{"id":115393,"date":"2024-04-28T04:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T04:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=115393"},"modified":"2024-04-28T04:02:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-28T04:02:11","slug":"giants-sign-ball-hawk-db-to-6-figure-guarantee-nguyensa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/giants-sign-ball-hawk-db-to-6-figure-guarantee-nguyensa\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants Sign Ball Hawk DB to 6-Figure Guarantee"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Alex-Johnson-e1714270227241.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Giants sign UCLA defensive back Alex Johnson as post-NFL draft UDFA.\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-dom-ready-time=\"149\" data-img-load-time=\"583\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getty\u00a0The New York Giants have agreed to terms with UCLA defensive back Alex Johnson as a post-NFL draft UDFA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0New York Giants\u00a0kicked off their undrafted free agent class with a UCLA defensive back that was a turnover machine in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormer UCLA defensive back Alex Johnson will sign with the New York Giants,\u201d\u00a0relayed UCLA reporter James H. Williams\u00a0after the conclusion of the\u00a0NFL draft. The\u00a0Talkin\u2019 Giants podcast quickly added\u00a0that Johnson registered five interceptions in 2023 during a repost.<\/p>\n<p>This news was also confirmed\u00a0by KPRC2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson, who provided key context on this UDFA addition. \u201cUCLA DB Alex Johnson signed with [the] Giants for $115,000 total guaranteed per a source,\u201d he informed.<\/p>\n<p>To explain, most undrafted prospects aren\u2019t guaranteed any money, let alone a six-figure agreement. Those that do get paid are typically bid on by multiple suitors.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson falls under that description, and the Giants must have really wanted him if they shelled out $115,000 just to get him in the building.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>New Giants DB Alex Johnson Led Pac-12 in Interceptions Amid Breakout 2023 Campaign<\/h2>\n<p>As mentioned in the open,\u00a0Johnson\u2019s 2023 campaign\u00a0included five interceptions and a fumble recovery for a touchdown against\u00a0Caleb Williams\u2019\u00a0USC Trojans (pictured above). This was easily a career season for the 6-foot-1, 190-pound defensive back.<\/p>\n<p>At his\u00a0pro day, Johnson ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash with a 37-inch vertical and a 10-foot and seven inches broad jump. He ran a 7.00-second three-cone drill.<\/p>\n<p>According\u00a0to the UCLA website, Johnson was more of a rotational DB and special teamer up until the 2023 season. Last year, he started eight out of his 13 appearances and \u201cled the Pac-12 in interceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That interception total was also tied for sixth highest in the entire NCAA and \u201cwas the most by a Bruin player since 2009.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among Johnson\u2019s accolades were an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection by the league coaches, a PFF mid-season All-America selection, a season-high six tackles in games at USC and versus Arizona State, a two-interception game during a victory at San Diego State and a blocked punt in the win at Stanford.<\/p>\n<p>Outside of the turnovers, ESPN credited Johnson with three pass breakups on the season. He appears to profile as more of a cornerback than a safety.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Giants Select CB Andru Phillips in Round 3 of NFL Draft<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking of the cornerback position, the Giants also drafted Kentucky CB\u00a0Andru Phillips\u00a0at pick No. 70 overall. For clarity, this selection occurred in round three.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeclared for the NFL Draft after his junior season in 2023, [Phillips is a] three-year letterwinner who played in 38 career games with 16 starts for the Wildcats,\u201d\u00a0Giants.com stated. \u201c[Phillips] totaled 82 career tackles along with 10 pass breakups and 3.0 tackles for loss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At 5-foot-11, 190 pounds,\u00a0Bleacher Report scout Cory Giddings voiced\u00a0that \u201cPhillips will need to rely on his special teams experience and ability early in his NFL career to stick around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe best looks to fit in a zone scheme where he has help either on top or is able to play deep and keep his cushion on top of routes,\u201d Giddings added, and NFL Network expert Lance Zierlein echoed this sentiment as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPhillips\u2019 tape features a high number of both completions and drops that should have been completions, but that could change in a different scheme and with additional experience,\u201d\u00a0Zierlein scouted\u00a0ahead of the draft. \u201cHe\u2019s still green, with just two years of real game experience, and often played too loose in Kentucky\u2019s zone cover schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s an ardent run supporter with excellent toughness but needs to finish tackles at a higher rate,\u201d the NFL Network analyst also relayed. \u201cScheme fit might be critical, along with proving he can play from the slot, but his best football could be ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson and Phillips will join an NYG secondary that should have a lot of spots up for grabs in 2024 training camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty\u00a0The New York Giants have agreed to terms with UCLA defensive back Alex Johnson as a post-NFL draft UDFA. The\u00a0New York Giants\u00a0kicked off their undrafted free agent&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":115394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115395,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115393\/revisions\/115395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}