Can the Giants find some depth after losing Xavier McKinney?

The New York Giants could use secondary assets to bolster Jerome Henderson’s room. Many believe the Giants may invest in the cornerback position, which is very likely. However, we shouldn’t ignore the Safety position, given the Giants’ depth and Shane Bowen’s past with three-safety sets.

Currently, both Dane Belton and Gervarrius Owens have a massive opportunity at their feet next to Jason Pinnock. There are players classified as safeties in this class who may be able to fill the apex defender role in the Giants' slot. If the Giants go “safety” on day two, it would likely be a versatile player who will operate as the nickel defender in certain situations.

Here are two Day 2 safeties and three Day 3 safeties who could interest the Giants in next week’s draft.

Day 2

Javon Bullard, Georgia

Bullard is a two-time CFB National Champion who won the National Championship Defensive MVP in 2022. He’s tough for a sub-200-pound safety with incredible instincts in Coverage and enough range to play the post. His vision fits well with Bowen’s two-read coverages, and his quick burst from a stagnant position is an invaluable trait for any scheme.

Bullard made 114 tackles, eight for a loss, with 3.5 sacks, 12 passes defended, and four interceptions. He isn’t a dynamic athlete, but he’s functional in every area, with a 9.2% missed Tackle rate and 43 career stops.

He handled Kirby Smart’s “STAR” nickel position, which entails high processing and run support ability. He is versatile, and Coach Smart aptly named his hitting ability “like a little stick of dynamite,” per Dane Brugler’s draft guide; it’s certainly very accurate.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Texas Tech

Taylor finished his college career with 200 tackles, 16 passes defended, 10 interceptions, and 57 STOPs. Through his five seasons at Texas Tech, he played in 58 games with 2,859 defensive snaps. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 in 2021, Second Team All-Big 12 in 2022 (PFF), and the same in 2023. He was a team captain. Taylor-Demerson was one of the biggest risers of the 2024 East-West Shrine Game week.

Strengths

• Very good overall athlete with smooth-moving
• Great agility to quickly change direction in a controlled manner and orient to target
• Explosive in short areas - closes width quick
• Quick accelerator when turning and running/bailing
• Fluid mover turns tight corners and stays low
• Has enough range and fluidity to play single-high
• Great eyes and solid anticipatory skills in zone/robber coverage
• High processor with exceptional understanding of offensive intentions
• Has command of the defense - constantly adjusting teammates to match offense
• Quickly attacks downhill to blow up the plays near the LOS
• Can play in either zone or man coverage from several alignments
• Attempts to dictate and harass WRs up their stem - gets physical
• Tracks the football well - solid sense of spatial awareness
• Will aggressively contact at the breakpoint
• Aware and controlled enough to drop down into the box and ROBOT to undercut deep over routes - gets body/eyes on QB (Kansas State Q2 10:28)
• Pesky in coverage - good technique attack the football at the catch point
• Texas Q4 12:44
• Kansas State Q3 6:46 up seam
• Kansas State Q4 00:35; PBU 3rd & 3 in EZ
• Tarleton Q3 8:05
• Can play post safety and has the range to cover ground
• Good recovery speed when a tick behind
• Understands his run support assignment - fills quick and aggressively
• Solid overall run support player from depth
• Damn good angles downhill into contact from deep-half
• Displayed ability to pursue well
• Excellent blizer off the edge - times it well, disguised
• Versatile - can play third safety/BIG-Nickel (has over 800 college snaps in the slot)
• Very tough player who competes his backside off
• Special teams experience - over 500 snaps on special teams in his career

Weaknesses

• Undersized, underweight, and only 23rd percentile arm length
• Eye candy can hold his attention a bit long on play-action
• Got caught looking at the mesh point on deep RPO concepts - put him in recovery coverage mode
• Can get wild into the tackle point (14.7% missed tackle rate)
• Must do a better job securing tackles and wrapping up
• Functional play strength as a tackler, but doesn’t dictate like other safeties
• Seemed to have a few coverage mishaps that led to big plays
• Cal Q1 14:50
• BYU Q2 6:18
• Only adequate ability to judge angles in pursuit when they’re tight
• Is an older prospect

Taylor-Demerson is a highly intelligent and versatile safety who has the athletic ability to play man coverage from the nickel or against tight ends up the seam while possessing excellent field vision and spatial awareness to thrive in deep and underneath zones. He is a willing, assignment sound participant in run support, but he must get better at securing tackles and finishing the play.

