It was simple for the Giants when the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft began. If Alabama S Xavier McKinney fell to them like he fell out of the first round, they'd pounce.
That's exactly what happened when their 36th overall pick was on the clock.
"We made up our mind that if Xavier fell to us, we would take him," Gettleman told the media on a conference call Friday night.
The explanation for that was also simple. Gettleman revealed that the Giants did have a team that was willing to trade up to their pick. But the Giants had a first-round grade on McKinney, so they just couldn't pass him up.
"We had a first-round value on him and we're absolutely thrilled to get him," Gettleman said. "He's a great kid. He's smart, he plays smart, he lines up the back-end for us. Versatile. You can put him down low. He can cover tight ends, he's got ball skills, and he's a good tackler. So we're excited and feel we got a real quality person and player."
As you can hear from Gettleman, McKinney already figures to slot right into the safety hole that's next to Jabrill Peppers. Julian Love was that man before the pick, but a shaky rookie season which included a shift to safety didn't have the Giants confident in letting him work his way into the position next season.
Judge, who isn't one to hint at a potential starter on his roster even if their name is Daniel Jones, seemed to agree with Gettleman when he called McKinney someone who can be the "signal caller" of the defense.
"My first experience with Xavier was a few springs ago," Judge explained. "I was down in Alabama actually scouting a couple other guys for the draft and had the opportunity to pass on through one of the practices, and he just stuck out as a guy on the field who flies around, plays with a lot of passion and energy. He also has that ability to get to the quarterback on the back end and really be a signal caller for our defense."
Judge also obviously has the Nick Saban connection at Alabama, something he said he exercised when scouting McKinney, as did his assistant coaches.
"Knowing the program he comes from, he fits the mold of a smart, tough, fundamentally-sound guy we're looking to build with," Judge said.
What does McKinney bring to the table? Gettleman and Judge basically laid it out that he can do a lot on the defensive side of the ball. He isn't like Clemson's Isaiah Simmons, but McKinney did jump around different positions last season because of his versatile ability to track and cover as well as get in the backfield and wreak havoc.
"He certainly is versatile," Gettleman said. "One of the important things for us this year was getting a safety that can play the deep part of the field. Xavier certainly played back there enough that we feel very comfortable about that part of his game."