Do the New York Giants need another cornerback? They might, if they aren’t confident that Greg Newsome II nor Deonte Banks can secure the starting job across from Paulson Adebo.
However, the Giants might not want to spend a first round pick on the position with two former first rounders already vying for the starting job. If so, they could look at a player like Ohio State cornerback, and New Jersey native, Davison Igbinosun as a potential value pick later in the draft.
Igbinosun is a long corner with a versatile skill set and experience playing in an NFL style defense under Matt Patricia. Should he be on the Giants’ radar?
Prospect: Davison Igbinosun (1)
Games Watched: vs. Washington (2025), vs. Minnesota (2025), vs. Penn State (2025), vs. Indiana (2025)
Red Flags: none
Measurables
Strengths
Best traits
- Length
- Downhill trigger
- Awareness
- Disruptiveness
- Competitive toughness
Davison Igbinosun is a long, athletic, physical, and disruptive cornerback prospect.
Igbinosun has excellent length for the position at 6-foot-2, with (almost) 33-inch arms. He puts that length to great use with a good closing burst and a very quick downhill trigger to be very disruptive at the catch point. He’s notched 27 passes defensed in his career, 8 of which came last season.
Igbinosun does a good job of keeping his eyes in the backfield in zone coverage and reacts very quickly once the quarterback picks out his target. He frequently starts closing on receivers almost before the quarterback even starts his throwing motion.
His length lends itself to man coverage, and he has the ability to execute off-man techniques in pattern-matching rules at the NFL level. He has the speed to run with most wide receivers, as well as quick feet to change direction easily when not in a receiver’s hip pocket.
He’s a highly physical corner, and not just when closing on unsuspecting wide receivers. Igbinosun is willing to get his hands dirty in run defense and frequently comes up to make tackles (or hits) in run support. His length and play strength also allow him to take on blocks to help leverage the ball back to his teammates when defending screens.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Hip fluidity
- Ball production
- Press-man coverage
- Traffic avoidance
There are a few weaknesses in Igbinosun’s game that could limit his appeal at the NFL level.
While he has many of the traits that teams look for in press-man corners, such as length and physicality, he doesn’t quite have the hip fluidity to stay with defenders throughout their routes. He can struggle a bit to stay with receivers through sharp breaks, giving up separation which skilled route runners can exploit. He’s also a bit lean at 189 pounds, which could make it tougher to match up with bigger receivers at the NFL level.
Igbinosun also needs to improve how he navigates schemed traffic from route concepts. He can get caught unawares by receivers running into his path, and at times seems to be playing through a straw. Combined with his slight stiffness, he can be vulnerable to man-beater route concepts.
Igbinosun also doesn’t have great ball production, at least as far as interceptions are concerned. He’s quite skilled at breaking up passes, but only has four interceptions to his name.
Finally, he needs to be more consistent in his tackling technique. Igbinosun is willing to get his hands dirty, but needs to bring them along more often. He can be too reliant on big shoulder hits to try to bring ball carriers down, leading to missed or broken tackle attempts.
Game Tape
(Igbinosun is the Ohio State cornerback wearing number 1.)
Projection
Davison Igbinosun projects as an important depth piece at cornerback with the upside to start in the right scheme.
Igbinosun won’t be for every team and defense, and his highest ceiling is likely in a “Seattle Style” Cover 3 defense. He’s a smart player, though he can be a bit over-aggressive at times, and that should allow him to play Pattern Matching rules in a Fangio-Adjacent defense, however his length, downhill trigger, and willingness to be physical are an excellent fit for the Seattle mold.
Igbinosun’s draft stock will likely vary based on the team evaluating him. However, he should hear his name called before the end of the second night of the draft.
Does he fit the Giants? Possibly, depending on defensive scheme
Final Word: A Day 2 value
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