Tag: Julian Love

ESPN lists Giants’ Julian Love as potential breakout star in 2020

ESPN has listed New York Giants DB Julian Love as one of their 25 potential breakout stars of 2020.

New York Giants defensive back Julian Love had a solid rookie campaign despite lacking a definitive position. He can play outside at cornerback, inside at nickel or back at safety.

Bottom line, Love is versatile and that’s what makes him so valuable. On top of that, he’s got good athletic skills, solid instincts and a willingness to do whatever is needed.

Back in May, Pro Football Focus pegged Love as the most-underrated Giant headed into 2020, and it would appear as if those at ESPN agree.

ESPN included Love on their list of 25 young players who could have a breakout season in 2020.

One of the youngest players on the list, Love was an easy middle-of-the-field pick for the Giants in the middle rounds of the draft, and one of the few players who showed that Dave Gettleman recognizes that the passing game exists. Love essentially didn’t break the lineup until Week 12 but played almost all the Giants’ snaps from Week 13 to the end of the season. Over that span, we have Love credited with 21 targets into his coverage, on which he allowed just 72 yards and one touchdown. He moved from cornerback to strong safety to replace the injured Jabrill Peppers.

Coming out of Notre Dame in 2019, Love was regarded as a very safe fit as an NFL slot corner with great coverage instincts. The combine caused his draft stock some damage because he ran a 4.55 40-yard dash, just under the 4.6 mark that draftniks generally consider too slow for a corner. That was the main grievance that took him out of the top two rounds, even though he broke up 39 passes in his final two seasons for the Irish.

With the selection of Xavier McKinney in the second round, the Giants have the makings of a good nickel or dime set with Love, McKinney and Peppers. We don’t know whether Love will be labeled a safety or corner, but he’s going to play in the middle of the field and he’s going to cause havoc.

The dynamic surrounding Love is an interesting. Everyone seems to recognize his talent and potential, yet he seems to somehow continue flying under-the-radar when discussing the 2020 Giants.

Ultimately, we at Giants Wire side with ESPN on this one. Love may very well become a household name here in 2020.

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PFF ranks Giants’ secondary among worst in the NFL

Pro Football Focus has ranked the New York Giants’ secondary among the very worst in the NFL.

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In recent years, the New York Giants have had major roster turnover in their secondary. They have moved on from familiar names such as Landon Collins, Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Now with an extremely young developing core, Pro Football Focus has ranked the Giants as 27th best secondary in the league.

James Bradberry is the big offseason addition to the Giants secondary, and while it’s true that few cornerbacks have had a tougher job over the past few seasons, given the division in which he has had to ply his trade, he’s also never quite lived up to the potential we saw as a rookie. Bradberry has consistently generated PFF grades in the 60s but has a rare skill set and should immediately look significantly better without needing to try and cover the likes of Julio Jones and Mike Evans twice a season.

DeAndre Baker struggled badly as a rookie and was beaten for eight touchdowns in total, though his future is somewhat up in the air, given the reported off-field troubles. Beyond Baker, the Giants would be turning to Sam Beal, who played fewer than 300 snaps last year, or one of either Corey Ballentine, Darnay Holmes, Chris Williamson or Montre Hartage. So, for as much as Baker struggled last year, the prospects of a season without him would not be good.

Interestingly, PFF does not project Holmes to compete on the inside, which is precisely what he’ll do entering the 2020 season.

On the inside, Grant Haley was the team’s slot corner in 2019, but he earned a PFF coverage grade of 48.3 and was beaten for a passer rating of 114.2 when targeted. And at safety, Antoine Bethea has now gone, leaving Julian Love to try and fight off rookie Xavier McKinney for playing time alongside Jabril Peppers. McKinney has elite versatility and was used much the same way as Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons, though McKinney does come without the absurd size and measurables. Love played well last season, so it would be unfortunate if he were to lose time this year.

The Giants are loaded with potential, but only time will tell if their young core turns out to be viable starters in the league.

This offseason, the Giants addressed a position of need when they signed cornerback James Bradberry in free agency. Originally DeAndre Baker was slotted to be the No. 2 cornerback behind Bradberry. Baker struggled early on in his rookie year but improved down the stretch of last season. However, now, Baker’s status is very much up in the air following his alleged legal trouble which landed him on the commissioner’s exempt list.

Past that there are certainly a ton of question marks surrounding young players at the cornerback position. Having said that, there are many believe that Big Blue got an absolute steal when they drafted Darnay Holmes out of UCLA in the fourth round of this year’s draft. In fact, there have been some pretty high-profile names who have raved about Holmes.

At the safety positions, the Giants hope they can continue to develop their young core. They acquired Jabrill Pepper in the trade that sent Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns and Peppers played well in his first season with Big Blue.

Xavier McKinney is another player that many felt the Giants got a lot of value with when they drafted him in the second round of this year’s draft. McKinney is a very versatile safety that can be moved around all over on defense. Between Peppers and McKinney, many believe the Giants have a young core to build around at the safety position.

Overall, the Giants’ secondary is extremely young so the rank given by PFF is understandable. With the uncertainty surrounding DeAndre Baker, don’t be surprised if they Giants add a veteran to help their secondary before the season starts.

