New York Giants: Reaction To ESPN’s Biggest Hole To Fill
The New York Giants have a couple of holes to fill, and ESPN New York’s Dan Graziano said Nat Berhe at free safety is the biggest one; do you agree?
The New York Giants had a lot of holes to fill this offseason. After missing the postseason for the past four years, and drafting rather poorly, the Giants needed to fill the gaps with a free agent spending spree.
They did well, adding plenty of talent along the defensive line in Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison to go with the re-signing of Jason Pierre-Paul and Johnathan Hankins to improve in the trenches. They also added a high-impact player at cornerback in Janoris Jenkins to pair with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the defensive backfield.
The Giants would continue adding talent in the 2016 NFL Draft, as they received high grades for their work. But, if there was one area that the Giants needed to fill and failed to do so was at the safety spot.
The Giant struggled to find safety help last season, and the same happened this season. The Giants will hope that one of their younger players will be able to step up and seize control of the free safety spot next to second year strong safety Landon Collins.
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Over at ESPN, their NFL Nation reporters all chose which player was filling the biggest need for the teams they cover. Giants’ reporter Dan Graziano pinpoined the safety position as his biggest need to be filled, selecting Nat Berhe as the player that will step up.
Berhe, who was selected 151st overall in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, was someone the Giants expected to be in the running for the free safety spot last season. A calf injury would derail that, as Berhe missed the 2015 season. He is back healthy and ready to fight for a starting spot this offseason, and is one of about four or five players the Giants will evaluate for the spot.
Here is what Graziano had to say about Berhe:
"This time last year, Giants coaches had second-year safety Nat Berhe pegged as a possible starter at free safety. But a calf injury cost Berhe his entire 2015 season, and they never really filled the void. Berhe is healthy now, and the spot still hasn’t been filled, which means that with a strong spring and summer he has a chance to emerge as the starter at this vital position in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. Berhe has plenty of competition, but none of the other candidates — Bennett Jackson, Mykkele Thompson or rooke Darian Thompson — has any more NFL experience than he does. If he shows what they expected him to show last year, Berhe could be the man on the back end of the defense."
Berhe has a solid shot to be the starter, and has the lead right now probably. The coaching staff likes him, but he has to earn the spot.
Because he missed last season, he doesn’t have much of a lead, if any, on anyone else. Bennett Jackson, Mykkele Thompson and Darian Thompson all have a strong shot at gaining playing time, if not the starting job.
This will be something to keep an eye on all offseason, as the Giants need to find a playmaker and someone comfortable playing in space in the center field role. When forced into it last season, Collins struggled mightily as he is more comfortable playing near the line of scrimmage in a run stopping role.
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To allow that to happen, the Giants need to find someone to complement him at free safety to roam the defensive backfield like Collins sticks his nose in the action near the line. Berhe could fill that role for the Giants this season.