Notre Dame Football NFL Draft fits: Jalen Elliott and the New York Giants

With little depth at the safety position, the New York Giants would be wise to target Notre Dame defensive back Jalen Elliott in the NFL Draft.

Coming off a season where they went 4-12, the New York Giants have a number of needs on their roster. One area of need is at safety, where the Giants currently have Jabrill Peppers and former Notre Dame standout and converted cornerback Julian Love slated to start at safety next season.

However, beyond those two players, the Giants have little-to-no depth at the position. Veteran Antoine Bethea, who lost his starting spot to Love this season, is expected to be a cap casualty this offseason. Michael Thomas is an unrestricted free agent and is not a certainty to be resigned by New York.

Outside of those two players, who may not be with the team next season, the Giants have only Sean Chandler, an undrafted free agent out of Temple in 2018, listed as a safety on their current roster. As a result, the team will likely look to add depth at the safety position this offseason, specifically in the draft.

If they do indeed decide to draft positional depth at the safety position, Notre Dame’s Jalen Elliot would be an excellent player to target later in the draft for the Giants. With experience at both safety positions at Notre Dame, Elliott represents a player who could fill the role of backup at both strong safety and free safety if needed.

A three-year starter and defensive captain for Notre Dame, Elliott is a player who succeeds by having intangible qualities, rather than relying on athletic abilities. He represents a physical player who does not shy away from making tackles and delivers bone-jarring hits with regularity.

Elliott possesses excellent instincts, good field vision, and anticipation that he utilizes to overcome what he lacks in speed and strength. While he does not possess elite speed for the position, Elliot does have solid explosiveness and quickness that allow him to recover adequately while providing solid coverage.

While still a bit raw, Elliott needs to improve upon his skills to locate the ball in coverage as well as his ability to get his head turned when the ball is in the air. He also needs to work on his tendency to get too aggressive on the angles he takes towards the ball carrier, which sometimes takes him out of position to make plays.

His average range and athleticism, combined with his over-aggressive playing style make Elliott a better fit for zone coverage than man-to-man coverage. However, if he can add some strength, he has the size to eventually succeed in man coverage situations.

Currently projected to be a late-round selection in the draft, the Giants would be wise to target a player with Elliott’s experience to provide much-needed depth at the safety position.  Pairing him with former teammate Julian Love presents an interesting scenario for New York — one that could certainly pay dividends for the team.