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New York Giants Draft Preview: Safety

By Kenneth Teape

Nov 14, 2015; Champaign, IL, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Vonn Bell (11) reacts after a tackle against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Champaign, IL, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Vonn Bell (11) reacts after a tackle against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Will the New York Giants take a safety during the 2016 NFL Draft? We break down their current situation at the position heading into the draft and the likelihood of one being selected.

The New York Giants had a strong start to their offseason with a spending spree to start free agency. But, if the Giants want to truly have a great offseason, they will need to find some success in the NFL Draft beginning Thursday. The Giants have a few holes remaining that they would like to fill, and the draft will afford them that chance.

For this article and others to follow, we will break down the current outlook by position for the Giants, and how much of a need it will be heading into the 2016 NFL Draft. The ninth and final position we will take a look at is safety.

Current Depth Chart:

Starters: SS: Landon Collins FS: Bennett Jackson/Nat Berhe/Mykkele Thompson

Backups: Cooper Taylor, Justin Currie

The Giants secondary was a mess last season, and the safety position was a big reason why. The Giants put all their free agent eggs into the Devin McCourty basket last season and came away with nothing. Coupled that with the Giants allowing all their veteran safeties in Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps and Stevie Brown all leaving as free agents and the Giants were left with next to nothing at safety.

Not only was depth a problem, what little depth they had was crushed by injuries. Bennett Jackson and Mykkele Thompson didn’t make it through the summer without suffer a season ending injury. Nat Berhe and Justin Currie also missed the whole season, while Cooper Taylor appeared in only six games.

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As a result, the Giants went with rookie second round pick Landon Collins and retread street free agents in Craig Dahl and Brandon Meriweather. To say the outcome was not positive would be an understatement as the results were down right ugly.

The Giants were never able to find a combination that worked, as Collins too often put in a position not to succeed. Collins’ strength is playing the run, and he did that extremely well by leading the team with 112 tackles. But, he also graded out as one of the worst coverage safeties in the NFL.

It was a position he was forced into as the Giants just had no one else to do it. He came up short playing centerfield as a playmaker, with a dropped interception against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots being the play that Giants fans remember most as a missed opportunity.

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Despite that, Collins is a clear building block for the Giants defensively, one of the few that they have. If they can get a safety to play center field next to him, it will only make him a better player as he will not carry all the expectations as the last line of defense. That is a lot for any player to shoulder, especially a rookie, so getting Collins help should be near the top of the Giants priority list.

When that help will come in the 2016 NFL Draft is another question. With the 10th overall pick, there is no safety worth taking that high. But, in the late first and early second round there is a lot of talent that could be had at safety. We could see a situation like last season with how the Giants acquired Collins happen again.

If someone such as Vonn Bell from Ohio State or Karl Joseph of West Virginia fall out of Round 1, the Giant should be in the market to move up in Round 2 and snatch one of them. Both would fit well next to Collins as they can both be heavy hitters in the run game but also show strong instincts in the passing game as well, somewhere Collins struggles at.

If that does not happen, the Giants could find some help in Keanu Neal of Florida, Deon Bush of Miami (FL), Darian Thompson of Boise State or Jalen Mills of LSU in the second and third rounds. While there may not be any top flight talent for the first round where the Giants are selecting, there is value to be had later on in the early middle rounds.

Next: New York Giants Seven-Round Mock Draft

The need is clear for the Giants at safety. They could use a playmaker to pair with Collins, and very well could find one in the first three rounds. The likelihood of the Giants selecting a safety is very high, as they need to add more talent instead of relying on injured young players, which was a strategy that backfired last season.

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