Every offseason, an NFL franchise’s decisions in free agency and the draft send a message to certain players — good or bad — and that was certainly the case with the New York Giants in 2024.
For example, 2023 starting nickelback and former third rounder Cor’Dale Flott was determined to be one of the main “losers” of the NYG offseason according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan — a veteran Giants media member.
“The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Flott might be the biggest loser with the defensive coordinator change,” Duggan explained. “Whereas former DC Wink Martindale emphasized man coverage skills at corner, [Shane] Bowen prefers sturdy corners who are strong tacklers.”
“That’s not Flott’s strength,” the beat writer went on, “which is likely why the Giants picked Andru Phillips in the third round to play slot corner.”
Duggan concluded that “the Phillips pick should bump Flott out of the starting slot job and into a competition at the outside corner spot opposite Deonte Banks.” And that transition might set up the third-year prospect to fail.
Flott struggled on the outside as a rookie, allowing a passer rating of 102.4 when targeted according to Pro Football Focus. The soon-to-be 23-year-old’s run defense and tackling have been the real liability, however, with just 17 key defensive stops compared to 11 missed tackles over his first two NFL campaigns.
Giants’ Nick McCloud in ‘Prime Position’ to Swipe Starting CB Job Away From Cor’Dale Flott
With Phillips likely taking over the slot, Banks manning the CB1 role and a few starting candidates at safety, there’s only one first-team position left in the secondary for a player like Flott — and he’ll have plenty of competition for it. Duggan’s sleeper pick appears to be journeyman staff favorite Nick McCloud.
“Surprisingly, the Giants haven’t added any notable outside cornerbacks this offseason, especially with Adoree’ Jackson and the 792 snaps he played last season departing,” Duggan stated while calling McCloud one of his five NYG winners of the 2024 offseason.
“McCloud is in prime position to claim Jackson’s starting spot after returning to the Giants as a restricted free agent,” the Big Blue reporter argued. Reasoning: “McCloud has parallels to former Giant Julian Love as an effective super sub early in his career. The Giants will hope McCloud seizes a starting opportunity the way Love did in 2022.”
Along with Flott, McCloud’s competition at CB2 includes veteran signing David Long Jr., 2023 draft pick Tre Hawkins III, 2020 draft pick Darnay Holmes, injured 2021 draft pick Aaron Robinson, 2023 practice squad pickup Stantley Thomas-Oliver and the versatile Jalen Mills. At this stage, the leaders in the clubhouse appear to be either Hawkins, McCloud, Flott or Mills.
Will Shane Bowen & New-Look Giants Pass Rush Help CBs Develop?
Duggan believes Bowen’s defensive philosophy might hurt Flott, but it’s also possible that the LSU product — as well as other recent draft picks like Hawkins and Holmes — play a lot better inside a more CB-friendly system.
Martindale is known for leaving his defensive backs on an island and more often than not, the Giants’ youngsters got burned over the past couple of seasons. Bowen is expected to do things differently, with more of a standard five-man pass rush as part of a 3-4 scheme.
And adding impact pass rushers like Brian Burns and Jordan Phillips should only help the NYG cornerback crew as quarterbacks have less time to throw.
Will Flott or McCloud be the player who emerges on the outside? That much is yet to be determined, but the eventual starter should be aided by Bowen and the Giants’ front five either way.
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