The Giants may have themselves a new tandem in the secondary that could be the envy of the NFL in years to come. First round pick Deandre Baker, a shutdown cornerback from Georgia and another corner, fourth rounder Julian Love of Notre Dame, have become fast friends and primed to prove their worth as both NFL players and New York Giants.

Love was born to be in the spotlight. A Chicago-area native who starred at Notre Dame and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and is now a New York Giant. Love was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft and is widely considered a “steal” by draft experts. He is a versatile defensive back, who can play outside or in the slot, man-to-man or zone.

“Love is a really, really good football player,” Giants head coach Pat Shurmur said. “He can play in the slot. He can play high. He’s kind of got that tweener kind of corner safety ability, which makes him a unique player for us.”

Love came to the Giants’ rookie minicamp ready for whatever the team threw at him, which isn’t a wise idea since he set a Fighting Irish record with 44 pass breakups in his 34 games for the Golden Domers.

The 5-foot-10, 195 pounder was put through his paces at rookie minicamp with the coaches feeling him out to find the right role for him.

“I moved around quite a bit yesterday,” Love said on the second day of rookie minicamp. “Wherever they need me, I will play. Working on some nickel, a little safety and a little corner. Just trying to be able to do it all at this point.”

Love just might be asked to do it all for the Giants, who have one cornerback spot spoken for by veteran Janoris Jenkins and the other up for grabs between the unproven Sam Beal and Baker. That leaves little daylight for Love, unless he can nail down the slot corner position. He’s confident he’ll get plenty of work as a Giant.

“There were situations in college where if a better receiver was inside, then I would play inside,” he said. “It was kind of like a game day deal. I am ready. Just repping it helps. The more times you do it, the better you get.”

Love has created a bond with Baker, who won that Jim Thorpe Award. They are currently rooming together in New Jersey.

“It will be great for us to grow in the program and help our team win games,” Baker said. “Me and him in the back end would be good. We are both pretty versatile. We can adapt to any scheme and play mostly any position in the back end. We both want to win. We have that mindset where we will do what it takes to win.”

Love is grateful to be Baker’s teammate with the Giants.

“When I got the call and the Giants were on the clock, every emotion in my heart, it was full. It is a very similar program (to Notre Dame) and a very passionate fan base. It is an internationally known brand. That is the same with the Giants, and that is what we want to get back to,” Love said.