Giants’ Bradberry looking forward to challenge of defending Metcalf
DK Metcalf has quickly emerged as one of the NFL’s most dynamic receivers, a 6-4, 229-pound wideout with 4.3 speed, great hands and a physical style of play rarely seen in the sport.
As Joe Judge so aptly put it about the Seahawks’ second-year star, “You don’t have a lot of guys walking the earth like him.”
Welcome to your next assignment, James Bradberry.
The Giants’ fifth-year cornerback faces a monumental task when the Giants visit the Seahawks on Sunday in a huge game for the newly minted NFC East front-runners. With Metcalf putting together an All-Pro season —he already has 58 catches for a league-high 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns — the BradberryMetcalf matchup could prove pivotal as the Giants look to extend their threegame winning streak.
But Bradberry isn’t worried about what awaits him at CenturyLink Field. In fact, he looks forward to it.
“We’re excited about the matchup, the challenge at hand,” he said. “We’re looking to go out there and dominate. That’s our whole goal, to go out there and dominate.”
Metcalf has done most of the dominating in his weekly matchups against some of the NFL’s finest cornerbacks. He has made it abundantly clear that the NFL scouting community got it wrong when he fell to the second round in the 2019 draft, and he is already being talked about as one of the best — if not the best — receivers in today’s game.
But Bradberry may be well suited to at least minimize the damage. He spent the previous four seasons toiling at cornerback in the NFC South, which features All Pro-caliber receivers like Julio Jones of the Falcons, Michael Thomas of the Saints and Mike Evans of the Buccaneers.
“I had to deal with a lot of big, physical receivers who could run,” Bradberry said. “I would say is similar to their skill set. Physical, 6-4, runs a 4.3, he can run. He’s definitely a hard matchup. Definitely a challenge for us.”
Bradberry has been one of the team’s most successful additions this season, with general manager Dave
Gettleman, who drafted Bradberry in the second round in 2016, bringing him in as a free agent from Carolina. Bradberry signed a three-year, $43.5 million deal and has proved to be worth the investment.
He has been the team’s steadiest defender, using his coverage skills to shut down most of the receivers he faces. Bradberry dealt with a more challenging situation last week, when he had to leave the team to address a private family matter before returning to play the Bengals in Cincinnati. Judge gave Bradberry a game ball after the Giants’ 19-17 win.
“It felt good coming back and being acknowledged for taking time away having to deal with a certain issue and then coming back and performing on Sunday,” said Bradberry, who declined to be specific about his personal issue. “It always feels good when your coaches show you some attention.”
Bradberry was helped by watching how teammate Logan Ryan, whose wife nearly died last month from complications from an ectopic pregnancy, dealt with his personal ordeal.
“I saw the way Logan
Ryan handled his situation, and we had other guys that dealt with a similar situation that I was dealing with at the time,” Bradberry said. “I felt like I didn’t have an excuse to miss Sunday. I know I had to come back.”
Bradberry is now focused on Metcalf and the Seahawks’ offense. But he might have more to be concerned about than just Metcalf. The Giants will occa
sionally take a page from the Patriots’ defensive playbook by assigning their top cornerback to the opposing team’s No. 2 receiver — in this case it would be Tyler Lockett — and then doubleteaming the No. 1. It’s a strategy Bill Belichick perfected in New England, and one the Giants might mimic — at least on certain occasions — on Sunday.
Otherwise, it will be
Bradberry vs. Metcalf, straight up.
He’s ready.
“This game is all about interceptions and turnovers, however I can do that,” he said. “I take pride in guarding the opposing team’s No. 1 receiver. If that becomes the case on Sunday, then I’m going to take pride in that as well.” And no fear.
Never any fear.