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The New York Giants are hurting in the secondary. Rookie Rodarius Williams, Darnay Holmes, Nate Ebner and Quincy Wilson are all on injured reserve.
Compounding matters, the Giants will be without both Adoree’ Jackson and rookie Aaron Robinson in Week 15 against the Dallas Cowboys. Both tested positive for COVID-19 and are unvaccinated, so they will miss the standard 10 days. Jackson is also nursing a quad injury.
That puts New York in a precarious position. Their remaining cornerback depth consists of James Bradberry, Keion Crossen and practice squad DB Jarren Williams.
One man they could turn to is safety Julian Love, who has stepped up in recent weeks with Logan Ryan also landing on the Reserve/COVID-19 list for two games.
“The thing about Julian, the benefit of having Julian, aside from being a great person, a good worker and generally a good football player, is the fact that he can play a bunch of different spots and he’s a jack of all trades,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham told reporters on Thursday.
“He’s played safety, he’s played corner, he’s played sub linebacker. Really it’s about using today’s practice to kind of figure it out. Kind of got an idea as we go into it for practice, but you never know what curveball you’re going to be thrown. We’ve got to adjust and luckily, we’ve been trained to do that. I can see some more adjustments coming about.”
If Love is forced to start at cornerback on Sunday, he’ll do so with the faith of his coaches and teammates.
“I think guys respect the fact of, one, his intelligence, and I’m not just saying because of the Notre Dame thing or anything like that, but just his intelligence as a football player. They know this guy is a jack of all trades,” Graham added. “Not all players can handle that — ‘Hey, plug in here. Hey, plug in here.’ I think just naturally players respect that when you’re able to do that, not have mental errors, be out there and be competitive. I think players just naturally respect that, just like players naturally respect guys who are really productive.
“I think whether his leadership is vocal — and then you’ve got to take into consideration his role on special teams. He’s out there playing PP (punt protection). Naturally, that’s a leadership role. There’s a lot of communication that goes on there, similar to the safety spot. Again, I’ve never coached special teams at this level, but that PP position is like being the quarterback out there for one of the most important plays in football, the punt. I just think that naturally his voice carries some weight because of the positions he plays.”
Love has frequently been praised as a “do-it-all” guy by head coach Joe Judge and the NFL world has seen why this season. He’s moved all over the field and into various roles, and holds his own each time.
If Love does get the call on Sunday, he’ll be in for quite a challenge. The Cowboys have one of the best group of receivers in football and whether it’s CeeDee Lamb or Amari Cooper, covering them is a tall order. But the Giants are in a tough spot and may need Love to bail them out.
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