New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney was projected to be a star in the NFL when he was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Alabama.
A broken bone in his foot during training camp ruined his rookie season. McKinney didn’t play until Week 12 last year but made enough of an impression that the Giants felt confident about his future.
This year, McKinney was just one of four very capable safeties on the Giants’ roster along with Jabrill Peppers, Logan Ryan and Julian Love. But McKinney has forced his way into the starting lineup, starting eight of the Giants’ nine games and playing on 100 percent of the defensive snaps in each of the past six games.
This week, McKinney was one of the Giants players to test positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list midweek. He tested negative twice since and was cleared to play on Sunday versus the Las Vegas Raiders.
Lucky for the Giants. McKinney was vital in the Giants’ 20-16 victory, picking off Derek Carr twice in the game. Head coach Joe Judge praised McKinney after game.
“He pulled his best Ferris Bueller this week, didn’t have to show up for work and had a career type of game,” Judge said. “He did a good job staying prepared, was in all the Zoom meetings and all that stuff. Not speaking for Zay, but you could see the frustration level throughout the week — if he’s in the Zoom meeting, the team’s on the field practicing, he’s not able to be active and involved, you’re kind of one foot in, in terms of am I going to be able to play. Obviously, when he got cleared, that was big for us as a team.”
McKinney has become a prominent figure on the Giants’ defense this season in the absence of Jabrill Peppers, who tore his ACL in Week 7 and is out for the season.
