NFL Combine Interests for the New York Giants
The NFL Combine begins this week, where all 32 teams will get the opportunity to see and speak with draft prospects up close and personal. For the New York Giants, this means addressing a roster with multiple holes.
Quarterbacks
The obvious position to expect the Giants to look at will be quarterback. Daniel Jones has been underwhelming, with the Giants reportedly looking to bring in a veteran quarterback this offseason. That doesn’t rule out the possibility of them adding a rookie to the room - whether that’s one of the top quarterbacks in the draft falling to six or using a Day 3 pick on one.
The combine will allow the Giants to get an up-close look at the top quarterbacks throwing the ball (albeit without pads). More importantly, it will allow them to speak privately with players, as the interview portion of the combine for quarterbacks holds more weight than any other position.
Coaching staffs and front office personnel get to sit down one-on-one with prospects and break down playbooks, film, the whiteboard, and so much more that allows them to find a good fit and a good leader at the position.
Washington’s Michael Penix will need the medicals to help raise his stock, while Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy will need to prove his value on the whiteboard. Tennessee’s Joe Milton should test well and pass the eye test in the throwing portion, but the whiteboard part will matter for him to prove he could work in an NFL offense.
Wide Receivers
There were 39 wide receivers invited to the NFL Combine this year, and the Giants have to look at almost all of them. There are some receivers that the Giants can cross off their list early on, whether due to age, size, or athletic testing. Still, this receiver class has multiple options for almost every mold you could think of.
Athletic testing will be a big factor for some, like Johnny Wilson, who’s 6’7” but isn’t expected to test great. Michigan’s Roman Wilson has a size that likely limits him but should be one of the best overall testers, whereas Xavier Worthy out of Texas probably put on some weight, as he was listed in the low 170s. If he put on weight, it would be crucial to see if he lost speed.
Offensive Line
In my opinion, combined testing is more applicable for offensive linemen than any other position. Testing numbers should always be taken with a grain of salt, but on the offensive line, they can help.
The 40-yard dash is rather useless, but for offensive linemen (and even defensive linemen), the 10-yard split is a great measure of explosiveness. The start of the 40-yard dash has players crouched down, similar to a pre-snap stance for an offensive lineman, so how they start is a good indicator of exploding off the ball. The broad jump is another measure to show explosiveness.
The combine can help low-ranked offensive linemen boost their stock, similar to what Blake Freeland from BYU did last season when he went from a late-Day 3 projection to a fourth-round pick.
Edge
Along the edge is another spot where testing and positional drills can show translatable skills. The 10-yard split shows explosiveness, and the three-cone drill helps show the ability to change direction without losing speed or balance.
Position drills for edge rushers show their bend and how elegant they move laterally. There’s value for edge rushers at the combine to show their athletic testing and translatable skills, and their film study will prove crucial to see if they can explain why they tried certain block deconstruction moves when they did.
The top few edge rushers are still kind of muddled together; it will be interesting to see if any can separate with a “wow” performance.
Cornerback
Testing doesn’t mean too much for defensive backs in general, in my opinion. There are very few instances where cornerbacks get to run straight ahead for any distance, really -- position drills, however, are very helpful.
The combine does a good job of showing how defensive backs work, how they get used in-game, and shows their hip fluidity, change of direction ability, and reaction skills.
Testing is fun, but position drills show translatable skills that can help the Giants. The interview portion also helps to explain what was going through players' minds during positive or negative plays and their scheme knowledge.
Unfortunately, Iowa’s Cooper DeJean won’t be participating since he would’ve undoubtedly been one of the most athletic testers at the combine. However, players like Notre Dame’s Cam Hart and Terrion Arnold from Alabama should still raise some eyebrows.