His ability to harass and be annoying in tight man coverage is an asset, and he possesses the range to play a single-high role functionally in the NFL. Taylor-Demerson’s biggest issue is his size for the safety position: he’s 10th percentile height, 15th percentile length, and 23rd percentile wingspan and arm length; unfortunately, that has an effect on a position like safety.

Still, I believe Dadrion Taylor-Demerson can play an undersized safety role while earning snaps as the nickel to position him closer to the LOS, where he can also leverage his blitzing skills. His usage could mimic how several NFL teams employed Tyrann Mathieu. He’ll be successful in the slot if it doesn’t ultimately work out at safety. Either way, Taylor-Demerson has a future in the NFL, which can be brighter if he fixes his tackling issues.

Day 3

Cole Bishop, Utah

Bishop’s top collegiate speed in 2023 was 20.7 MPH. He aligned from depth, in the slot, and in the box. He scored a 9.82 on the Relative Athletic Score after his testing at the NFL Scouting Combine. He also had a good week in Mobile for the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

He recorded a total of 197 tackles, 21.5 for a loss, with 7.5 sacks and 14 passes defended. He also had three interceptions in 29 starts in 35 games played. Here’s a breakdown from my evaluation:

Strengths

• Great combination of height and athletic ability
• Fast straight line speed with very good burst
• Changes direction well and is agile - very controlled athlete
• Very fluid athlete who stays low in his transitions
• Coordinated and balanced
• Rotated often, solid angles when tasked with unique rotations
• Good feet- doesn’t have much wasted movement
• Cerebral player who sees the field well from depth
• Solid tape in man coverage when tasked
• Has upside in man coverage against tight ends
• Pesky in man coverage, stays in the hip - good technique at the catch point
• Stayed in phase - good timing through the catch point
• This was further substantiated at the Senior Bowl
• Solid overall eyes from zone coverage
• Sifts through trash in coverage well - good spatial awareness
• Exceptional angles downhill outside the numbers in run support
• Quick and aggressive to come downhill and fit the run
• Above average run defender, with room to grow due to less-than-ideal tackling technique
• Will be an asset as a blitzer - 39 pressures in college
• Motor for days - elite competitive toughness
• Tough and versatile player

Weaknesses

• Tall but sub-optimal arm length
• A bit lean for a safety
• Too high into the tackle point
• Can bit a bit wild into the tackle point - missed 13.8% of his tackles in college
• Could be more physical when near the trenches
• Colorado in Week 13 was rough from a coverage/instincts standpoint, but that wasn’t consistent throughout most of his 2023 tape

Bishop hasn’t generated much buzz, but he may be one of the bigger winners of the Reese’s Senior Bowl and the Scouting Combine. He’s not the most dense, and lacks elite length, but he’s tall, intelligent, and a fluid athlete to operate in space. Bishop does a good job coming downhill to execute his run assignments with adequate overall play strength. His tackling technique could improve, but he can play from depth or near the line of scrimmage, with upside as a blitzer.

In the correct environment, Bishop could start Year 1 while operating as a core special teamer. He has the eyes and route understanding for zone, can play the post as a single-high, and is annoying as a man coverage defender against tight ends. He is a smart, tough, and dependable player.

James Williams, Miami

Miami ran a lot of two-read coverages - which is a match defense used by new Giants’ defensive cooridnator Shane Bowen. Due to his unique build, Williams was aligned all across the defense. His tackling suffered the further he was from the line of scrimmage; he had a missed tackle rate of 17.4% through three seasons at Miami. He attended the Reese’s Senior Bowl where he operated as a safety and a linebacker.

He recorded 162 tackles, two tackles for a loss, with three forced fumbles, 17 passes defended, and four interceptions. He started 30 of 33 games in college. Here is my brief evaluation of James Williams:

Strengths

• Unique MISMATCH size for a safety
• Thumper with a long thick build
• Sufficent athletic ability to play safety at the NFL level
• Shows good closing burst when he is square to target and processes the threat
• His long strides help his recovery speed
• Solid angles of attack in the box
• Solid eyes from depth over the middle of the field
• Angles were better the closer to the LOS he operated
• Length/size helped him be annoying in coverage - ripped balls away from receivers
• Played through the catch point well
• Great play strength
• Huge pop on contact - will hurt people with his hits
• Good competitor and a tough overall player
• Versatile skill set

