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Will Flott earn a second contract?
The
New York Giants have invested heavily in their defense over the last couple years.
They’ve added high draft picks and talented free agents to try to turn the unit into one of the best in the NFL. The Giants’ defense has had good players for years now, however it’s also been top-heavy, with little depth behind their starters.
The secondary was always of the biggest concerns, and depth can be key. Not only have the Giants been thin on the back end, but the secondary always has to deal with attrition over the course of a year.
That makes 2022 third-round pick (81st overall) Cor’Dale Flott of keen interest as he enters his fourth year. Flott was never a consistent starter through the first two years of his career, but did start 10 of 14 games in 2024. He’s unlikely to push for a starting job in 2025 after the addition of Paulson Adebo and the emergence of Dru Phillips in the slot. However, he could still be an important depth piece who sees plenty of playing time in sub packages or in the event of injury.
Because of that, Flott taking the next step in his development would be an absolute boon to the Giants. And if he doesn’t, he could find himself looking for a new home in the 2026 free agency period.
Reasons why he’ll make it
The biggest factor in Flott’s potential success is the improvement he showed over the course of 2024.
Last year was Flott’s busiest to date, with him playing 637 snaps (73.8% of the total defensive snaps). Thanks to the Giants’ depth issues in the secondary, the overwhelming majority of those snaps came on the outside, as opposed to the slot. Flott played just 50 snaps in the slot, as opposed to 578 as an outside cornerback — a full game more than his 505 total snaps in 2023.
He certainly had his struggles over the course of those snaps, but the extra work may have been good for him. For instance, Flott showed growth in the mental and technique aspects of his game over the course of 2024.
He struggled some with missed tackles to start the season, with 5 missed tackles in his first 8 games. However, those five were the only missed tackles all year and he didn’t have a single missed tackle after Week 8. By the end of the year, his 8.6% missed tackle rate was significantly lower than the Giants’ 13.3% rate (which itself was roughly league-average).
Flott has always had a good closing burst, but his choice of angles is improving as well.
He’s also showing an improved understanding of leverage and how to force the ball back to his teammates.
His coverage and passer rating against also improved over the course of the year. Using Week 8 as the dividing line, we see a stark shift in Flott’s completion percentage allowed. Prior to Week 8, he allowed 73.1% of passes to be completed, which dropped to 57.9% completed after Week 8.
Part of the difference comes down to how Flott was used and the Giants’ switch to more aggressive scheming after the injury to Dexter Lawrence. The other part is that Flott is improving in how he reads quarterbacks’ eyes and tracks the ball from off coverage.
He is still better in man than zone, and off-man seems to be his greatest strength. We’ll see if (or how) the Giants’ defense changes with the additions of Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland, however they primarily used a mix of Cover 3 and Cover 1 last year. Flott being skilled in off-man coverage could be an asset if the Giants continue to mix those two coverages and use one to disguise the other.
Why he may not make it
The first, and most notable, issue in Flott’s game is one he can’t do much about.
Flott is whip-thin and is still listed at 175 pounds despite being 6-foot-2. That can make it difficult for him to get bigger defenders on the ground if he doesn’t tackle with excellent form. While he was a relatively secure tackler who didn’t outright miss often, limiting yards after contact is an issue. Flott simply doesn’t have much stopping power and needs to take very good angles and make sure he wraps up every time. If he arrives high, or doesn’t wrap up, even average sized receivers can survive his tackle attempts.
Here we see Flott attempting to bring down Jalen Tolbert at the top of the screen. Instead of laying a big hit that might jar the ball loose, or get him down quickly and securely, Tolbert is able to shrug off Flott. Fortunately, Tyler Nubin was there to clean up, or that could have been a bigger play for the Cowboys.
Flott’s frame can also make him vulnerable to physical play from receivers.
He was a thorn in Brandin Cooks’ side both times the Giants played the Cowboys last year, and Flott largely had Cooks locked down. This play was one of the very few times Cooks got the better of Flott, and it was due to the subtle push-off mid-route.
Cooks is able to disrupt Flott, who isn’t quite able to recover and erase the separation that Cooks creates with the shove. A sturdier frame would allow Flott to absorb the contact without giving up separation (or at least as much) — or force Cooks to be more blatant with the push and draw an offensive pass interference call.
Flott’s aggression and toughness can also work against him when he’s matched up against smart, savvy route runners.
He has good quickness and relies on his downhill burst to arrive with any kind of power. But that means he needs to commit hard and fast to a course of action, which can lead to biting hard on play fakes.
Flott is at the bottom of the screen here, and a subtle fake from the receiver (Noah Brown) convinces Flott to flip his hips in the wrong direction. He’s completely unable to recover and loses his balance doing so, giving up a tremendous amount of separation and a 34-yard play.
Final thoughts
The question as to whether Flott can “make it” and be a useful piece for the Giants really depends on your expectations for him.
If someone is expecting Flott to be an every-down starter, let alone a “shutdown” corner, then they’re bound to be disappointed. He flashes the ability to be disruptive at the catch point thanks to his quickness and length, but he’ll likely never be a consistent problem for offenses.
So from that perspective, he’d be a bust.
However, if he’s expected to be a depth piece — the fourth cornerback who comes on in certain sub packages or if a starter needs to come off the field — that’s another story. As he is, the Giants could do (and have done) worse for cornerback depth.
He’s limited by his frame and his aggressive game can be used against him by savvy opponents. That said, Flott’s versatility to play outside or the slot are useful, as is his ability to be disruptive when playing off-man.
He’ll need to continue to work on his tackling technique, as well as his discipline in not biting on fakes or misdirection when in zone coverage. Flott can cement himself as a primary depth piece and an option that coaches feel good about in the absence of the starter if he takes the next step in those areas. Doing so could remove cornerback from the Giants’ list of needs for several years.
But while Flott might not
need an upgrade if he can’t take that next step, he also wouldn’t prevent the Giants from adding another cornerback who can force him off the roster.