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New York Giants: James Bradberry signed to lock down opposing receivers

By Larry Hammonds

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 13: (EDITORS NOTE - This image has been converted to black and white) James Bradberry of Carolina Panthers looks on during the NFL game between Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 13: (EDITORS NOTE - This image has been converted to black and white) James Bradberry of Carolina Panthers looks on during the NFL game between Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 13, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /
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New York Giants
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. James Bradberry, Carolina Panthers. New York Giants. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

One of the New York Giants top priorities this offseason was improving the secondary. Signing free agent cornerback James Bradberry is a big step in the right direction.

After five consecutive seasons ranked among the NFL’s bottom ten in passing defense, something had to drastically change for the New York Giants. On the opening day of free agency, Giants General Manager David Gettleman wasted no time addressing the team’s need at cornerback by signing former Carolina Panthers star, James Bradberry.

To say the Giants defense was bad last season would be an understatement. Their secondary was one of the worst units in the entire league in 2019. Opposing wide receivers salivated at the chance to face-off against New York’s cornerbacks.

Big Blue ranked 28th in the entire league for completion percentage against (66.4%)  and in and passing yards per game allowed (264.06). Worse, the G-Men surrendered the fourth-most passing yards per attempt (7.6) and seventh-most passing touchdowns (30).

Although the defensive line did them no favors with their inability to pressure opposing quarterbacks, the secondary didn’t help the line out either by giving the pass rushers an extra half-second or so to make something happen. That was a recipe for disaster.

Week in and week out the Giants deployed a very inexperienced and overmatched secondary unit. Five of the seven cornerbacks that took the field for the New York Giants last year were 23-years-old or younger. After severing ties with Janoris Jenkins during the season, the G-Men headed into free agency with three cornerbacks coming off their rookie year.

The destressed Giants were in desperate need of a veteran presence in the film room and on the field with this young squad. The new coaching staff and GMDG believe the addition of Bradberry to the mix is the answer the team needed. Though he’s only 26-years-old, Bradberry has four years of NFL experience, three more than any cornerback expected to make the 2020 team.

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