You can call him "The Missle." You can call him "Ice Box."
The way things are shaping up this offseason, pretty soon fans of the New York Giants might be calling Nat Berhe "starter."
Berhe, New York's fifth-round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft, performed almost exclusively on special teams in 16 regular season games last year for the Giants, amassing fourteen tackles.
It's not a lot for the fanbase to go on when projecting the former San Diego State standout as a potential replacement for the recently departed Antrel Rolle, but based on the current depth chart standings and barring a trade prior to the season, it looks like Berhe is the favorite to fill Rolle's shoes.
"Right now this is kind of by default, isn't it? The roster hasn't been completely filled out at the safety position just yet. As it stands right now, Berhe will be given every opportunity to EARN a starting spot, but Tom Coughlin and the Giants organization don't give anything to anyone. His play in the Spring and Summer will have to be good enough for him to start," writes John Schmeelk of Giants.com.
"The team was very happy with his special teams work last year, and there is hope he can transfer that success over to the defensive side of the ball. In my dealings with him in the locker room, he is a very serious and hard-working player, two things necessary to succeed at the NFL level."
Berhe, who admitted to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com in August that his head was spinning when he first entered camp with the Giants, became the signal caller on the punt team and worked his way to second-team on defense through that seriouness and consistent hard work last year.
The question is, can Rolle take that big step so many NFL players are expected to take from Year 1 to Year 2?
"It's way too early to tell, but I like what the great Carl Banks tweeted the other day," wrote Dan Salomone, also of Giants.com. "He said that Berhe was drafted for a reason and that he should view himself as the starter heading into the offseason program and eventually training camp. The opportunity is definitely there for him to do so. The three safeties that started last season are not currently on the roster. Antrel Rolle signed with the Chicago Bears, while Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps remain free agents."
With Rolle now a member of the Bears and Brown and Demps still on the outside looking in at the league, Behre may have every opportunity to take over a starting role for the Giants. Whether he's able to do it will go a long way toward determining the fate of the New York pass defense next season.
