The New York Giants’ secondary as a unit is one of the best in the entire NFL. With the emergence of James Bradberry becoming one of the best cornerbacks in the league, along with Logan Ryan being the perfect veteran leader this young group needs, this secondary is primed to be even better in 2021, especially with the addition of Adoree’ Jackson. However, one player stands out from the rest: Jabrill Peppers. Peppers is a jolt of energy and plays at a very high level. Coming off of a career-best season in 2020, the time to extend Peppers is now before he drives his price up even more.
New York Giants Need To Extend Jabrill Peppers Now
Learning From Past Mistakes
The Giants have been known for letting talent walk out the door in free agency. Most recently, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson left Big Blue for the Minnesota Vikings. Co-owner John Mara said it “broke his heart” to see players like Tomlinson leave in a recent press conference.
“It broke my heart to see them go,” Mara said. “But eventually you have to make a cold hard business decision regarding allocating cap space and resources.”
If Mara wants to avoid heartbreak again, it would be wise to extend Peppers now before it is too late. The Giants are already paying a few players in the secondary big money, but they should really consider giving the former first-round pick a new deal sooner rather than later.
His Play Will Only Improve
Jabrill Peppers had the best year of his career in 2020. In 15 games, he recorded 91 tackles, 11 passes defended, eight tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and one interception. He had career-highs in tackles, passes defense, sacks, and tackles for loss. He also played in 911 (84%) defensive snaps, the most of his career.
With the Giants completely patching up the hole at the second cornerback position, this allows less room for error. That area was the one real weakness in the Giants 2020 secondary. Now with Jackson, this secondary unit is up there with some of the best. Having a plethora of great players around him will only make Peppers’ game go to the next level.
Jabrill Peppers Is The Ultimate Team-First Player
Peppers is also a big influence off the field as well. He was reportedly one of many players involved in recruiting big-time free agents to New York this offseason.
On Kenny Golladay‘s extended visit with Giants brass, Peppers took it among himself to take the then-free agent wide receiver out to dinner in Hoboken and offer his own recruiting pitch, according to Albert Breer. Once the Giants locked in Golladay, Peppers turned his attention immediately to Adoree’ Jackson, saying on Twitter: “@AdoreeKnows You know what to do next brudda!”
Another big factor in this is that Peppers is playing for his hometown team, and has been very vocal about that since being traded to New York. Peppers, who is from East Orange, New Jersey, had this to say right after being dealt to the Giants.
“I was excited. [I] get a chance to play football and do it in front of the home state. It was definitely an exhilarating feeling,” Peppers told reporters. “[My family] is excited, they’re excited. It’s a much easier commute than Cleveland, Ohio. So, that works out.”
Jabrill Peppers is the most electrifying piece on this young secondary. His high-intensity style of play is exciting to watch and he is a very good football player. If the Giants do not extend Peppers at all, it would make no sense as he was viewed as a centerpiece in the infamous Odell Beckham Jr trade. New York has paid quite a few players in the last few months, but to save them the heartbreak, they need to extend one of their best young players as soon as possible.
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