The New York Giants made a string of signings on Thursday afternoon, adding depth to a number of key positions. Among those signings was CB Amani Oruwariye, an underrated player that could be more than just a depth piece for New York. Oruwariye is bringing size and physicality to the Giants’ defense and could make an impact as a starting outside cornerback.
What does CB Amani Oruwariye bring to the Giants?
Amani Oruwariye is a 6-foot-two, 205-pound outside cornerback who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Detroit Lions. Oruwariye totaled nine career interceptions, and 14 passes defended during his time in Detroit.
After being drafted out of Penn State in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Oruwariye was able to earn a starting job on the Lions’ defense by his sophomore season. He’s logged 2,654 snaps in his career so far and is now joining a Giants secondary in desperate need of a new outside cornerback to start opposite of Adoree’ Jackson.
Oruwariye could potentially be that second starting boundary cornerback for Big Blue. He has the right blend of size and speed (4.4s 40-time) necessary to compete on the outside in a single-high, cover-three defensive scheme similar to the one deployed by Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
Martindale utilizes a lot of press coverage from single-high safety alignments like cover-three and cover-one. During his time in Detroit, Oruwariye played in a similar defensive system and thrived for the first three seasons of his career.
According to Pro Football Focus, Oruwariye saw his passer rating against “improve from 108.5 as a rookie to 96.0 in Year 2 and 60.2 in Year 3.” He also allowed just a 64.9 passer rating in Cover-3 and a 44.7 passer rating in Cover-1 in 2021.
Unfortunately, Oruwariye had an off year in 2022, causing him to fall out of favor in Detroit and wind up a free agent this offseason. A change of scenery and coaching could be exactly what Oruwariye needs to get back to looking like his old self. The Giants present a perfect opportunity for Amani Oruwariye to turn things around as a potential starter in their press-heavy defense.
The post What does Giants’ new CB Amani Oruwariye bring to the table? appeared first on Empire Sports Media.