By Michael Stewart/@golferbad
The New York Giants will have a solid duo at the safety position in 2020 with Jabrill Peppers and rookie Xavier McKinney. The expectations are high for both players and it leads me to thinking if Peppers and McKinney can become the best safety tandem in Giants history.
That honor without any hesitation goes to Emlen Tunnell and Jimmy Patton, who played together for three seasons and had three Pro Bowl selections between them. Just mentioning Peppers and McKinney in the same sentence with Tunnell and Patton should be considered an honor. Also, throw in the fact that McKinney hasn’t even taken the field as an NFL player yet and Peppers has yet to make a Pro Bowl.
Am I setting the bar too high? Am I making an outrageous projection here that will never be obtained? After all, Tunnell is the greatest New York Giants safety of all time with nine Pro Bowls and being named to the 100th anniversary All-Time Team. Patton was no slouch with five Pro Bowl selections to his credit. The duo of Peppers and McKinney may not match the talents of Tunnell and Patton, but if they come somewhat close to that greatest, the Giants will have arguably one of the top safety tandems in the NFL.
Final Thoughts:
The mobility and athleticism of Peppers and McKinney combined with the way Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham will implement their talents in a variety of packages should bring out the best of both players and provide the Giant fans the best safeties this team has had since the Tunnell/Patton era.
Both Peppers and McKinney have the potential to earn multiple Pro Bowl honors before their careers are over and the Giants are hoping they both remain a Giant for a long time and achieve those personal goals and maybe, just maybe remind us of Tunnell and Patton.