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On March 16, the New York Giants went all out for a cornerback and signed James Bradberry to a three-year, $43.5 million deal.
Bradberry, 27, was coming off one of the best seasons of his career. He posted 12 passes defensed and a career-high three interceptions.
In that year, Bradberry had some of the toughest matchups out of all cornerbacks but only surrendered two 80-plus yard games, Mike Evans (101 yards) and Michael Thomas (88 yards).
These intriguing numbers from the young defensive back enticed Dave Gettleman to pay him at an All-Pro level — Bradberry is the fourth highest-paid cornerback in the NFL on a per-year basis.
Many, including Pro Football Focus, were very skeptical of this deal which essentially expected the former Panther to be one of the best in the league. Bradberry had never been a Pro Bowler and had never received a PFF rating above 70 for the season. This contributed to PFF grading the singing as an overpayment of 42.39%.
However, this viewpoint from PFF and others quickly changed as Bradberry has become the best member of the Giants’ defense.
Bradberry has been dominant in coverage, surrendering a completion percentage of 47.6% when targeted while also recording one interception. The corner has also has nine passes defensed so far this year which nearly doubles the amount of Jaylon Johnson, who is currently second with five pass breakups.
This elite coverage from Bradberry has earned him a PFF coverage grade of 84.1, third-highest among all cornerbacks. It also led PFF to name Bradberry one of the best free agent signings of 2020 (so far).
In addition to the highlight plays, Bradberry has been great on a snap-to-snap basis. His 84.1 coverage grade ranks third among all cornerbacks with at least 50 snaps in 2020. The Giants had to hit on Bradberry with their 2019 first-round pick cornerback Deandre Baker pursuing a different career path, and so far GM Dave Gettleman’s reunion with the cornerback he drafted in Carolina back in 2016 is off to a great start.
If his coverage skills were not enough to prove the doubters wrong, Bradberry has also already added 10 tackles and one forced fumble on the season.
It is clear, for now, that signing Bradberry was a great decision by Gettleman and, according to PFF, one of the best moves made all year.
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