Landon Collins
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Pro Football Focus feels the New York Giants secondary is average as the platform recently ranked them 15th in the league.

A year ago this time, many felt the New York Giants had one of the best secondaries in the NFL with Janoris Jenkins, Eli Apple, Landon Collins, Darian Thompson and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

They were coming off a season in which the team finished 11-5 and showcased two members of the secondary, Collins and Jenkins, as Pro Bowlers. The secondary was even given a nickname NYPD (New York Pass Defense).

But the secondary, along with the rest of the Giants, struggled mightily last season as they had the 31st ranked pass defense.

Due to this and the departure of DRC, when Pro Football Focus did their ranking of all 32 team’s defensive backfields, they ranked the Giants at 15.

Individually, Pro Football Focus gave the players the following grades: Jenkins 79, Collins 88.5, Thompson 52.2, Apple 73.6 and free agent acquisition nickel cornerback William Gay 51.4.

The Giants secondary, particularly their depth, is one of the biggest question marks heading into this season with Collins and Jenkins coming off injuries and Apple regressed in his second season.

This is one of the reasons why general manager Dave Gettleman elected to acquire cornerback Sam Beal in the supplemental draft  two weeks ago.

If the Giants secondary can rebound and perform at the level they did in 2016 in 2018, the Giants stand a good chance of making it back to the playoffs.

Jason's first love was football while growing up in northern New Jersey. For the past three years, he has covered the New York Giants, as well as several boxing events along the East Coast.