National Football League

Jerry Reese details the plan at safety this offseason

Published Apr. 24, 2015 10:10 a.m. ET

foxsports

Sometimes offseason speculation does come true, and New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese confirmed that yesterday during his annual pre-draft press conference when asked about what happened at the safety position. Looking at the Giants' depth chart at safety, it was certainly a valid question.

The only two players on the roster who have any experience at safety are Nat Berhe and Cooper Taylor. Berhe used Thursday to explain why he is confident he will earn one of the starting spots. Taylor has flashed on both special teams and at safety, mostly during the preseason, but he has battled injuries every season with the Giants. Taylor's injury history also dates back to his college days, and it was a major reason why he dropped in the draft.

The Giants can't count on those two at safety, and Reese knows that, but he is a man who sticks to his plan. After evaluating the safety talent in this year's free agent class, Reese was sold on the fact that only one safety could help the Giants and earn his big free agent contract. That man was Patriots safety Devin McCourty.

"We thought [McCourty] was the best player [at safety] in free agency and after that we thought it was a drop-off," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said during his annual pre-draft press conference. "That is what happened."

Giants owner John Mara confirmed as much. Although he never mentioned the numbers of the Giants' contract offer for McCourty, Mara didn't stop short of admitting that the Giants made a a big commitment to land McCourty.

"We tried but were unsuccessful with Devin McCourty," Mara said during a private conversation with the Boston Herald and ESPN Boston during the league meetings in Arizona back in March. "I think our money was pretty similar to what he ended up signing for, but it was understandable that he wanted to stay with his old team."

Mara thought that the Giants had one major trump card up their sleeve.

"He was a local kid, so we thought that would be attractive for him, also," Mara added.

After losing out on McCourty, the Giants decided to avoid the panic phase that involves overpaying for the next tier of safeties based on the lack of depth in the market at this position. Reese doesn't like to offer much information during his annual pre-draft press conference, and rightfully so, but he saw no value in denying the obvious—an addition at safety is on the horizon.

"We're not going to make do, just like any position. We're going to try and upgrade that position like the rest of the positions," Reese said. "We're not going to make do. We have some young players that we think have some talent, but we're going to continue to try to upgrade that position as well."

Signing a veteran safety out of the dried up free agent market is certainly still a possibility, but Reese it sounds like Reese is already thinking about going down a different path.

"Obviously you'd like to get a guy who has played there and done the job," Reese said. "But you have to be creative in this day and age as well."

In addition to Berhe and Taylor, Reese was likely referring Josh Gordy, Bennett Jackson and Chykie Brown. The Giants signed Gordy away from the Colts this offseason, and while he has experience at both cornerback and safety, his former team made no effort to re-sign him. Jackson and Brown have only played cornerback up until this point, but there have already been reports that the Giants will look to convert them to safety in the upcoming OTAs and eventually training camp.

In all likelihood, the Giants will strongly consider using at least one draft pick on a safety during next weekend's draft. The Giants have already held private workouts for safety prospects Damarious Randall, Cedric Thompson, Anthony Harris and Lorenzo Waters.

Thompson has some upside to contribute immediately, but the guy to keep an eye on is Randall out of Arizona State. The 5'11 and 196 pound safety has the instincts and range needed to excel at safety at the next level. After watching all of his game tape available to me at Draft Breakdown, I came away impressed with his ability to control the deep half of the field. He earned first-team All-Pac 12 honors in 2014 after racking up 106 tackles, two forced fumbles and three interceptions.

(h/t True Jersey)

Photo Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

For more on the Giants and the entire NFC East, you can find Dan on Twitter @DanSchneierNFL or Google+.