The New York Giants’ new regime is seeking a new set of leaders to be the face of their rebuild.
On defense, with veteran safety Logan Ryan getting released earlier this month, the Giants are turning to Xavier McKinney, a third-year safety who came into his own last season.
During a press conference at the NFL owners meetings in Florida this week, Giants head coach Brian Daboll mentioned ‘X’ as a potential cornerstone player.
“I think there’s young guys like ‘X,’ Daniel (Jones) and Saquon (Barkley) and then there’s some older guys I’ve gotten to meet as they’re doing rehab in the building, guys like Shep, Martinez (Sterling Shepard, Blake Martinez),’” Daboll said. “It takes everybody to build a culture. And you like to draft young guys and develop them and see them grow.’”
McKinney was a second round pick (36th overall) in the 2020 NFL draft out of Alabama and his career got off to a slow start as he missed the first half of his rookie season with a foot injury.
But since then, McKinney has been a key contributor to the Giants’ defense, starting 20 of the Giants’ last 21 games. Over that period, ‘X’ has made 118 total tackles, defensed 11 passes and intercepted six balls.
McKinney is poised for a leadership role and it has been well-earned. The Giants are trying to build a culture under Daboll (we’ve heard that before) but this regime seems as if it has a solid base to move forward with.
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