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Will the New York Giants ever reap the return on investment they hoped for when the used a third-round pick on Sam Beal in the 2018 Supplemental Draft? Beal will be back this summer to try again after opting out of the 2020 season.
Let’s take a look at his chances of sticking around.
The basics
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 177
Age: Turns 25 in August
Position: CB
Experience: 2 (opt out in 2020)
Contract: Third year of four-year, $4.082M rookie contract | 2021 cap hit: $1,113,240
Career to date
The Giants rolled the dice on Beal in 2018, using a third-round Supplemental Draft pick on the cornerback out of Western Michigan they said would have had a Round 2 grade heading into the 2019 draft.
Beal hasn’t justified the gamble. He has given the Giants just six games, 26 tackles and a pass defensed in that time.
Beal re-injured a previously shoulder in one of his first training camp practices and missed the entire 2018 season. He missed 10 games in 2019 due to a hamstring injury that landed him on IR. He opted out of last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 outlook
Does Beal have a place on the 2021 Giants?
Entering training camp, Beal probably has work to do in order to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. James Bradberry, Adoree’ Jackson, Darnay Holmes and Aaron Robinson are clearly ahead of him. Isaac Yiadom, Madre Harper and probably sixth-round pick Rodarius Williams, too. You could likely add Joshua Kalu, a three-year veteran who played in 15 games and received 281 defensive snaps for the Tennessee Titans last season, and Chris Milton, a five-year veteran who has been a valued special teamer in both Indianapolis and Tennessee. If you want to throw Julian Love into the cornerback mix, that’s another player likely ahead of Beal.
That’s 10 players, meaning Beal appears to have a mountain to climb. This is not the coaching staff that was involved in his selection, so Joe Judge, Patrick Graham and defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson have nothing invested in him. GM Dave Gettleman does, but I doubt Gettleman would fight for Beal at this point. There, to default to a cliche, are bigger fish to fry.
In my post-draft roster projection, I have the Giants keeping six cornerbacks. Beal is not one of them. I will stick to that, until proven otherwise.