Giants’ James Bradberry named a Secret Superstar of Week 2
New York Giants cornerback James Bradberry had a career-best game against the Chicago Bears in Week 2, recording four tackles, four passes defensed and a remarkable no-look interception.
Bradberry’s performance not only earned him the Giants Wire Player of the Game honor, he was also named to the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week and earned their Defensive Player of the Week honor.
But that’s not all.
Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire thought so much of Bradberry’s performance that he listed the cornerback among the “NFL’s Secret Superstars of Week 2.”
Coming into the 2020 season, I had Bradberry as the fifth-best zone coverage cornerback in the NFL based on his athleticism and route recognition. The Giants, who played zone on 55% of their defensive snaps in 2019, signed the former Panthers defender to a three-year, $45 million contract in the offseason, and that deal is already paying dividends. While the rest of Big Blue’s cornerback group fails to impress, Bradberry has been on point, and he was absolutely that on Sunday against the Bears — especially when matched up against top receiver Allen Robinson.
James Bradberry had a whale of a game against the Bears. Had more passes defensed than catches allowed when on Allen Robinson. One INT, a pass breakup that caused another INT, and this outstanding route jump.
(Apologies, as always, for Bears All-22). pic.twitter.com/JCYk9LM1Vl
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) September 23, 2020
Bradberry allowed a 14-yard catch to Robinson with no yards after the catch out of a hard backpedal, and other than that, he was a dominant eraser. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman gets slammed a lot for his less successful transactions, but he nailed this one.
Through two weeks of the season, Bradberry is arguably among the best cornerbacks in football and appears to only be getting better each day.
