The New York Giants have reportedly come to terms on a deal with defensive back Dravon Askew-Henry, who previously played in the XFL.
With the remainder of the XFL season succumbing to cancelation in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, some players are finding new homes on NFL teams. One of these individuals is defensive back Dravon Askew-Henry, who will now remain in MetLife Stadium but spend time in a different uniform.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the New York Giants have agreed to a two-year deal with the 24-year-old. Askew-Henry previously played with the New York Guardians before their season concluded prematurely.
Another XFL player making the jump to the NFL: DB Dravon Askew-Henry has agreed to a 2-year deal with the #Giants, source said. Expect the cousin of @Revis24, who played for the New York Guardians, to compete for the nickel role.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 24, 2020
Football fans certainly know Askew-Henry’s cousin, Darrelle Revis, who played for the New York Jets from 2007-12 and then from 2015-16.
Askew-Henry spent his collegiate career at West Virginia University. During his senior season in 2018, he recorded 55 total tackles with five tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one pass defended through 12 games. He totaled 208 combined tackles, six picks, and 10 passes defended across his entire four years with the Mountaineers (49 games).
In five games with the Guardians, Askew-Henry recorded 11 combined tackles and six passes defended.
How does Askew-Henry fit into the roster?
The defensive back will join a secondary that’s extremely young. The cornerback room includes 26-year-old James Bradberry, 22-year-old Deandre Baker, 23-year-olds Sam Beal and Corey Ballentine, and 24-year-old Grant Haley. New York’s potential starting safeties, Julian Love and Jabrill Peppers, are respectively 22 and 24 years old.
Askew-Henry certainly won’t start at either of the two primary corner spots. Those will likely be filled by Baker and the newly acquired Bradberry. But, he’ll probably compete to be the starting slot/nickel back. Both Ballentine and Haley resided in that role last year. The former played 13 games for the Giants while the latter played 15.
Regardless of who the coaching staff selects to fill the nickel role, Big Blue’s secondary will be looking to bounce back from a rough 2019. Last year, they finished 28th in the league with 264.1 passing yards allowed per game.
