Xavier McKinney

Xavier McKinney
refer to caption
McKinney with the New York Giants in 2022
No. 29 – Green Bay Packers
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1998-08-08) August 8, 1998 (age 26)
Roswell, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:201 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school:Roswell
College:Alabama (2017–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / round: 2 / pick: 36
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2024
Total tackles:363
Sacks:2.5
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:3
Pass deflections:37
Interceptions:16
Defensive touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Xavier Avis McKinney (born August 9, 1998)[1] is an American professional football safety for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was selected by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Early life

McKinney attended Roswell High School in Roswell, Georgia.[2] As a senior, he recorded 82 tackles and seven interceptions. He committed to the University of Alabama to play college football.[3]

College career

As a true freshman at Alabama in 2017, McKinney played in 13 games as a backup and special teams player.[4] As a starter in 2018, he had 73 tackles, two interceptions and three sacks.[5][6][7] He was named the defensive MVP of the 2018 Orange Bowl.[8] On January 4, 2020, McKinney announced he would skip his senior season and would enter the 2020 NFL draft.[9]

Professional career

NFL draft analysts projected McKinney as a first or mid second round pick.[10] [11] Lance Zierlein and Daniel Jeremiah from NFL.com ranked him as the top safety in the 2020 NFL Draft and the 18th player overall.[12][13] Former NFL executive Gil Brandt considered him as the second best safety and the 32nd best overall prospect in the entire draft.[14] NFL draft analysts from Pro Football Focus, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today ranked him as the second best safety prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft.[15][16][17]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 0+3⁄8 in
(1.84 m) 		201 lb
(91 kg) 		30+7⁄8 in
(0.78 m) 		8+5⁄8 in
(0.22 m)		 4.63 s 1.65 s 2.72 s 36.0 in
(0.91 m)		 10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		 19 reps 11
All values from NFL Combine[18][19]

New York Giants

2020

The New York Giants selected McKinney in the second round (36th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was the first safety drafted in 2020.[20]

On July 27, 2020, the New York Giants signed McKinney to a four-year, $8.39 million contract that includes $6.02 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3.22 million.[21] Throughout training camp, McKinney competed against Julian Love to be the starting free safety.[22][23]

On August 25, 2020, it was reported that McKinney had fractured his foot during practice. The following day, the New York Giants announced that McKinney had underwent surgery after fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his left foot.[24] On September 6, 2020, the New York Giants placed McKinney on injured reserve.[25] He was activated on November 28.[26] He missed the first ten games of the season (Weeks 1–10). On November 23, 2020, the Giants officially listed McKinney as designated to return from injured-reserve.[27]

On November 29, 2020, McKinney made his long-awaited professional regular season debut and made one solo tackle in a 19–17 victory at the Cincinnati Bengals. In Week 14, McKinney earned his first career start, recording four combined tackles (one solo) during a 7–26 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. On December 27, 2020, McKinney collected a season-high seven solo tackles (8 combined) in the Giants' 13–27 loss at the Baltimore Ravens. On January 3, 2021, McKinney recorded a season-high eight combined tackles (four solo) and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback Andy Dalton that was intended for tight end Dalton Schultz in the end zone with 1:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, clinching a 23–19 victory against the Dallas Cowboys.[28]

He finished his rookie season with a total of 25 combined tackles (14 solo), one tackle for-a-loss, a pass deflection, and an interception in six games and four starts. The New York Giants finished the 2020 NFL season second in the NFC East with a 6–10 record and did not qualify for the playoffs.

2021

In Week 6 against the Los Angeles Rams McKinney intercepted two passes: one pass by quarterback Matthew Stafford, and the other by quarterback John Wolford, both of which were intended for wide receiver Cooper Kupp.[29] On November 3, 2021, the Giants announced that McKinney was in COVID protocol.[30] In Week 9 against the Las Vegas Raiders, McKinney recorded seven tackles and intercepted two passes from quarterback Derek Carr, returning one for a touchdown, solidifying a Giants win of 23–16.[31][32] He was named NFC Defensive player of the Week as a result for his performance.[33]

2022

During a Giants' Week 9 bye week, McKinney suffered a broken hand in an ATV accident, which sidelined him for multiple weeks.[34] He was subsequently placed on Reserve/Non-Football Injury list.[35] McKinney was activated on December 31.[36]

2023

McKinney, along with teammate Bobby Okereke, were the only two defenders in the NFL to not miss a snap the entire season.[37]

Green Bay Packers

2024

On March 11, 2024, the Green Bay Packers signed McKinney to a four-year, $67 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $23 million.[38]

In his regular season debut, he recorded an interception early in the first quarter in a 34–29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He recorded another pick the following week in his first game at Lambeau Field, a 16–10 win over the Indianapolis Colts. He recorded a third pick the week after at the Tennessee Titans, in a 30–14 win for the Packers. The following week against the Minnesota Vikings, McKinney became the first Packer in history to record a pick in each of his first four games with the team, and just the fourth in NFL history, when he picked off a Sam Darnold pass in the third quarter, joining Ken Lee, Terry Jackson, and Otis Smith.[39] He recorded his fifth consecutive interception in the Packers week 5 matchup against the Rams, becoming the first player since 1970 to record five consecutive interceptions in the first five weeks on a new team.[40]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD
2020 NYG 6 4 25 14 11 0.0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021 NYG 17 16 93 59 34 0.0 10 5 64 12.8 41 1 0 0 0 0
2022 NYG 9 9 45 29 16 1.0 5 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2023 NYG 17 17 116 78 38 0.5 11 3 22 7.3 18 0 1 2 7 0
2024 GB 13 13 70 46 24 1.0 9 7 111 15.8 48 0 0 1 7 0
Career 62 59 349 226 123 2.5 36 16 197 12.3 48 1 2 3 14 0

