New York Giants Reader Mailbag: Feeling a Draft
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It’s widely expected that Trevor Lawrence will be drafted first and that perhaps five quarterbacks may be drafted within the first ten picks. For teams who do not need or want a quarterback (Giants, Chiefs, Cowboys, etc.), how do they rank a player such as Lawrence on their draft board?
Also, if I recall right, Jerry Reese drafted a player (perhaps Davis Webb?) whom the head coach was stunned because he had never considered him. I know that there’s a person (owner, GM, etc.) who has the final decision, but wouldn’t that be an extreme example of disagreement? -- Jim P.
Jim, to answer your second question, while you're correct, if the general manager has the final say in the draft (as was the case in your recollection), then that's that.
As for your first question, as I understand it, every player gets a grade, and then teams tend to put guys in clusters where if the grades are similar between players, that's where need kicks in. I've also heard of some teams having a separate rating system for quarterbacks, but I don't know how true that is.
Firstly not being a hundred percent sure, but it being more and more likely the Giants draft Rashawn Slater if he is there. Does Matt Peart have the skillset to move inside to guard?
Secondly, with Joe Judge as head coach, do you think the Giants might try to follow the route of the Miami Dolphins by acquiring lots of assets. Or continue with Dave Gettleman’s draft philosophy where you pick to the value of the pick?-- Eugene J.
Hello Eugene. I hope you and yours are well during the lockdown across the pond. Matt Peart, to my knowledge, has never played guard, so I don't think he's him moving to guard is an option.
As for your second question, I'm not so sure the Giants are in a position to trade assets for future picks. The Patriots were able to do that for so many years because they were always in the playoffs.
If I'm the Giants this year, I focus on getting to the playoffs rather than worrying about acquiring future assets (plus who are they going to trade to get more assets other than Pick No. 11?
Dave G likes his hog mollies, but how successful has he been in drafting them over the years? According to this article, he only drafted two in his years at Carolina, and neither lit up the board. -- Chris M.
What's up, Chris. You might want to re-read that article. Trai Turner went on to earn multiple Pro Bowls. Daryl Williams started at right tackle for them and was ranked the fourth-best tackle in 2017 per PFF. Andrew Norwell went undrafted, and he turned out to be pretty damn good, too, as I recall. Taylor Moton was the only one of the offensive linemen Gettleman drafted with the Panthers who didn't work out.
How much of a difference is there between Waddle and Toney? Same with between Slater and Jenkins, who can also play OG/OT. Interested I what you think? -- Pat R.
Hi Pat. I think you're talking a high first-round talent (Waddle) versus a late-first round, early second talent (Toney).
Bigger need: guard or pass rusher? --@dhagg71
Thanks for the question. The offensive line is a slightly bigger need as if they don’t put a line in front of Jones that is solid and consistent, then it doesn't matter who the skill position players are.
I do think pass rusher is a high need. I’m also confident in defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to come up with ways to generate a pass rush, as he did last year when he got this group to produce 40 sacks (16 less than the league-leading Steelers, who had 56.0)—all this despite having a revolving door at edge rusher.
Isn’t 11 way too high to take a guard when you might be able to get a Wyatt Davis, Alex Leatherwood, or Samuel Cosmi in the 2nd round? -- @BrianMorgan5645
Hi Brian. Who said anything about a guard? Maybe you take Sewell, put him at right tackle, and consider moving Matt Peart to guard. Or maybe they grab Slater and view him as the answer at right guard. Anything’s possible with this coaching staff, right?
Oh, and not for nothing, but the Giants drafted Justin Pugh 19th overall, and he played guard and tackle. The Cowboys drafted Zach Martin, a college tackle, to play guard with the 16th overall pick.
So no, I don’t think it’s too high to draft a potential blue-chip player, which Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater are believed to be. When you’re talking offensive line, every position on that unit is important, especially when you have a quarterback entering his third season, which is a make-or-break year.
What do you think about the rumors the Giants are going edge at 11, specifically Azeez Ojulari?--@cagiantsfan
I’d be very surprised if that happens. I’d also be very surprised if Ojulari, a very good prospect, by the way, gets drafted that high.
