Xavier McKinney grew up in Roswell, Georgia. He attended college at the University of Alabama. It was there that he was able to show his true potential and become a person of interest to NFL Scouts. On draft night, it seemed the New York Football Giants had interest in him the most. McKinney was pick #36 in the second round.
After an emotional night, he was able to finally put in words how excited he was to be a Giant. Though he didn’t get drafted on the first night, he and his family were proud to hear his name called.
“I like making plays for my team and for my coaches, that’s what I play for,” McKinney said in a draft-night interview with Bob Poppa, Shaun O’Hara, and David Diehl. Despite working out during the offseason and maintaining a healthy diet, little did giants fans know that they would have to wait a little longer to see X man make any plays.
McKinney suffered a broken foot or in medical terms, a fracture to his fifth metatarsal while in training camp.
Though it wasn’t as serious to end his season, it was serious enough to keep him sidelined for two to three months.
His injury showed why his nickname “the X Man” was fitting. Throughout the course of his injury, he seemed to be getting better and better each day. He would post videos of his rehab workouts on his Instagram story. Hope was eventually settling in with Giants fans as these were sure signs they would soon be getting their safety back.
On Sunday, November 29th, 2020, the rookie made his NFL debut. Although he was pretty quiet the first few games, the season finale versus the Dallas Cowboys proved that he is a force to be reckoned with. Leading the Cowboys 23-19, McKinney put the icing on the cake when he made the game-winning interception.
“I felt that one coming, there was a couple that I missed in previous weeks, so to get it in this game, knowing how big of a game it was it was definitely something I was excited about,” he said in an interview with Giants.com. “I’m ready to build off that game when we come back.”
Giants fans have a lot to look forward to for the 2021-22 season. If the X-Man is able to make crucial plays for his team after only playing a month of football, one can only imagine what he can do while playing a full season.
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