NFL free agency: How could Giants replace Xavier McKinney?

Here are some of the players the Giants could look to add

The New York Giants did not franchise tag Xavier McKinney, who will now hit the open market when the new league year commences next week. Without McKinney, the Giants desperately need safety help, especially in Shane Bowen’s defense, which frequently features three-safety packages.

New York currently has Jason Pinnock, Dane Belton, and Gervarrius Owens at safety. Owens has yet to play a defensive snap, Belton played well down the season’s stretch, and Pinnock showed promise, playing 1,011 snaps.

Still, that safety group has questions, and Jerome Henderson’s unit would have to be strengthened with a discount starter or significant depth. I wrote an article last month about possible free-agent additions at the safety position; some of these names will be redundant, but they’re important players whom the Giants should be interested in signing if McKinney does find his desired deal elsewhere.

Here are five safety names of note to pay attention to as the Giants look forward to free agency.

Kamren Curl, Commanders

The former Washington Commander would likely only be an option if McKinney lands another offer in free agency. I have long been a fan of Curl’s game. Curl entered the league as a seventh-round pick in 2020 and quickly established himself as a Day 3 gem. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound safety led the Commanders in tackles last season. He has 385 career tackles, 14 passes defended, and three interceptions.

What concerns me about the prospect of adding Curl is his price tag, according to Spotrac.com. His calculated market value is a four-year, $57.7 million, for an average annual value of $ 14.4 million. If that’s the case, I would rather the Giants resign McKinney if the contracts are comparable.

It seems likely that Curl has played his last down as a Commander. Here are his last two tweets (X’s, no, I don’t know):

The peace sign came directly after Washington failed to franchise tag Curl – something many speculated could manifest. Curl operated in a versatile role, but he also has experience in two-read coverages from his time in Jack Del Rio’s defense. He can play the post, split-safety looks, align in the slot, and man coverage against tight ends. He is also a plus asset in the box for sub-packages. Curl is only 24 years old.

Kevin Byard, Eagles

Byard is the pinnacle of consistency, with two-and-a-half years of experience in Shane Bowen’s system. He hasn’t played fewer than 1,000 snaps in a season since his rookie year in 2016. He has 749 career tackles, 15 for a loss, 66 passes defended, 28 interceptions, and four sacks.

The two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro (2017 and 2021) selection was a third-round pick in 2016 by the Titans and has been an impact player since day one. He’s one of the better ball-hawking safeties in the NFL, with some of the best ball skills at the position. He’s also one of the most efficient tacklers in the league; he hasn’t had over a 6.9% missed tackle rate since 2018.

Bowen ran plenty of two-read coverages in Tennessee, and Byard did a good job reacting and limiting blown coverages through the years. He has 4,266 snaps at free safety, 2,870 snaps in the box, 1,352 snaps at slot corner, and 205 snaps at outside cornerback, with 164 snaps on the line of scrimmage. Byard’s versatility would be welcomed.

Spotrac.com has Byard’s value at $7.2 million per year for two years, totaling $14.4 million. That would be just south of what Marcus Maye of the Saints earned in 2022. The 30-year-old Byard was traded to the Eagles after Week 6 last year – is it possible for him and Bowen to reunite with the Giants?

Quandre Diggs, Seahawks

Seattle went on a cutting spree on Tuesday:

They released two safeties, Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. At the right price, I am interested in adding the latter to the Giants. Diggs started his career with the Detroit Lions, where he played five seasons before the Lions traded him to Seattle during the 2020 NFL Draft.

Diggs is 31 years old and has 580 career tackles, 15 for a loss, 56 passes defended, and 24 career interceptions. He recorded 95 tackles, five passes defended, and an interception in Seattle last season, with a career-high 20 missed tackles (missed tackle rate of 17.5%), which, obviously, isn’t great.

Diggs has played more than 1,100 snaps with the Seahawks in four consecutive seasons. It’s fair to believe he’s depreciating as an asset, so why would the Giants invest in an older safety when they’re rebuilding? Because he’s still a valuable and competent player who is not a liability, and because he could be the necessary leader to set an example in a room where 24-year-old Jason Pinnock is the veteran.

McKinney was the young leader in the safety room last season. The entire secondary was young players outside of Adoree’ Jackson and Bobby McCain, who hardly played and was eventually waived. Schoen should entertain the idea of adding the three-time Pro Bowler (2020 – 2022) at a discount price to be a competent veteran leader.

Jayron Kearse, Cowboys

I have appreciated Kearse’s skill set since his time at Clemson. The 6-4, 215-pound mismatch safety, 30, had consecutive stellar seasons under Dan Quinn and the Dallas Cowboys in 2021-2022. He took a step back last season but still recorded 72 tackles and four passes defended.

Kearse has 388 tackles, 22 for a loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles, 29 passes defended, and five interceptions throughout his career. He has quality man-coverage tape against top tight ends through his time in Quinn’s system. Kearse was a seventh-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2016, where he spent four seasons before a one-year stint in Detroit. He’s a free agent after three seasons in Dallas and could be an interesting and unique safety option for Bowen.

Taylor Rapp, Bills

Rapp was a second-round pick out of Washington by the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. He spent the 2023 season with the Buffalo Bills, playing 422 impactful snaps. He has 3,699 career defensive snaps, while operating in various roles. Rapp has 380 career tackles with nine for a loss, two sacks, 25 passes defended, ten interceptions, and one forced fumble.

The 26-year-old has recorded more than 90 tackles in three of five professional seasons. He only had 50 last year due to a more limited role and a neck injury that required an ambulance to come onto the field in Week 11. Rapp returned in Week 14 and finished the season with the Bills but was unavailable for Buffalo in the playoffs.