Weaknesses

• Sub-optimal fluidity for a safety
• Clunky transitions
• Isn’t slow, but isn’t fast - long strides amplify adequate overall speed
• Needs to be more active with his feet to better position/leverage himself
• Has to get better at tackling - 17.4% missed tackle rate
• 37 total missed tackles in three seasons
• Must learn to close width and come to balance to secure tackles
• Adequate in man coverage - he won’t hurt a team, but he won’t be a shut down SAF against above-average TEs
• Was, at times, too late to react
• Love his physicality, but he sacrifices security for the “big hit”

Williams’ massive frame, wingspan, and physical nature suggest he could thrive in the correct defensive sub-package system as a BIG DIME or BIG NICKLE Linebacker who is closer to the line of scrimmage. For a safety, his eyes were above-average in the box, and he displayed some ability to scrape and locate before delivering a huge hit. Still, he’s not the smoothest athlete in his transitions and his tackling was marginal. He’s a developmental defender who has a ton of upside, but some limiting factors that need to be corrected.

Sione Vaki, Utah

Another Ute! Vaki is possibly the most interesting prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons at Utah, where he played 998 defensive snaps, 248 snaps on special teams, and 76 snaps on offense as a RB this past season on offense.

In his two seasons at Utah, he recorded 92 tackles, 12 for a loss, and two sacks, six passes defended, and one interception. He started 17 of 26 games at safety.

Vaki’s impact extended well beyond his starting role as a strong safety. In 2023, he averaged 7.5 yards per carry on 42 rushing attempts and scored two rushing touchdowns. He also had 11 catches on 14 targets for 203 yards and three receiving touchdowns. He was a big-play threat who had more than 200 total yards in Utah’s 34-32 Week 8 victory.

He operated a lot near the line of scrimmage on defense and was frequently the contain defender on the edge. His sturdy frame allowed him to slip blocks with ease, but his short arms also worked against him when he was up against bigger - and longer - blockers on the edge. He’s started 17 of 26 games. He put his versatility on display at the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Strengths

• Stout ball of muscle - THICK
• Solid overall athletic ability with good change of direction and agility
• Is very explosive when heading downhill
• Has 0 to 100 burst when coming downhill
• Beautiful angles of attack when closing from depth on routes over the middle of the field
• Exceptional play strength at the point of attack
• Violent hits throughout his tape
• Hands jolt on the edge - does solid job slipping away/under-blocking attempts to execute his run fit
• Good box defender
• Solid job going low as tackler in pursuit - clean up some technique issues
• Pursuit for days - elite competitor
• When he does come square to target, he does a good job securing the tackle
• Good read defender in contain
• Fun blitzer with good burst - 12 total pressures in career
• Big play offensive threat with football in space
• Good vision and feel as a runner in space
• Dangerous screen weapon - could be an effective decoy or weapon on offense
• Will run through arm tackles, not easy to bring down
• Showed good hands as a receiver, albeit limited
• Low center of gravity with good contact balance
• Could be a difference-making special teams player in coverage and as a returner
• Will impact all three phases of football

Weaknesses

• Length is a big detriment - sub-30-inch arms
• Not the most fluid in space when backpedaling or transitioning
• Lacks range/fluidity to play the post
• Had a few coverage lapses when rotating
• 12:45 Q1 Arizona
• 11:59 Q4 Cal
• Better coming downhill than flipping his hips, turning, and locating
• Ball production was limited - may struggle at the catch point at the next level
• Did not align in press often when he was in the slot (131 snaps in 2023)
• May struggle to handle man coverage responsibilities against tight ends
• Will overpursue as a tackler - can be a wild tackler in space
• Rushing ability is raw

Vaki is a very physical and explosive player who is better when operating around the line of scrimmage. He’s strong at the point of attack and never shies from contact, but he can be a bit wild into the tackle point unless he breaks down, comes to balance, and fires low. Range and man coverage concerns at the next level cap his upside, but he could be an ideal special teams player who can have a marginal impact in all three phases of football since he proves his worth as an offensive playmaker in 2023.

He isn’t as talented as Jabrill Peppers, who was effective on both sides of the football at Michigan, but Vaki is strong, stout, good against the run, and explosive when he comes into contact with the football. He also took quality angles downhill from depth between the hashes when he diagnosed the routes correctly; had a few coverage lapses, though, when he was rotating, which Utah did often. His length and lack of elite athletic traits may work against him, but he has a place in the NFL and could become a fan favorite due to his unique nature.