Though the Giants’ defensive front is loaded with game-changing talent, its secondary is searching for reliable playmakers after the departure of safety Xavier McKinney.
Third-round corner Dru Phillips could provide just that.
The Kentucky product has worked mostly with Big Blue’s second-team defense, but he’s already earned some snaps alongside Deonte Banks and the team’s top unit.
In practicing with the 23-year-old Banks, third-year corner Cor’Dale Flott and rookie safety Tyler Nubin, Phillips can sense an extra tenacity.
“We’re all young and everyone’s eager,” Phillips said after Thursday’s practice, the second of training camp. “No one expects anything to be given to them. Everyone’s trying to make everyone better, because we all are trying to learn at the same time together.”
After four years in Lexington — two as a starter — Phillips heads to the Big Apple to join a defense that finished just 26th in points and 19th in passing yards allowed per game.
With McKinney and veteran starter Adoreé Jackson no longer in blue, the Giants face uncertainty at the second cornerback spot and at nickelback, where McKinney played 167 snaps a season ago.
Though the organization returns Nick McCloud, Flott, Darnay Holmes and Tre Hawkins III, none played more than 332 coverage snaps in 2023, and only McCloud graded as an above-average cover man, per Pro Football Focus.
That might leave the door open for Phillips, who recognizes he’s currently low on the depth chart.
“Nothing’s ever been given to me,” the 22-year-old said. “I kind of had to earn even my way to get here. Coming into this thing, I know I’m not the clear [No.] 1 right now. Every day is a competition, and it’s for me to get better.”
Beyond personnel changes, the team ushers in new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, who orchestrated the Titans’ defense the past three seasons.
Phillips, who said he reviewed every Tennessee game for the “past couple of years,” admits new concepts will take some acclimating to, but he’s intrigued by the nickel’s prominence.
“They use a nickel a lot of different ways,” said Phillips, who played 37.6 percent of his collegiate snaps inside. “There’s some ways that I have to pick up and do better at. You’ve got to be able to do everything. Fit the run, cover the slot, and be in zone and man coverage. I love it. They rely on you to make a lot of communication, and that’s all I ever wanted.”
He might be only two days into his first NFL camp, but Phillips is drawing the praise of older secondary mates, even those competing with the newcomer for a starting spot.
“I feel like he’s doing a great job,” McCloud said. “It’s hard coming in and being a rookie DB, and then even harder playing in the slot as a rookie. He come out here and he’s competing. That’s all we can ask for right now.”
Whether at the nickel or as a boundary corner, Phillips — the 70th-overall pick this April — is putting the Giants’ larger success over his individual desires.
“It’s just help this team any way possible,” Phillips said. “I’m fighting my butt off in every last thing I can. But no matter what, at the end of the day, the goal is to win games. If that means special teams or go in there at nickel, anything, I’ll do it.”