Giants Country

Is Giants CB Cor'Dale Flott a Good Fit at Outside Corner?

A look at the strengths and weaknesses of Cor'Dale Flott as a potential CB2 answer for Giants.

Gene Clemons

New York Giants defensive back Cordale Flott
New York Giants defensive back Cordale Flott / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
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New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll got people's attention at the team’s rookie minicamp a couple of weeks ago when he was asked about the plans for the team’s CB2 spot, currently vacant after the team declined to re-sign free agent Adoree’ Jackson.

Daboll was asked about the CB2 position, and as he sometimes does, he volunteered information about a specific player, third-year man Cor’Dale Flott, who is among those being considered for the role opposite of second-year man Deonte Banks.

“Look forward to working in phase three and training camp,’’ Daboll said. “But I’ve got a lot of confidence in Flott.”

RELATED: Giants May Already Have CB2 on the Roster

Flott spent his first two NFL seasons playing primarily in the slot and is just one potential candidate. He’ll compete with free agent cornerback David Long Jr. and veteran Nick McCloud for the role, while third-round draft pick Andru Phillips will begin his NFL career working in the slot. 

After watching all of his snaps from 2023, there is a positive and a negative reason behind this potential plan involving Flott as an outside cornerback. 

We’ll start with the positive: Flott is sticky in coverage in the slot. 

What stands out on film while watching Flott in coverage is that he's covering many elite-level guys who play inside and out. 

The simple answer is if he can cover them effectively in the slot, then it should be theoretically easier to cover them out wide. 

He has to worry about a two-way gap in the slot; on the outside, he has the sidelines to help him. That gives him leverage over receivers and allows him to be more physical when he presses in man or zone coverage. 

He does a good job of using his initial extension to decipher the receiver's range and spacing in press coverage. In man, he attaches to the receiver as he follows him on his route. 

He uses his length and speed to stay close enough to the receiver on the route that if it is not a perfect pass, he can make a play on the ball. In zone coverage, he carries the receiver and breaks off into an area after he makes the initial contact. 

It almost gives the initial appearance of man coverage that can make the quarterback hesitate for a second, allowing the pass rush to get pressure. 

He can also bait the quarterback into throwing a pass that appears to be open, but he is waiting to jump.

In 2022, he showed a bunch of excellent reps outside against great receivers and passing offenses. 

On the negative side, Flott is not a good run defender. This is not to say that Flott is soft or scary–he's neither. 

Flott’s physicality can be seen on film in how he attacks receivers in press coverage. You can also watch him fight against receivers when they try to block him. 

There are several examples of him successfully fighting to hold the edge or disrupting the offensive play design on the perimeter with a sweep or screen. 

The problem begins when he has to take on tight ends or worse in run defense. 

It continues when he is forced to defend the point of attack on more downhill run plays, and it gets worse when the run game gets a full head of steam coming right at him. 

While he can take on receivers on run blocks, tight ends or pulling linemen are just too much for him to handle, and they would be for many corners. 

He is not strong enough to hold up and not big enough to offer any natural resistance. As a result, he is overpowered and overwhelmed, creating running lanes at the second level for a running back. 

If he is not blocked, and he is there to make the tackle, that is also a 50/50 proposition. It’s not that he will not try to take him down, but he does not do a good job of attacking the ball carrier with momentum, and he usually loses the force battle against a man coming full speed at him.

Moving Flott outside would remove the need to operate in these situations regularly. At nickel, he must sometimes operate like a linebacker, and that is where this becomes an issue in the run game. 

On the outside, he will not need to operate in that capacity, allowing him to focus on his better skills found in coverage. 

That does not mean Flott won't need to clean up his tackling because he gets beat in the open field, but it will not be his primary responsibility. 

Giants fans should welcome Flott's move back outside as the team finds ways to get better value out of its roster of defensive backs. 

Maybe this was the plan all along: finish out the contract with Jackson, get Flott more experience on the field in the slot, and when it was time to move on, allow Flott to slide seamlessly into that position. 

Now,, it will be up to him to solidify the position. 

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Gene Clemons
GENE CLEMONS

Gene "Coach" Clemons has been involved with the game of football for 30 years as a player, coach, evaluator, and journalist.  Clemons has spent time writing for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Bridgton News, Urbana Daily Citizen, Macon Telegraph and footballgameplan.com.  He has a YouTube channel called "Coach Gene Clemons" where you can find his popular "X&O The Joes" series as well as other football related content. 

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