Giants 2022 free agency: DB/ST Keion Crossen

Should Giants bring back special teamer?

The New York Giants sent a sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans for Keion Crossen last August in an effort to boost their special teams play. Crossen ended up playign 309 special teams snaps, 76 percent of the Giants plays in the kicking game.

Did he perform well enough for the Giants to bring him back in 2022?

Details

Age: 26
Position: Defensive back/special teams
2021 salary cap hit: $920,000

Making the case

Crossen was not the difference maker on special teams the Giants might have hoped he would be. He did finish second on the team in special teams tackles with nine. He missed five tackles, though, a team-high on special teams. He also committed five special teams penalties.

Crossen is a tremendously athletic player. He ran a 4.38 40-yard dash coming out of Western Carolina. Per Player Profiler, his burst score was 89th percentile and his agility score 94th percentile.

For me, what this comes down to is whether or not new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale thinks there is a role on defense for Crossen. He played 307 defensive snaps for the Houston Texans in 2020, but only 23 for Patrick Graham last season.

If the Giants believe Crossen can be a useful reserve or sub-package defensive player I’m fine with bringing him back. I suspect we did not see Crossen’s best work in 2021. If they look at him as a special teams only player, I’d pass.