The New York Giants are in a really good position after winning a playoff game in year one of their rebuild. New York will have key free agents to sign in Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, but they will have cap space to work with to sign players in free agency. What players could they be targeting in the 2023 offseason at the cornerback position?
New York will need to address the secondary in free agency among other positions on the roster, but this might be the priority. The Giants do have plenty of interesting options in this secondary free-agent class. In addition to looking in free agency, they could look for a corner in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. While the first round will most likely be for a wide receiver, New York could select a corner in the second round. Let’s take a look at some of their options at cornerback from free agency to the NFL Draft.
New York Giants free agent CB target: James Bradberry, Philadelphia Eagles
After getting cut by the Giants last offseason, James Bradberry was able to produce a very good season on the other side of Darius Slay with the Eagles. While he ended up getting caught on a holding in the super bowl, this season proved that Bradberry is still a great corner in the NFL.
The Giants will be linked with Bradberry in the lead-up to the free agency due to the fact that his cut last off-season was because of cap complications rather than a personal decision made by the front office.
Depending on what kind of deal (short or long-term Bradberry wants, he could be looking at a contract in the $12 million to 20 million range.
New York Giants CB target: Jamal Dean, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jamal Dean would be a bit of a pricy option but he would have more long-term viability as a corner. Dean is only 26 years old but opening offers for him will open at $15 million annually. The young corner will also command a longer deal because he is much younger than Bradberry.
While Dean will be more pricy than Bradberry, he will have a longer time frame in being a CB1. It is unknown if the Bucs will keep long-term as they have cap issues of their own and could be looking to reset the books this season.
New York Giants CB target: Marcus Peters, Baltimore Ravens
Peters’ best days might be behind him but if they are looking to add a solid corner, Peters definitely has to be one of the Giants‘ options going into the offseason. Peters is an experienced vet who is very aggressive and might be a good fit with Xavier McKinney as he does over-reach and McKinney would be there to overcome any mistakes made by the vets. Due to his over-committing, he is able to get more interceptions which is why does it.
Even if the Giants choose to address the offense with their first-round pick, they could find a second-round corner. The Giants have the 58th pick so a player would have to slide but it is possible. Two players that could slide are Emmanuel Forbes and Tre’Vius Hodges Thompson.
New York Giants CB target: Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State
Emmanuel Forbes played his college ball at Mississippi St this season. Forbes is a pick machine that will create turnovers for your team. While he struggles in man coverage, he knows to play his role in zone coverage. He is very similar to Marcus Peters in terms of his risk vs his reward. In this case obviously, he is much younger and will not cost as much.
New York Giants CB target: Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson is another corner that the Giants could consider in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Thompson was a stud at corner this season for TCU. While undersized, he has a lot of great traits for the NFL.
The senior isn’t a CB1 on any depth chart by any means but adding him with Adoree Jackson and another medium-priced corner does allow New York to have a solid secondary. Turning one of their weaknesses last season into a major improvement going into Daboll’s second year.