The New York Giants (0-0) will visit the Tennessee Titans (0-0) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee this Sunday afternoon.
That, of course, provides those of us here at Giants Wire the opportunity to hypothetically steal from the Titans’ roster in search of depth and/or talent upgrades for Big Blue.
Right out of the gate, many are likely screaming, “Derrick Henry!” And The King would be a solid steal if the Giants didn’t already have Saquon Barkley, who looks primed for a bounce-back season.
But we know… That’s no guarantee whereas Henry is. The things is, the Giants have far more pressing needs at other positions and an overall lack of depth across their roster. Henry would be a cherry on top but New York is lacking enough ice cream to make that worthwhile.
The other problem we ran into while looking over Tennessee’s roster is that they’re not much stronger than the Giants at areas of need. Linebacker David Long was considered, as was cornerback Kristian Fulton. But there’s just not enough meat on the bone there.
Ultimately, we settled on safety Kevin Byard. And we know, you’re probably thinking, “isn’t that a cherry on the top choice as well?” And the answer is yes. And not exactly.
By stealing Byard, the Giants would be able to pair him with Xavier McKinney for one of the most dominant safety units in the NFL. It would provide Dane Belton time to develop, and would also allow Wink Martindale to move Julian Love to cornerback, where he spent a lot of his time at Notre Dame.
Love moving to cornerback would take the pressure off of Aaron Robinson and provide a little added depth at an otherwise thin position. And if the Giants felt more comfortable with Love in the slot, they could move Darnay Holmes or Cor’Dale Flott to the outside.
It’s not a perfect scenario by any stretch, but stealing Byard would strengthen two positions for the Giants, maximizing the overall value from the theft. And Byard being the best safety in football doesn’t hurt, either.
