Giants Ready to Take Leap of Faith with Rostered Cornerbacks

The Giants say they feel good about their cornerback group. But do they really?

Dec 31, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants safety Dane Belton (24) runs back an interception against the Los Angeles Rams with cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants made just one waiver wire claim, and that was for a converted cornerback turned safety, Anthony Johnnson, Jr., who spent the summer with the Green Bay Packers.

That’s all well and good, but Johnson doesn't exactly fill what many perceive as a glaring need on the team, that being cornerback, where beyond Deonte Banks, the Giants are still not settled at the second starting cornerback spot, nor do they appear settled as far as depth is concerned.

To recap, the Giants, through the admission of general manager Joe Schoen, as seen during the Hard Knocks series, tried to draft another cornerback that in the second round. Their efforts were thwarted, so they pivoted to taking safety Tyler Nubin in that round and then selected Andru Phillips, a slot cornerback that they say has outside capability, in the third round.

From there, the Giants then threw their support behind third-year man Cor’Dale Flott, who played the slot for them last year when he wasn't banged up. Then when Flott suffered a quad injury during training camp that left this week to week, the team plugged in Nick McCloud, their best special teams player last season, into the role.

Despite these events, general manager Joe Schoen, who along with head coach Brian Daboll spoke to reporters on Wednesday a day after setting the initial 53-man roster, said he “feels good” about where the team stands with talent at the outside cornerback spot and feels that enough was done to address the position.

“Yeah, I mean, drafting Dru Phillips–we're excited about him. We thought that was a good pick for us in the third round,” Schoen said. 

“You get a certain amount of swings, and certain players are available. It's a position we'll continue to look at, as we will with all positions. If there's an opportunity to upgrade there, we will.”

Schoen was quick to point out that of the 1,100 players waived, only 26 were claimed by other teams, and of those 26, five were cornerbacks, perhaps in an attempt to justify why the team didn’t pursue the position more aggressively. 

“It's a difficult position to find,” Schoen admitted. “We're always going to look to upgrade across the entire roster. But that position, in particular, is one or two injuries away. There's not a lot of teams that have three good corners on their roster as you really look through it.” 

Schoen mentioned that McCoud and Flott will compete for the CB2 now that Flott is back from his injury. Daboll, meanwhile, said he had a good idea regarding which way the staff was leaning, but he declined to go any further.  

While this isn’t a case similar to the offensive line, where last year the Giants still didn’t have a starting unit in palace in the week leading up to their regular-season opener, it’s still a bit of a concern that neither Flott nor McCloud separated from the other in the competition.

And if injury should strike at the position, do they have enough faith in where their young depth currently stands to survive, or will they be forced to make a move? 

Schoen, as would be expected of him to say, preached the positive, saying how much he liked the roster on the whole, how they prepared as best as possible to address every spot, and how he’s confident in the coaching staff to help get the most out of the young group. 

But it’s a gamble, and one that the Giants admitted to by their attempts and failures to address the position first via free agency, where three veterans rebuked them, and then via the draft, where they came up empty in landing an outside cornerback.

Schoen and Daboll won’t admit it, but it’s also a concern that they hope a revamped pass rush will help to minimize.  Maybe that will happen, but if it doesn’t, the Giants defense could be in for some long afternoons.

---

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow on Instagram.
• Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.