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There are not many firsts for a franchise that has been in business for 95 years, but this is a first for the Giants: They added a player Tuesday from the New York Guardians of the XFL, agreeing to terms on a two-year contract with defensive back Dravon Askew-Henry, The Post confirmed. Askew-Henry, 24, is …
There are not many firsts for a franchise that has been in business for 95 years, but this is a first for the Giants: They added a player Tuesday from the New York Guardians of the XFL, agreeing to terms on a two-year contract with defensive back Dravon Askew-Henry, The Post confirmed.
Askew-Henry, 24, is a cousin of Darrelle Revis, the former all-world cornerback for the Jets, Buccaneers, Patriots and Chiefs.
Askew-Henry was with the Guardians, coached by former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, when that fledgling league shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like Revis, Askew-Henry is from Aliquippa, Pa. He started a school-record 51 games at West Virginia, primarily playing safety for the Mountaineers, finishing with 215 total tackles and six interceptions. At 5-foot-11 and 208 pounds, he is considered to have the sort of positional versatility new head coach Joe Judge is looking for, thus could compete at safety and also at slot cornerback.
After finishing up at West Virginia in 2018, Askew-Henry went undrafted and spent time briefly with the Jaguars and Patriots — yet another New England connection with Judge, albeit a minimal one. Askew-Henry was with the Steelers in training camp last summer and told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “I’m versatile. I am gonna do whatever I got to do to make the team win. You got to cover. You got to [be] willing to go out there on an island, come in the box to tackle and I feel like I can to all of that.’’
With the Guardians, Askew-Henry played his home games at MetLife Stadium. He also was involved in a play that did not go viral but certainly garnered some interest. In a game against the Los Angeles Wildcats, he was called for a holding penalty and actually caught the flag after the official tossed it. Askew-Henry immediately tossed the flag back in the direction of the official. That official did not have a second flag to throw, and he signaled to another official on the crew to throw his flag. Askew-Henry was hit with two penalties on the play, a 5-hard holding call and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct.
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The Giants added veteran cornerback James Bradberry to their defensive backfield in free agency this offseason. Their secondary is young — with DeAndre Baker, Sam Beal, Corey Ballentine and Grant Haley at cornerback, and Jabrill Peppers, Julian Love and Sean Chandler at safety. Newly acquired Nate Ebner, 31, is listed as a safety, but his NFL career has been spent on special teams.
