Where do the New York Giants see themselves in the NFC East for the 2024 season? If they want to compete near the top, adding a free-agent safety is the perfect move to fill out the roster before training camp.
And there's a veteran on the market who makes the most sense. Former Seattle Seahawks standout Quandre Diggs is the man.
The 5-foot-9, 197-pound nine-year veteran had 14 interceptions from 2020-22 before tailing off to just one pick last season. It ended a string of three straight Pro Bowl appearances. However, he had a career-high 95 tackles, and the Giants have a big-time need at the safety position.
New York coughed up standout starter Xavier McKinney to the Green Bay Packers in free agency. It's a major loss as the Giants don't have a safety ranking in the top 32 of the league by Pro Football Focus.
In a division with offensive weaponry the likes owned by the Eagles and Cowboys, and potentially an up-and-coming Commanders' team, strength on the back end isn't just necessary. It's critical.
The Giants seem to be happy with free safety Jason Pinnock, but his statistics aren't overwhelming. That means finding an NFL level partner in the defensive backfield should be point 1A for the Giants' pre-training-camp plans.
Safety Quandre Diggs could boost Giants
In 17 starts last season, Diggs showed he can man-up against both the passing game and opponent's rushing attacks.
Now, Diggs won't make any eyes pop with his 55.1 grade on Pro Football Focus. But the Giants languish near the bottom of the NFL in cap space at No. 27. So they can't shoot the moon for a free agent at the position. And Diggs offers a veteran defender, plenty of experience, and a well-rounded game. Diggs’ veteran presence could be a benefit to the overall young Giants’ defense.
It needs to be understood that Diggs isn't a cure all. It's simply a fit thing. He's not someone the Giants can depend on to shut down numerous big plays from opposing teams. New York may need to add another secondary piece before training camp.
What does the defense look like overall?
Things will be different for the Giants in 2024. They have a new defensive coordinator in Shane Bowen, and the philosophy has changed even though it's still a 3-4 base defense.
During the Wink Martindale era, the Giants brought the blitz. Their percentage ranked No. 2 in the NFL at 46.4 percent of opponents dropbacks. However, in his three seasons leading the Tennessee Titans, Bowen's unit blitzed 16.2 percent, 15.7, and 20.4, respectively.
Bowen told nytimes.com how he assessed himself as a defensive coach.
“If you go back and look at my time in Tennessee, it’s been a lot of front pressure,” Bowen said. “Like the front four, being coordinated with their rush lanes, working together, finding ways to affect the quarterback and then being able to use that to be multiple on the back end, right, where you’re not delegating a piece up front. My history has been, if we’ve got four guys that can rush, we are going to let them go rush.”
Also, under Martindale the Giants tried to confuse opponents with an aggressive approach from every angle. Bowen's style brings less creativity and less reliance on the front four to generate pressure.
And this takes us back to a player like Diggs. With the Giants relying on linebackers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux to provide the impetus for the pass rush, opportunities to make big plays will open up for the safety position.
This could help Diggs return to the type of player he was from 2020-22. And that would make him a whale of a bargain for the Giants.
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