Giants address cornerback uncertainty with Supplemental Draft selection

Eli Apple is coming off a disastrous season and Janoris Jenkins is dealing with plenty of off-field issues. That’s why the Giants drafted Sam Beal.

The New York Giants have spent most of the summer trying to convince everyone they were satisfied with their options at cornerback. The team’s decision to spend a third round pick in the Supplemental Draft to bring in Sam Beal suggests the front office was more concerned than they ever let on.

Expect the Giants’ brass to insist selecting Beal was all about value. That isn’t a stretch. Quite a few teams were interested in the Western Michigan corner. While there were some rumblings he might go as early as round 2, most NFL executives believed he’d go off the board in the third round. New York certainly didn’t reach to make this selection.

With that being said, you don’t dive into the Supplemental Draft unless you see a real weakness you need to address. Players like Beal fall into this obscure event for a reason. Something has happened to derail their college career.

For Beal, it was simply a matter of falling behind his coursework at Western Michigan. That isn’t a massive red flag for the Giants, but it certainly didn’t boost his value either.

Beal will be expected to come in and immediately compete for a spot in the Giants secondary. Currently, the team is slated to start Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple. Both of those players enter the 2018 season with serious question marks.

The team knows they can trust Jenkins’ talent on the field, but the recent arrest of his older brother on suspicion of felony aggressive manslaughter has thrown his offseason into chaos. The alleged crime occurred on Jenkins’ property in Florida, but there are zero indications he was in the state at the time. Even though he wasn’t involved, the incident is still a massive distraction for Jenkins and it’s unlikely to disappear anytime soon. The team expects him to be a productive starter this season, but acquiring some insurance is a prudent plan.

The questions about Eli Apple are largely contained on the field of play. He enjoyed a terrific rookie campaign, but was awful in 2017. The new coaching staff has given the former Ohio State star a clean slate, but it’s unclear whether or not he can take advantage of his new opportunity. If he doesn’t enjoy a strong bounce back season, it could torpedo the Giants’ hopes of having a competent secondary.

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The plan for Sam Beal will be to serve as insurance just in case anything happens to Jenkins or Apple this season. They don’t want to use him this season, but drafting him shows they know it might be a necessity.