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69 days until Notre Dame football returns!

We’re under 10 weeks until Notre Dame football returns! Check out how we’re counting it down today as the countdown moves to 69 days….

Is it Labor Day weekend yet?

Alright, after the way 2020 has started for so many I won’t try and end everyone else’s summers, but nonetheless, it’s just 69 days from now, under 10 weeks officially until Notre Dame and Navy strap it up and kickoff the 2020 college football season.

We’re counting down the days until Notre Dame football returns each day here at Fighting Irish Wire, linking the days to go with a number related to Notre Dame football – historically or current day.

Saturday remembered the last time Notre Dame scored 70 points in a game.  If you didn’t read it, you’ll probably be surprised to know just how long it has actually been since it happened.  Now we move another day down the list, to 69 days.

69: Yardage in Julian Love’s pick-six against North Carolina State in 2017

Leading 21-14 early in the second half with the Wolfpack driving, but facing a third and long, Love stepped in front of a desperation heave from Ryan Finley and returned in to put the Irish up two scores.  They No. 9 Fighting Irish would prevail, 35-14.

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Notre Dame would move to 7-1 with the win and appeared to be threatening for a College Football Playoff appearance, but a disaster a couple weeks later in Miami would end all that.

Nonetheless, a memorable moment from a season that brought Notre Dame football back from a disastrous 2016.

Related: Way Too Early Score Predictions for Notre Dame’s 2020 Season

Giants training camp preview: What to expect in the secondary

The New York Giants have a lot of young talent, but also quite a few question marks in their secondary entering training camp.

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has made major changes to the team’s roster (like it or not) since his arrival at the end of the 2017 season. Every unit — every position — has undergone some type of reconstruction, but no unit has experienced a greater overhaul than the secondary.

Gettleman has used both free agency and the draft to reform a unit that has been one of the NFL’s most yielding and forgiving the past several seasons.

Here’s a quick look at what to expect this summer at training camp.

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Cornerback

Gettleman reached into free agency and grabbed “young veteran” James Bradberry, a player he drafted during his days as GM in Carolina, signing him to a three-year, $43.5 million deal. He will be a starter on the outside. The 26-year-old Bradberry is considered one of the best all-around corners in the NFL.

Who will start across from Bradberry? Good question. It was thought to be DeAndre Baker, who the Giants have their fingers crossed could mature into a solid cover corner after a rough rookie season. But he’s still dealing with his legal problems in Florida. Even if that situation pans out, you can’t unring a bell. Baker could still be suspended and the Giants could see him as expendable.

Baker is still going to have to compete with a fairly large field of contenders for the job this summer as it is. Sam Beal, Corey Ballentine, Darnay Holmes, Chris Williamson and veteran Montre Hartage are all aiming for playing time and will give Baker a good run for his money.

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Two Former Notre Dame Stars Listed as “Most Underrated”

A pair of former Notre Dame stars were recently listed as “most underrated” on PFF’s list of such players

If you watched Notre Dame for even a short time between 2016 and 2018 chances are you saw Julian Love or Drue Tranquill make a big play.

Whether it was a pass break up, interception or returning a fumble recovery for a touchdown, the young man just had an ability to make plays on the regular.

Now Pro Football Focus is throwing praise their way as they’ve released the “Most underrated on all 32 NFL teams” list ahead of the 2020 season.  In it they list Julian Love, the second year defensive back as the New York Giants representative and Tranquill as the Chargers rep.

Of Love they say:

The Giants’ secondary has some definite question marks with DeAndre Baker facing possible legal trouble and an unproven group at cornerback behind free agent acquisition James Bradberry. But Julian Love is someone they should feel pretty good about after a promising start to his NFL career as a rookie last season. Love is a guy who graded extremely well at the college ranks as an outside cornerback for the Fighting Irish, earning coverage grades of 83.7 and 90.9 during his final two seasons with Notre Dame. Love followed that up by coming away from the 2019 season with an encouraging 70.5 overall grade despite being a 21-year-old rookie playing a new position. Whether he remains at safety or moves back to cornerback to potentially fill in for Baker outside, Love is a player to watch as he enters his second season.

Love defended three passes last season while also recording one interception and forcing a fumble.

On Drue Tranquill…

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PFF names Julian Love the most underrated Giant

Pro Football Focus has named defensive back Julian Love as the most underrated member of the New York Giants.

Each team in the NFL has their over-hyped players as well as their undervalued ones. The New York Giants are no different. They have been systematically ridding themselves of players who under-perform their contractual expectations (for the most part) and are concentrating on players who play up to — and above — their talent level.

In a list of each NFL team’s most underrated player, Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus‘ choice for the Giants is an interesting one:

NEW YORK GIANTS: DB JULIAN LOVE

The Giants’ secondary has some definite question marks with DeAndre Baker facing possible legal trouble and an unproven group at cornerback behind free agent acquisition James Bradberry. But Julian Love is someone they should feel pretty good about after a promising start to his NFL career as a rookie last season. Love is a guy who graded extremely well at the college ranks as an outside cornerback for the Fighting Irish, earning coverage grades of 83.7 and 90.9 during his final two seasons with Notre Dame. Love followed that up by coming away from the 2019 season with an encouraging 70.5 overall grade despite being a 21-year-old rookie playing a new position. Whether he remains at safety or moves back to cornerback to potentially fill in for Baker outside, Love is a player to watch as he enters his second season.

