The Giants are making their second major move of the offseason on Monday as they are on the verge signing free-agent cornerback, Adoree’ Jackson, as first reported by ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Nabbing Jackson comes just days after the Giants came away the top free-agent wide receiver on the market, Kenny Golladay, who was inked to a four-year, $72 million deal over the weekend.
Jackson had meetings with the Giants that spanned from Sunday into Monday where they pulled out all the stops. Veteran safety Logan Ryan flew up from Florida to have dinner with him Sunday night while also receiving pitches from safety Jabrill Peppers, cornerback Darnay Holmes, and newly-acquired receiver, John Ross.
Out in the City & Look who I ran into… @AdoreeKnows 🤞🏾 pic.twitter.com/t8RxojsBOt
— Logan Ryan (@RealLoganRyan) March 22, 2021
Jackson had a meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles scheduled for late Monday night, but the Giants prevented the cornerback from heading to their NFC East division rival.
The USC product became a semi-surprising free-agent target when he was cut by the Tennessee Titans for cap relief as it saved them about $10.2 million heading toward the 2021 season.
Drafted 18th overall out in 2017, Jackson has been used as a dual-threat; both as a cornerback and a special-teams asset that can perform as a kick and punt returner.
His production as a cornerback, though, has declined drastically due to injury issues that caused him to miss 18 games over the last two seasons. Over Jackson’s first two seasons in the NFL, he posted 143 tackles, 27 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions. Since then, he has 57 tackles with six pass deflections, one forced fumble, and zero interceptions.
Bringing on Jackson gives the Giants a true No. 2 cornerback opposite James Bradberry in an attempt to bolster their pass defense. Holmes, Julian Love, and Sam Beal aren’t nearly as proven as Jackson is when healthy. Neither was Isaac Yiadom and Ryan Lewis didn’t do much better, either, as the Giants’ pass defense has struggled to be a shutdown unit for years.
