Giants Trade Back Into 1st Round and Select Deandre Baker

The New York Giants were active on Day 1 of the 2019 NFL Draft, and after making their two selections in the first round, they decided to make another move and trade back into the first round to select cornerback Deandre Baker from the University of Georgia. The Giants traded their second (37), fourth (132) and fifth (142) round picks to the Seattle Seahawks for that 30th overall pick.

Baker is an average size cornerback, at 5-11 and 193-pounds, and it would be a challenge for him to go up against bigger receivers. However, he had his most success with man-to-man coverage, which made him one of the best cornerbacks in this year’s draft. Even though he may not be the biggest corner, he makes up for it with his quickness and his ability to tackle. He had 40 tackles and two interceptions in his senior year at Georgia, and brings those skills to a Giants team that needs an upgrade on defense.

Although the Giants have a lot of holes on defense, they do still have Janoris Jenkins at cornerback to anchor the defense. Baker may benefit from having an All-Pro corner alongside him, and while he has just been drafted, he has a chance to prove that he can start this season. If Baker can continue his collegiate success in training camp, and gets the starting job with the Giants this season, this could improve his game. There is no guarantee whatsoever that this will happen, as it is still too early to know how this will play out, but he has a chance to start in this defense, and would need to prove that in training camp first.