Free agent cornerback Jerraud Powers is making his first visit of the month on Thursday, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com, who tweets that Powers is set to meet with the Giants. Although Powers’ first free agent visit will be to New York, there could be more on the way after that, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Powers, 28, spent the first four years of his NFL career in Indianapolis before playing for the Cardinals for the last three seasons. Having started 82 of his 87 career regular-season games, the former third-round pick is one of the more accomplished cornerbacks still available on the free agent market.
In 2015, Powers started 13 games for Arizona, picking up an interception to go along with 50 tackles, nine passes defended, and a pair of fumble recoveries. However, Pro Football Focus wasn’t overly fond of his play, ranking him 79th out of 111 qualified cornerbacks, assigning him mediocre grades for both his pass coverage and run defense.
For the Giants, Powers would likely be viewed as a nickel corner if he were to sign, since the team has two solid – and well-paid – outside starters in Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Jordan Raanan of NJ.com mentioned in mid-March that Big Blue was seeking corners capable of playing in the slot, and identified Powers as a possible target.
During the legal tampering period earlier this month, Powers told Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com that he’d like to sign a three- or four-year deal, and hoped to join a title contender. He’s unlikely to land a long-term contract at this point, and the Giants may still be a few pieces away from becoming legit Super Bowl contenders, but considering he’s still unsigned three weeks into free agency, Powers’ market apparently didn’t develop quite like he had hoped.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Powers is decidedly average, but when your two outside corners are DRC and Jenkins, average might be good enough, and he would benefit from moving inside to slot corner. Given the need for even ordinary CBs, I’m a little surprised that the markets for players like Boykin and Powers never really developed much.
The Giants are in need of a competitive slot corner. Some mock drafts have them selecting a corner there. It’s possible the Giants don’t sign Powers and go after a corner in the draft.