As we wait for news on kenny Golladay, there are several other additions that could help the New York Giants in the 2021 season who can be had on a budget for a variety of reasons. Let’s go through some names that the Giants should look at adding on the cheap:
Adoree’ Jackson, CB, TEN
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this one may not be that cheap, but I also don’t exactly know why he was released by the Titans. Jackson spent most of 2020 out with a knee injury. Before the 2020 season, he put some solid film out there – was always a bit inconsistent, but his highs were high. He’s also an electric kick and punt returner with impressive speed and burst. He has 34 passes defended in his career and 2 interceptions. He would be an interesting addition, but again…I don’t know how much of a bargain the 25-year-old would be. Jackson is scheduled to visit the Giants beginning on Sunday evening.
Tanoh Kpassagnon, EDGE, KC
I’ve expressed my interest in Kpassagnon in previous articles.
He’s very explosive, has incredible length, and he makes a big impact on special teams. He’s still developing, and only 26 years old, so he won’t be the number one pass-rushing option. He would be a rotational piece who can play the run and rush the passer at a solid rate while also using his ridiculous length to close throwing windows. Kpassagnon shouldn’t be expensive and he could help one of the weaker position groups that the Giants currently have on their roster.
D.J. Fluker, G, BAL
I would not mind a reunion with Fluker who is a massive 6-foot-5, 342-pound guard who generates good push at the point of attack. He’s still only 30-years-old and knows Joe Judge from their time at Alabama. Fluker played with Baltimore last season – a team that runs a lot of power/gap concepts, so a transition shouldn’t be difficult; Fluker’s more fit for that type of system.
Adding a guard from the 2020 Baltimore Ravens would be ironic due to Kevin Zeitler signing with the Ravens earlier this week. Fluker can come into the building and compete with either Will Hernandez for the right guard spot. It wouldn’t be expensive and it makes sense.
Danny Shelton, DT, DET
Shelton isn’t coming off his best season. He’s a 27-year-old 6-3, 345-pound man who has two-gapping experience. In his past, he did a solid job anchoring down and eating blocking, allowing his linebackers to scrape over the top and make tackles. Shelton can easily be had on the cheap and he was on the Patriots when both Patrick Graham and Joe Judge were on staff. It would be a step down from Tomlinson – no doubt – but Shelton has executed that role at nose tackle and he can be a rotational piece on the line for Patrick Graham.
Malcolm Butler, CB, TEN
The hero of Super Bowl XLIX is on the back nine of his career at 31-years-old, but he’s coming off a season where he played over 1,000 snaps. Butler had 5 interceptions and 11 passes defended in 2020 for a porous Tennessee Titans defense. He wasn’t crisp, but he ended up being the number one cornerback after Adoree Jackson went down with an injury.
Butler should be familiar to Joe Judge and I honestly don’t know if that would endear him at all, given his benching in Super Bowl LII, but the Giants could use another body who is familiar with coverages that are akin to Patrick Graham’s defense. He’s not my first option at cornerback, but he is a cheaper one.
Sammy Watkins, WR, KC
I wrote about the Jaguars’ Keelan Cole, the Jets’ Breshad Perriman, the Rams’ Josh Reynolds, and the Seahawks David Moore in “my five discount receivers piece”, but I wanted to add someone different into the equation, so I went with Sammy Watkins…I know, I know…why are the Giants going to add another injury-prone wide receiver after adding John Ross. It all comes down to the money.
The wide receiver market has been dry and teams aren’t backing the BRINK’S truck to fork money to talented wide receivers with less baggage. Watkins has baggage, but he also has talent. He’s still only 27 years old despite the fact that it seems like he’s been in the league for decades.
He’s been a disappointment, and he may think the earth is flat, but he would still be a cheap, young, addition to a wide receiver room that needs more talent. I wouldn’t mind Cole, Perriman, Reynolds, or Moore, albeit Perriman’s game aligns a bit too close to Ross’s, but I wanted to bring a different name to the conversation.
Kyler Fackrell, and/or Jabaal Sheard, EDGE, NYG
I know everyone – I’m cheating…but I don’t see harm in resigning either of these players who executed their roles in a solid manner within Patrick Graham’s system. Fackrell was second on the team in sacks and was an adequate run defender who had enough athletic ability to drop into the flats when towards the boundary side of the field. Sheard is a good run defender who isn’t very explosive, but has power rush moves; he holds the point of attack well and filled in valiantly when all the Giants’ EDGEs went down. Big Blue could do worse than bringing these players back, and it would be on the cheap.