The Giants add to their secondary and special teams
The New York Giants announced Wednesday afternoon that they’ve signed defensive back David Long Jr.
Long was originally drafted out of Michigan by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent the first four years of his career in LA, playing in 52 games and starting 10 of them. He then bounced around the NFL some in 2023, with three games each for the Carolina Panthers (one start) and Green Bay Packers. Long spent the most time with the Las Vegas Raiders, playing in eight games and starting one.
His most productive year was in 2021, in which he started five games, recording 40 tackles, 4 passes defensed, and an interception.
Long was primarily a special teams player early in his career, playing roughly 60 percent of the Rams’ special teams snaps in his first two years and still being a steady presence on special teams for the Rams, Panthers, and Raiders after that.
He’ll likely have to make the Giants’ roster as a special teams player as well.
Long is a feisty, competitive, and physical defensive back who played press-man corner for the Wolverines. He might be more of a “nickel DB” for the Giants, however, as he lacks the size you commonly see in outside corners. He stands 5-foot-10, 196 pounds with 30-inch arms, which limits his ability to be a press-man corner at the NFL level.
The Giants have a number of nickel options on the roster, with Long joining rookie Dru Phillips, Cor’Dale Flott, Darnay Holmes, Jalen Mills, and Nick McCloud. It’ll be interesting to see how the secondary takes shape under Shane Bowen.
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