Draft Review

After round 1 we gave our thoughts on Engram.  I would have still gone with Reuben Foster.  I think adding an elite MLB to that defensive line and backfield would have made for a truly dominant defense.

The Giant’s tight end situation is poor enough that very solid solutions could have been had through round 4 or 5 that would have represented an upgrade on their current team.  I would have liked to see Jake Butt taken in the 4th round.  Maybe Engram will be a nightmare matchup problem and prove me wrong but it didn’t seem like the pick to make. In the second round, as we predicted they would, they took a DT to replace Hankins. They selected Dalvin Thompson.  He should reasonably be a swap for Hankins who, while loved by the Giants, was not worth the $10m he got from a defensively desperately bad Colt team. The PFF guys happened not to have rated Hankins very highly last year and there is reasonable thought he was better situated to the NT position occupied by Harrison. The replacement cost here is materially less. Now if the Giants knew they would have been replacing him they potentially could have allotted that salary cap piece elsewhere, either to a Martellus Bennett at TE or to a quality offensive lineman.

Round 3 pick David Webb could ultimately make or break the draft. Unless they had him ranked significantly higher, I’m against the pick. The Giants have current holes that needed filling, and realistically speaking, this is a pick who likely won’t play for 3 years.  This is a problem for 2 reasons.  One is that the Giants have a very good team right now and every chance to take advantage of the “Manning Window” should be taken.  Two, with very few exceptions, good teams don’t just go from one franchise QB to another without a big drop. At some point post-Manning, it’s likely that they will need to rebuild. At that point they can get a high draft pick and get their man then.  If they had Webb rated much higher than he was taken, then it’s reasonable to take a crack at him in round 2.  Reports are that he is not very accurate and that is something that doesn’t generally improve sufficiently over a career.

I am not enamored with 4th round pick Wayne Gillman. The Giants have their good, but great lead back in Perkins, who is young and flashed reasonable potential last year, running for a much higher average than Jennings behind the same exact line.  For the most part this very mediocre line should only get better as except for John Jerry they are all young guys still on the ascent their career.  They won’t be good but should be improved. Gillman who ran a slow 4.6 40-yard dash time is supposed to be the stronger in between the tackles compliment to Perkins.  I like Darkwa in that role.  His numbers decreased last year but that was primarily because most of his runs came against the Packers and Vikings, two excellent run defense teams and were while Justin Pugh was injured.  He is a solid runner and as good as Gillman making this a wasted pick.

In round 5 they took Avery Moss, a DE who could add to the pass rush. Once you are down to round 5 it’s not crazy to take guys that could come in as specialist and its possible Moss can fill that role. He has the right body type.  They traded up in round 6 when they realized they didn’t take any OL.  They took Bisnowaty.  It’s doubtful he becomes more than serviceable but he performed well in a good conference.  It’s possible he can add muscle and get better.

He won’t be a year 1 starter, if ever.  Some of the URFA looked good. USC OT Chad Wheeler could make the team.  Same for Notre Dame DT Jarron Jones. I look forward to seeing these guys in the upcoming rookie minicamp.