Getty Isaac Yiadom #27 of the New York Giants celebrates after he broke up a pass in the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on September 27, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Hours before the first roster cut deadline of the 2021 preseason, the Green Bay Packers have pulled off a cornerback swap with the New York Giants.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers are trading former second-round pick Josh Jackson to the Giants in exchange for 2018 third-rounder Isaac Yiadom, who started 10 games last year after getting traded from Denver to New York just before the start of the 2020 season.
The Broncos selected Yiadom at No. 99 overall in the 2018 NFL draft, the same year in which the Packers took Jackson at No. 45 overall after moving up in the first round to get Jaire Alexander. Over his first two seasons, Yiadom started nine of 29 games and registered a combined seven pass breakups and an interception. He then started another 10 games for the Giants in 2020, adding a career-high five pass deflections with a forced fumble and an assisted sack.
As for Jackson, the once-promising 2018 second-rounder has been fighting for a place on the Packers’ 53-man roster after struggling to contribute appropriately over the past two seasons. He was particularly bad in the Packers’ 26-7 preseason loss to the Houston Texans last Saturday, giving up seven receptions for 91 yards on 10 targets in pass coverage. Now, he gets a fresh start with a Giants team that also acquired Adoree’ Jackson in free agency to pair with All-Pro starter James Bradberry.
The Packers will still have to clear three more players from their roster as NFL teams reduce their camp numbers to 85 players by Tuesday, August 17 at 4 p.m. ET.
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Packers Take No-Cost Chance on Yiadom
It has seemed for quite some time now that Jackson’s days in Green Bay were numbered. There appeared to still be a chance for him to prove himself even after the Packers renewed contracts with Kevin King and Chandon Sullivan and drafted Eric Stokes (first round) and Shemar Jean-Charles (fifth) over the offseason, but a rough first few weeks of camp turned the question from “Will they give up on Jackson?” to “When will they give up on Jackson?”
Rather than wait to see more from him, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst found an arrangement that would seem to benefit all parties involved. The Packers now ditch a cornerback who was likely to be cut from their roster anyways at the end of the month and gain another experienced body at the position who — even if he misses the 53-man roster — introduces a new competition to the group. Meanwhile, Jackson gets the opportunity to start anew in a different system for the final year of his rookie contract as the Giants load up on depth at the position.
According to independent salary-cap specialist Ken Ingalls, the Packers also saved a net total of $366,045 in cap space for the 2021 season, offloading the contract of a 2018 second-rounder and taking on the contract of 2018 third-rounder. The experiment could fail with Yiadom in the days leading up to the August 31 cutdown date, but it will come at no additional cost to the Packers.
Ento vs. Yiadom Takes Center Stage
There are a few things to understand about Green Bay’s cornerback situation before estimating Yiadom’s role and value to the team. First, the Packers are reasonably invested in five of the corners on their camp roster between Alexander, King, Sullivan, Stokes and Jean-Charles. We can assume all of them are safe for their 53-man roster (with Jean-Charles possibly being the exception; though, he is a rookie draft pick who they likely believe still has too much potential).
The Packers are also likely looking for special teams contributions from whoever wins their sixth cornerback spot on the roster, meaning the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Yiadom could be evaluated as much for his special teams play as his defensive play over the next two weeks.
After the first preseason game, Yiadom’s biggest competition for a roster spot is currently Kabion Ento. The third-year cornerback was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded Packers defender in Saturday’s game against the Texans, allowing no completions in coverage and recording the team’s only interception of the night. If the Packers rest most of their starters again this weekend for their second preseason game, Ento and Yiadom could both get tested early and often.
The Packers also have a few other cornerbacks hoping to carve out roles for themselves, including 2019 sixth-round pick Ka’dar Hollman, Stanford Samuels and newly signed rookie Dominique Martin.