Postseason

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD
2022 NYG 2 2 16 8 8 1.0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Career 2 2 16 8 8 1.0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

References

  1. ^ "Xavier McKinney Stats, News, Bio". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  2. ^ Felder, Justin (April 24, 2020). "Roswell alum McKinney picked by Giants". FOX 5 Atlanta. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  3. ^ Champlin, Drew (January 1, 2017). "Four-star safety Xavier McKinney commits to Alabama again". AL.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  4. ^ Sabin, Rainer (August 23, 2018). "In one year, Alabama DB has experienced a rapid rise". AL.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Stansell, Ben (November 28, 2018). "It's been a breakout season for Alabama defensive back Xavier McKinney". tuscaloosanews.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Byington, Alex (March 28, 2019). "Junior safety McKinney leads experienced Alabama secondary this spring". annistonstar.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  7. ^ Paschall, David (August 19, 2019). "Xavier McKinney confident in Alabama's more experienced secondary". Times Free Press. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  8. ^ Parker, Joe (January 2, 2019). "National Championship to feature North Fulton grads". northfulton.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  9. ^ Potter, Charlie (January 5, 2020). "Alabama DB Xavier McKinney announces NFL draft decision". BamaOnLine. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  10. ^ Charlie Campbell (February 20, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Xavier McKinney". WalterFootball.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  11. ^ "Xavier McKinney". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Daniel Jeremiah (March 20, 2020). "Daniel Jeremiah's Top 50: 2020 NFL Draft prospect rankings 3.0". NFL.com.
  13. ^ Lance Zierlein (March 31, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft: Ranking each position group in this year's class". NFL.com.
  14. ^ Gil Brandt (April 21, 2020). "Hot 150: Gil Brandt's top-ranked prospects for 2020 NFL Draft". NFL.com.
  15. ^ "2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Xavier McKinney". pff.com. April 12, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  16. ^ Kevin Hanson (February 22, 2020). "2020 NFL draft rankings: Safeties". SI.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  17. ^ Steven Ruiz (April 22, 2020). "2020 NFL Draft: Ranking the top 10 safeties". ftw.usatoday.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  18. ^ "Xavier McKinney Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  19. ^ "2020 Draft Scout Xavier McKinney, Alabama NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  20. ^ Schwartz, Paul (April 24, 2020). "Giants select Xavier McKinney with No. 36 pick in NFL Draft 2020". New York Post. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  21. ^ "Xavier McKinney | NFL Contracts & Salaries". Spotrac.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  22. ^ Art Stapleton (August 14, 2020). "NY Giants preparing to challenge Xavier McKinney in camp to get the most out of his game". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  23. ^ Matt Citak (August 24, 2020). "Giants Now: Julian Love excited to work with Xavier McKinney, Darnay Holmes". Giants.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  24. ^ "What's next after injuries to McKinney, Mayo". Giants.com. August 26, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  25. ^ Fennelly, John (September 6, 2020). "Giants place David Mayo, Xavier McKinney on injured reserve". Giants Wire. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  26. ^ Eisen, Michael (November 29, 2020). "Xavier McKinney, Graham Gano, Tae Crowder activated ahead of Giants vs. Bengals". Giants.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  27. ^ Dan Benton (November 23, 2020). "Giants designate Xavier McKinney, Oshane Ximines to return from IR". GiantsWire.com. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  28. ^ "Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants – January 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  29. ^ Eisen, Michael (October 18, 2021). "Notes & Stats: Breaking down Giants vs. Rams". Giants.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  30. ^ Eisen, Michael (November 3, 2021). "Giants begin Raiders prep with 3 players in COVID protocol". Giants.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  31. ^ Benton, Dan (November 8, 2021). "Xavier McKinney, Quincy Roche stepped up when Giants needed it most". Giants Wire. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  32. ^ Valentine, Ed (November 7, 2021). "Giants-Raiders final score: Giants 23, Las Vegas 16". Big Blue View. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  33. ^ Eisen, Michael (November 10, 2021). "Xavier McKinney named NFC Defensive Player of the Week". Giants.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  34. ^ Shook, Nick (November 7, 2022). "Giants safety Xavier McKinney suffers broken hand in ATV accident during bye week". NFL.com. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  35. ^ Kennedy, Eric (November 8, 2022). "Xavier McKinney and Nick Williams to Reserve Lists; Shane Lemieux Returns". Big Blue Interactive. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  36. ^ Eisen, Michael (December 31, 2022). "Giants activate Xavier McKinney among series of roster moves". Giants.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  37. ^ "Giants' Xavier McKinney: Perks up in second half of season". CBSSports.com. January 12, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  38. ^ "Packers sign S Xavier McKinney". Packers.com. March 15, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  39. ^ Hodkiewicz, Wes (September 29, 2024). "Game notes: Packers S Xavier McKinney makes history in loss to Vikings". Packers.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  40. ^ Reedy, Joe (October 6, 2024). "Green Bay's Xavier McKinney becomes first since merger to have INT in first 5 games with team". AP News. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
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