What challenges do you think Joe Judge will face in his 2nd year with the Giants, especially coming off such a positive first season? How much pressure is on him individually to have this team ready to make a playoff run?--@norilove4
Thanks for the question. Let me answer the second part first. There is no doubt in my mind this team needs to make it to the playoffs. John Mara didn’t come right out and say as much, but he’s clearly tired of losing, and the only way to shut the critics’ mouths up is to get to the playoffs.
As for the first question, I think Joe Judge has a solid program in place that he looked at objectively and tweaked. I also think last year prepared him for just about anything, so I don’t see as many challenges as maybe there were in his first season when he was a new head coach and had to deal with the unpredictability of the global pandemic on top of everything else.
What could the Giants expect to get from a trade down (let’s just say Patriots at 15)? --@steve10gmen
What’s up, Steve? I tend to defer to the NFL draft trade chart, a copy of which you can find here. The 11th overall pick is worth 1,250 points and the Patriots, at No. 15, have a pick worth 1,050 points. So the difference that needs to be made up is 200 points.
Since the Patriots have a gap between Pick No. 46 (440 points) and No. 96 (116 points), if I’m the Giants, I swap first-round picks and ask for their third-rounder next year.
Do you think the Giants regret drafting Saquon at No. 2 yet?--@p_j_rich
No. Why should they at this point? Was it his fault he got hurt?
If Waddle is there at 11, is there any doubt that the Giants pick him?--@The Real_JDJ
That depends on who else is on the board at No. 11. If Sewell or Pitts is on the board, then I think Waddle becomes the third option.
What are your true thoughts about Daniel Jones? Do you believe that he has what it takes to lead us back to the SB?--@kericfoster
I like Daniel Jones, Keric. I think he has the right makeup to lead this team. That said, I need to see him help raise the talent level around him. I don’t want to see a scenario where “as Daniel goes, the Giants go.” Eli Manning had a way of raising the talent around him during his prime. I think Daniel is capable of doing that, but we haven’t seen that consistently yet.
I’d also like to see a little more maturity from him to where he stops trying to play the hero. For example, his insisting on playing hurt last year was about as poor of a decision as one could have made, and no, I don’t want to hear that’s the competitor in him as he hurt his team by pushing to play.
Say four QBs go in the first 10, along with the two linemen and four pass-catchers. What’s left at 11 for the Giants to select where value meets the need? And who’d want to trade up?--@MikeVeneziano
Thanks for the question, Mike. First, the Giants aren’t trading up. They have six picks, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why people keep asking about the possibility of them trading up when they don’t have the assets to do it.
Now, are you referring to which teams behind the Giants might want to trade up? That I can’t say because I am not familiar with all the other teams’ needs. Maybe someone wants to come up for an edge rusher. Perhaps someone wants a tackle. I couldn’t begin to solve that puzzle without writing a dissertation on it.
I’m assuming the “four pass catchers” you’re referring to are Ja’Marr chase, Jaylen Waddle, Kyle Pitts, and Devonta Smith. At that point, you go Penei Sewell if he’s on the board, and you don’t think twice.
Do you see the Giants considering trading Evan Engram--@TheTruthNYG
If they somehow land Kyle Pitts, yes, I could see that. But as of right this moment, they seem willing to die on that hill, so who knows? They just shuffled their coaching staff and assigned a new tight ends coach, so maybe that will help.
Any idea about the concerns on Parsons, if Giants brass feels it’s a concern? --@Philu916
Hi Phil. I’ve read various reports saying that there is a concern, but I would think that to a degree, every player comes with warts that might be a concern. That said, I’d be shocked if Parsons is their pick at No. 11.
Parsons Pitts and Slater are all still on the board. Who are you taking? -- @cranst4
Pitts, and it’s not even close.
What's up with Sam Beal? Is he still on the team? -- @CTGINDRINK
He is, but I’d be surprised if he’s on the 53-man roster in September.
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