Breaking Down New York Giants’ Situation at Cornerback

This next installment of my offseason New York Giants position unit review looks at the cornerbacks.

 

2015 In Review

In 2015, the Giants finished with the league’s worst-ranked pass defense, allowing 298.9 yards per game.

However, when evaluating the reason why the Giants pass defense fell apart at the seams, there are some who will point to a lack of a pass rush as being the main culprit.

To an extent that’s true, but to take that idea a step or two further, if the pass rush was so bad—and it was, as you will see later in this analysis—then what does that say about all the flaws that were exposed in the back end of the defense?

So let’s now talk about the cornerbacks. First, the depth at the position was simply dreadful, and that became very apparent when Prince Amukamara missed part of the season with a pectoral injury.

Behind Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Amukamara were Trumaine McBride, Trevin Wade and Jayron Hosley.

Of those three, only Wade—who won the team’s slot cornerback role—remains on the roster.

Let’s talk now about coverage, which is the primary job of a cornerback. Other than Rodgers-Cromartie, who per Pro Football Focus posted a 67.2 NFL Rating in coverage, not one other cornerback on the roster came close to that solid mark, the coverage ratings ranging from 90.0 (Amukamara) to 124.0 (Hosley).

So yes, the pass rush was a problem—a big one at that. Not only did opposing quarterbacks have all day to scan the field, the lack of the pass rush badly exposed just how thin the Giants were at cornerback.

 

2016 Outlook: Where Can This Unit Improve?

Stats aside, the biggest improvement that needs to be made is in the depth at this position.

For as good as Rodgers-Cromartie has been, it remains bothersome that he takes himself off the field at inopportune times. Sure enough, when he does that, the opponent goes right after his replacement.

The Giants did try to improve the depth at this position. They let go of Amukamara, who flashed talent but dealt with injuries that would affect his aggressive style once he returned.  They brought in Janoris Jenkins to replace him.

Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson rated the Giants’ decision to hand Jenkins a five-year, $62.5 million contract with $29 million guaranteed as the fifth-worst move in his “10 Worst Moves of the 2016 Offseason” analysis.  

Here is Monson’s explanation for his doubts about making Jenkins one of the highest paid corners in the game:

Jenkins is a gambler who can make a lot of big plays, but he has also surrendered 22 career touchdowns and over 700 receiving yards every season of his career. In two of his four seasons, he has been beaten for a passer rating of more than 110.0, and has never held opposing receivers to a completion percentage of under 61.7 percent, a mark 54 cornerbacks bettered this year alone.

Even if you work on the basis that the 2015 version of Jenkins is the player you will be getting going forward, that player had the 32nd-highest coverage grade among corners this past season, and was second-best on his own team, trailing Trumaine Johnson. 

In addition to Jenkins, the Giants drafted Eli Apple in the first round out of Ohio State.

According to College Football Focus, Apple boasts some impressive numbers over the last two seasons, such as a 71.3 coverage rating and a 48.5 percent pass completion rate on balls thrown against him.

The problem is that Apple isn’t a slot cornerback and the Giants have, per Over the Cap, $16 million in 2016 cap space tied up in starting cornerbacks Rodgers-Cromartie and Jenkins.

While Apple reinforces the depth—he’d certainly be an upgrade in the slot if he can learn to play it—big question marks remain regarding the rest of the depth at this position.

In addition to Wade, the Giants have six other relatively unknown players at …

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