Not a bad assessment of Julian Love, but he’s underrated for a reason. He was used sparingly last season until near the end of the year when he filled in for the injured Jabrill Peppers at safety. Before that he had played a total of three snaps on defense over the first nine games.

Love is seen as a slot corner or safety, so he will not take over for DeAndre Baker should Baker be forced to miss time handling his legal issues. Love will not start at safety, either. Peppers and second-round draft pick Xavier McKinney will be the likely starters on opening day.

So that would leave Love to battle for a nickel or slot position where the Giants just drafted UCLA’s Darnay Holmes to compete for. At the very least, Love will continue to add depth and talent to a young, promising secondary.

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Giants’ Julian Love earns degree from Notre Dame

New York Giants DB Julian Love used his time off due to COVID-19 to complete his degree at Notre Dame.

This offseason has been a trying one for all of us. For NFL players who are usually participating their team’s offseason program at the team’s facility, things are not normal.

Players are working out at home and joining meetings via streaming services. Some players, such as New York Giants’ second-year safety Julian Love, used the time to complete his degree from the University of Notre Dame as per the Giants’ official website:

Following his strong junior campaign, Love would forego his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2019 NFL Draft, where the Giants selected him in the fourth round (No. 108 overall). The young corner started the final five games of the season and played well, recording 34 tackles (27 solo), five tackles for loss, one forced fumble and two passes defended.

Love took the time to thank his college coach, Brian Kelly, for the support. Kelly also sent this congratulations to the Chicago-area native Love, who apparently was well-liked in South Bend.

“Julian, it’s coach,” Kelly said in a video message. “Think back to your story with Notre Dame. A boyhood dream come true. You came here to South Bend to grow in football and in life and you smiled the whole way through it. And look where the story is now, a beloved NFL playmaker returns to his alma mater to finish his degree. Now I can’t stop smiling. Congratulations, Julian. Go Irish!”

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Giants’ Joe Judge: There is still a role for Julian Love

Despite signing CB James Bradberry and drafting S Xavier McKinney, head coach Joe Judge says there’s still a role for Julian Love.

So, now that the New York Giants have found their tandem at safety after selecting Xavier McKinney in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night, what becomes of Julian Love?

Love, a fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame last year, finished up the season as one of the Giants’ starters at safety next to veteran Antoine Bethea, who was released last month.

Love filled in admirable for Jabrill Peppers, who missed the final month of the season with a fractured bone in his back. Peppers is healthy again and ready to take his rightful place in the starting lineup. That was supposed to be next to Love, whose role is now in limbo after the addition of McKinney.

Head coach Joe Judge indicated on Friday night that there is room for everyone on his new defense.

“Julian has a great skill set. He can play corner, he can play in the slot and he can play back deep as a safety. We are going to use him as we need by each game plan,” Judge told reporters during a conference call. “He may be an every-down safety, he may be an-every down corner.

“We are too far away right now to give that an answer. We are excited about all the guys we have back there. We believe we added some talent to the back end for guys to compete and we are going to see where it shakes out. Nothing has been decided in terms of positions that will go into a depth chart at this point and nothing has been decided in how we are going to use guys by game plan. That will change week to week. We believe we have enough skillsets that it will give us flexibility within our packages.”

The Giants have a young and exciting secondary buoyed by Peppers, McKinney, Love and cornerbacks James Bradberry, DeAndre Baker, Sam Beal, Corey Ballantine and Grant Haley. In a passing league they should have enough talent to keep up with the high-flying offenses in the NFL.

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Giants’ Julian Love prepared to challenge for starting safety spot

Julian Love is ready to compete for the starting safety role.

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.’’

Notre Dame Record Holder Making NFL Number Change in 2020

Love did all of that while wearing a different number than he did at Notre Dame.  The former number 27 for the Fighting Irish sported jersey number 24 for the Giants in 2019.  In 2020, Love will be going back to his roots.

Julian Love was one of the best Notre Dame defensive backs in recent memory.  In just three years of play he set the program record for most passes defended in school history and took home All-American honors before declaring for the NFL Draft after the 2018 season.

Love was drafted by the New York Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft, 108th overall in the fourth round.  Once getting playing time in the back-half of his rookie year, Love began to make an impact as he recorded an interception in his first start, defending three passes on the year, forcing a fumble and making five tackles for loss.

Love did all of that while wearing a different number than he did at Notre Dame.  The former number 27 for the Fighting Irish sported jersey number 24 for the Giants in 2019.  In 2020, Love will be going back to his roots.

Love will wear number 20 for the Giants in 2020, the same number he wore at Nazareth High School in the Chicago suburbs, something Love mentioned on Instagram on Tuesday.

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Love wore number 27 while at Notre Dame as the number 20 was taken by fellow-defensive back Shaun Crawford back in 2016.