Josh Gordy, who agreed to a one-year deal with the New York Giants on Tuesday, spent the last three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. So, to get to know more about the 28-year-old Gordy we turned to SB Nation's Colts web site, Stampede Blue, for a scouting report. Josh Wilson wasn't exactly complementary toward the newest Giant:
Josh Gordy spent the past three seasons with the Colts after being acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Rams in 2012, and in his first two years with the team he did a solid job in the role they asked him to play. In 2014, however, as the fourth cornerback, he really struggled. I'll never criticize a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, as I think that's a good deal for both the team and the player, but Gordy is very much going to be competing for a spot in training camp with the Giants, looking to earn a spot on the roster. As far as it goes with him playing safety, he didn't really play there with the Colts. I didn't remember him playing there at all and so I looked it up with Pro Football Focus' snap counts, and they have six recorded snaps of Gordy in coverage from the safety position in 2013, but nothing other than that. Simply put, he didn't play safety hardly at all for the Colts, as they kept him at cornerback and used him there. Based on his talent and skill-set I think he could hold his own at the position, but I'd expect it to be at roughly the same caliber as his cornerback play - often average but sometimes worse.
So, why did the Giants sign the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Gordy?
Maybe he will compete for a spot as a safety. Maybe will compete for a reserve cornerback role. Maybe he is looked at by the Giants as a versatile player who might be able to help at both spots. His experience at safety is much more limited than originally thought, just a few snaps of regular-season game action.
The Giants have lost, or let go depending on your perspective, veteran corners Walter Thurmond III and Zack Bowman this offseason. The plan going forward appears to be to move Chykie Brown from corner to safety. No harm in bringing in an experienced player to compete for a roster spot, especially one who might be able to play multiple spots in a pinch.
One under-rated aspect of this move, which was mentioned to me on the @bigblueview Twitter timeline Tuesday night, is that new Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has familiarity with Gordy. Of Gordy's 11 NFL starts, nine of those came for the St. Louis Rams in 2011. The head coach of the Rams at that time? Spagnuolo. Gordy played 689 snaps that season, compiling a -8.3 Pro Football Focus grade and a passer rating against of 91.3. Not great numbers, but you have to believe Spagnuolo signed off on bringing Gordy to New York. So, there had to be things the coach liked about Gordy's play.
The Gordy signing shouldn't impact the Giants draft plans at all. He's depth, a player to compete for a roster spot, a guy the defensive coordinator is familiar with and would seem to like. Likely not a major acquisition, but possibly just a small piece to the 2015 roster puzzle.