Michael Lombardi, the former NFL executive who became an analyst, knows how the system works and how it should work.
In a recent post on The Athletic, Lombardi exposes his favorite – and least favorite – moves at the free agency this year. One of his least favorite is (you guessed it) the signing of the cornerback Adoree Jackson by the New York Giants, which Big Blue closed with a three-year, $ 39 million contract this week.
I loved Jackson leaving the USC. His speed and skill with the ball made it a corner kick capable of turning defense into attack. However, in the last two seasons, he played only 14 games, making few plays with the ball and lacking the return capacity he exhibited in college. I would love to hire the Giants if they paid a modest salary, betting on Jackson’s return to the game with passion and more durability. But the Giants paid him as if he were a great starter, with money guaranteed to do very little in the past two seasons. Who were the teams against which the Giants were competing to acquire Jackson? The Titans know Jackson well, they desperately need cover corners and have given up on the contract. What does that mean?
Good points. The giants are changing everything from culture to their processes. They are moving from a high-ranking organization, where property and the front office dominate with a heavy hand, to one in which the people closest to the field (Joe Judge) have more voice in personnel matters.
In this case, Jackson is seen as a redeemable asset whose best days as an NFL player lie ahead. Most Giant fans now this signature is a gamble, but trust Judge’s judgment on this and others.
What Lombardi means is that this is not like the other moves that the Giants have recently made. This is not a ‘low risk and high reward’ situation because of the huge guarantees in Jackson’s contract.