Pinnock was not nearly as productive under Shane Bowen as he had been with Wink Martindale
Jason Pinnock has started at safety for the New York Giants for the past two seasons. Does Pinnock deserve to be back with the Giants in 2025?
Reasons to keep Pinnock
The Giants went 3-14 in 2024. Pinnock is a good player entering his age 26 season, and should still have plenty of good football in front of him.
The Giants really should not be in the business of letting good players who should be in or entering their primes go. They have probably done too much of that the last couple of offseasons already.
Besides, without Pinnock the safety depth chart beyond Tyler Nubin is pretty barren. Dane Belton is not a full-time player, and losing Pinnock would leave another hole for GM Joe Schoen to fill.
Reasons to let him go
Judging from the steep drop in Pinnock’s productivity in 2024, it’s not hard to argue that perhaps Pinnock is not the right fit for defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s scheme.
Pinnock started 16 games and had 85 tackles in both 2023 and 2024. He did not have the same play-making impact in Bowen’s zone-heavy scheme as he did in Wink Martindale’s more aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme.
Some numbers:
Interceptions: 2023 (2) | 2024 (0)
Passes defensed: 2023 (6) | 2024 (1)
Fumbles forced: 2023 (2) | 2024 (0)
Times used as a blitzer: 2023 (36) | 2024 (13)
Completions allowed: 2023 (23 of 42, 54.8%) | 2024 (26 of 37, 70.3%)
Passer rating against: 2023 (74.8) | 2024 (135.9)
STOPs: 2023 (19) | 2024 (14)
Pro Football Focus grade: 2023 (67.8) | 2024 (54.5)
All of that is a bit odd when you consider that a look back at Pinnock’s college scouting report, when he was a cornerback for Pitt, indicated that he was better facing the quarterback (in zone coverage) than chasing in man coverage.
Still, the dramatic change in Pinnock’s production makes you wonder if Pinnock’s play style matches Bowen’s scheme.
The verdict
I wouldn’t mind seeing Pinnock come back on an inexpensive one- or two-year deal, provided Bowen is on board with that. I am not sure Pinnock, though, wants to return. I won’t be surprised at all if Pinnock and the Giants go there separate ways, and the Giants look for someone who is a more natural fit for Bowen’s defense.
