The New York Giants are said to be in the market for a safety in the upcoming NFL Draft and many mocks have them taking one as early as the second round.
With veteran Antoine Bethea released, there is an opening next to Jabrill Peppers in the secondary. The Giants are hoping to fill that with a stud rookie.
Or, they can look internally on their own roster. Peppers suffered a lower back injury late last season, which opened up an opportunity for Julian Love, a fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame.
Love started the Giants’ final five games at safety last year after being used sparingly the first three months of the season.
“The fourth-round draft pick from Notre Dame played reasonably well and finished his first NFL season with 37 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble,” writes The Post’s Paul Schwartz. “He graded out as the 32nd-ranked safety in the league by Pro Football Focus, ahead of Peppers (No. 48) and ahead of Landon Collins (No. 41), the former Giants second-round pick who left in free agency in 2019 and signed with the Redskins.”
Still, the Giants want more from the safety position. Love is determined to prove them wrong.
“I want to be the safety of the future for the Giants,” Love said in a phone interview with Schwartz. “I believe I’m the guy. If I didn’t feel that way I wouldn’t say that. But I do feel like that. I’ve been working real hard. I want to go there and get everything in motion and really have a dominant year.’’
Perhaps the Giants do have some faith in the 22-year-old former Irish star. They did not sign a veteran safety in free agency to challenge him but the draft looms with such prospects as Alabama’s Xavier McKinney, Grant Delpit of LSU, Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield, Jr. and Ashtyn Davis of Cal likely on the board when the Giants select in the second round at No. 36.
Love will be prepared should that happen.
“If they did bring in a safety, I know I have multiple traits and multiple strengths to kind of play any position and be successful,’’ he said. “I really feel I can be a safety for this team, what this team needs, so I’m going to go in, I’ve been working hard, I want to go in and hit the ground running to show everybody that, despite who comes in.’’