The New York Giants knew they intended to start two rookies, a second-year player and a position-changing player in a young secondary in the 2024 season.
The only change will be safety Jason Pinnock, 25, whom the Giants acquired off waivers from the Jets two years ago.
Pinnock, a fifth-round pick by the Jets out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2021, has steadily become a key piece of the Giants’ defense, so much so that the Giants are leaning on him to provide leadership, and he’s lived up to that responsibility so far this season.
The Giants host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, coming off a six-game losing streak, but they could be without Andrew Phillips and two other cornerbacks, Adore Jackson and Nick McCloud, who were listed on the injury report on Monday.
Asked if he was concerned about the number of injuries to key players ahead of Thursday night’s game, Pinnock said he wasn’t.
“No,” he told reporters on Monday. “Honestly, our understanding in the offseason was we’re young and we stressed that going into the year, everybody has to be ready to go. That’s the reality. It’s an intense, fast, physical game. We’re always ready to go. It’s a next man up mentality. I’m not too worried about it.”
We’ll see how it goes. The Giants secondary will be tasked with containing Dallas wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Cooks.
“Either way, it’s a challenge,” Pinnock said of taking on that dynamic duo with a lack of personnel, “but our personnel, we really believe in the depth we have. We’re not really familiar with it.”
One thing we know from Pinnock is his ability to get close to the passer: He has three sacks through the first three games, which is tied with Dexter Lawrence for the most on the team.
Pinnock said that while his teammates may be a little surprised by his sack numbers, he’s not surprised at all.
The Cowboys have a weakness for the Giants and they know it, but Pinnock warned that showdown day could be approaching.
“A new day has begun,” he said. “That’s all I can really say. And when I think about it, my analogy is to my brother. We joke about it all the time. He’s been hitting on me for probably 12 years, but in year 13, I’m gonna beat the (expletive) out of you. That’s the reality.”
The Giants are 5.5-point underdogs again this week, marking the 19th consecutive game in which they have been underdogs, a franchise record.
That will have to change at some point. Dallas has not played to its full potential this season, and an upset is possible.
