the G-Men would make sense for both sides.