‘It’s Personal’: Why Giants DB McKinney Has Beef with CeeDee Lamb’s Cowboys

“For me, I take it personal every time I play the Cowboys for the rest of my career,” said McKinney. “That’s just how I feel about that situation.”

FRISCO - Safety Xavier McKinney thought he was going to be a member of the Dallas Cowboys via the 2020 NFL Draft. Instead he’s a budding star with New York … with a Giant grudge.

“For me, I take it personal every time I play the Cowboys for the rest of my career,” said McKinney. “That’s just how I feel about that situation.”

McKinney’s beef: The Alabama star figured he’d be selected by Dallas in the No. 17 slot. Instead, the Cowboys found themselves surprised by the availability at No. 17 of Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb, and took him.

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“I think everything came full circle for me,” McKinney said during an appearance on the “All Things Covered” podcast. “That was the team that was supposed to come get me. The team talked to me a lot, and they liked me when I was interviewing and all that stuff. …”

McKinney got his revenge in the 2020 regular-season finale, when he helped his Giants beat Dallas as he recorded an end-zone interception with 1:15 to play to secure a 23-19 victory.

“Having that pick against the Cowboys was great because going into that game, I knew what we needed to do to have a chance to even make the playoffs,” said McKinney, who in that draft fell to the second round and the 36th selection.

McKinney’s Giants didn’t end up in the playoffs, watching on TV same as Lamb’s Cowboys as Washington ended up winning the NFC East.

“Ultimately,” McKinney said, “we didn’t get to where we wanted to be. We’ll get there next year.”

If the Giants do accomplish that, they’ll like have to go through Dallas again - and it won’t just be Giants vs. Dallas again … and maybe for the foreseeable future, McKinney vs. Lamb as well.

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