Five Senior Bowl Standouts Who Could Draw the Giants' Interest
Over two dozen NFL draft prospects had a chance to show their stuff during last week’s Senior Bowl. While final scouting reports are still being developed on these prospects, who have the combine and pro days ahead, here is a look at five players who had a positive week, and who could potentially fit a Giants need.
Edge Josh Uche, 6-foot-1, 241 pounds, Michigan
As former general manager Ernie Accorsi once said, a team can never have too many pass rushers.
So with the Giants needing to decide whether to secure a pass rusher via free agency, be it Markus Golden or perhaps an outside candidate such as Yannick Ngakoue, this is a position that barring a major upset, will be addressed by current general manager Dave Gettleman.
Why? The more pass rushers you give the opponent to think about (and block), the better chance that someone is going to get free to make a play.
We only need to look back at 2016, the last time the Giants made the playoffs and a year in which they had a 1-2 punch of Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul, who forced opponents to pick their position regarding who to devote extra resources.
Since breaking up that band, the Giants have had at best one decent pass rusher in each of those years, which is a big reason why their pass rush has been so sluggish.
The pass rusher, though, must also be somewhat solid against the run, which brings us to Michigan’s Josh Uche. Uche drew rave reviews from analysts in attendance at practice. Although his game stats weren’t impressive—he had a half-sack—it’s the hidden production that coaches speak about that told the story.
Uche used his explosiveness off the snap to get into the South’s backfield and disrupt things and to pressure the quarterbacks, showing good bend around the edge and quickness.
Like many incoming NFL prospects, Uche will benefit from a solid weight training program to improve his bulk and his strength so that he doesn’t get overpowered by bigger, more dominating competition. Still, as a potential situational pass-rushing prospect, he has some intriguing tools in his toolbox with which to work.
RB Joshua Kelley, 5-foot-11, 214 pounds, UCLA
The Giants need a solid No. 2 behind starter Saquon Barkley, a guy who can step on the field and be one that you don’t necessarily notice when there is a change because his abilities are on the outskirts of the radius of what Barkley brings to the table.
Wayne Gallman was thought to be that guy--and he still might very well be assuming he makes it to the spring.
So what made Kelley such a standout? He finished as the leading rusher in the Senior Bowl (15 carries, 105 yards). He showed better than expected vision in spotting the creases and in creating opportunities for yardage even when those opportunities initially weren’t there.
Kelley displayed surprising power, showing an ability to break tackles while also keeping his balance when wading through traffic and in cutting back against the grain when a hole closes up.
He’s not the fastest out there off the snap, but he showed at times a second gear that made it a challenge for defenders to tackle. He certainly has the frame and build to be effective in pass pro—the question is, does he have the heart and desire to do that part of the game when asked?
S Kyle Dugger, 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Lenoir-Rhyne
Despite all the youth, the Giants have added to their defensive secondary, the unit is far from being set. Performance—or more specifically growing pains aside,
Dugger comes from a small school program, but don’t let that discourage you, as when he steps on the field, he’s like a man among boys. He is a solid tackler who has good instincts in anticipating routes, and who shows the speed to hustle over to make the stop.
When we talk about the five primary football traits scouts look for in every player—athletic ability, play speed, mental processing, competitive toughness and play strength—Dugger’s mental processing, competitive toughness and play strength were right up there with the best of them, while his athletic ability was surprisingly impressive given how fluid he looked in coverage.
Dugger, who made noted College Football Analyst Bruce Feldman’s 2019 College Football Freak List (he was No. 19 on that list) has posted some impressive measurables, that according to Feldman, are as follows:
“Dugger has run a verified 4.41 40 for scouts. Even more impressively, he’s vertical jumped 40 inches, and broad jumped 11 feet. He also did 20 reps on the bench of 225 this offseason and timed 6.7 in the 3-cone drill, which would have been the second quickest time among safeties at the NFL Combine in 2019.”
Some of these numbers demonstrate that Dugger, who also has some experience returning kicks, has speed, explosiveness, quickness, and strength—all requisites for playing the safety position in the NFL and all traits that if he continues to demonstrate during the combine and pro day workouts were not flukes in his game film, should see him having his name called perhaps early on Day 3.
DT Javon Kinlaw, 6-foot-5, 315 pounds South Carolina
Kinlaw was one of the players identified as someone to watch before the Senior Bowl practices commenced, and he didn’t disappoint, turning in one of the more solid weeks of any player in Mobile.
Kinlaw won the majority of his one-on-one matchups by using a variety of pass-rushing moves that left his opposition what that was that just blew by them. Kinlaw’s athleticism and speed remind one of Aaron Donald, though it’s much too early to say if Kinlaw will make the kind of impact Donald has made in the NFL.
Kinlaw’s explosive first step often gets him between the gap and into the backfield before the other side realizes what’s coming. He plays with good pad level, and when he latches on, he doesn’t let go until the whistle. At South Carolina, Kinlaw’s numbers weren’t eye-popping—82 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, and only 10.0 sacks—but he was a disruptive force inside thanks to his quickness and athleticism.
With that said, Kinlaw’s stock continues to rise to where he probably won’t be there for the Giants, who could use another defensive interior lineman to add to their rotation.
WR Van Jefferson, 6-foot-2, 197 pounds, Florida
Jefferson, who will be a 24-year-old rookie if he makes it to the NFL, began his college career at Ole Miss before transferring to Florida, where he played the last two seasons. During those two seasons, he recorded 84 of his career 175 receptions for 1,160 yards (out of 2,1590 and 13 of his 16 touchdowns.
A versatile receiver who can also be used on jet sweeps and end-arounds, Jefferson runs crisp routes that aren’t rounded out and has a good feel for when it comes to adjusting to the flight of the ball when it’s not on target.
Jefferson, who also offers value on special teams, isn’t the fastest receiver out there, but with the Giants likely to redo the bottom of their receiver depth chart, there could b a place for him on the roster if he’s still there on Day 3.
