Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
What to Watch: Offensive Linemen and Running Backs Who Could Be On the Giants' Draft Radar
The foundation to a Dave Gettleman managed team showcases strong, athletic, players that own and operate in the trenches.
One may denominate these types of players as “Hog Mollies;” players that can triumph with force, determination, and will try to steal the souls of their opponents.
Gettleman attempted to replenish the offensive line quickly once he was hired by shelling out a 4-year, $62 million dollar contract to Nate Solder. The former Patriot was coming off of a good season in New England, but that was with Tom Brady’s quick release in an Erhardt-Perkins system and with Dante Scarnecchia as the offensive line coach. Nevertheless, Solder has been a liability in pass protection for the blind side of Daniel Jones.
The right tackle position is currently unoccupied as well; Mike Remmers is a free agent and Nick Gates has the potential to be the starter, but that’s certainly not set in stone, due to his struggles with the bull-rush.
The guard position is set for the Giants, but center is also a need. Jon Halapio suffered a serious Achilles injury at the end of the season. Center is a quandary that can be resolved in free agency, or in the draft, but a situation that has to be rectified one way or another.
I also feel the Giants could look at some running backs on Day 3 to compliment Saquon Barkley and possibly fill in for the talented running back if he ever suffers another injury, epsecially since we don't know what the long-term standing of Jerry Reese’s former fourth-round pick, Wayne Gallman, is.
So let’s look at some offensive lineman and running backs who the Giants might be paying close attention to Friday night when those two groups take the Lucas Oil Stadium Field for their workouts..
OT Tristin Wirfs, Iowa
Height: 6-foot 4 7/8
Weight: 320 lbs
Hands: 10¼”
Arm Length: 34”
Wing Span: 80¼"
Wirfs is a top-10 pick in this class. He possesses excellent movement skills in space and would act as a great lead blocker, which is important because of the increase in power/gap type of runs that we should see in Jason Garrett’s offense.
Wirfs is smooth with his pass sets and I only saw him overset a few times on tape, which is one reason why people envision him as a guard, but I can assure you that Wirfs would be a good tackle in the NFL.
Against Michigan, Josh Uche, one of the quicker EDGE prospects in the class, kept trying to use speed around the edge to defeat Wirfs, but always met him up the arc with a strong bunch, and balanced frame. Uche attempted to go inside on his second step, and Wirfs drove Uche through the line of scrimmage.
The strength and power at the point of attack in both the pass and run phases are incredible. He handles bull-rushes, counters, and 2nd level blocks very well because of his anchor, nimble feet, and ability to locate because of plus athletic ability.
My one concern is the oversetting, which I feel is overstated anyway. Wirfs will fit with the Giants because he would excel in power/gap scheme that can pin-pull him into space from the play-side or backside.
He has the requisite athletic ability to do that well and no one should be upset if Wirfs is the Giants selection, especially if it was in a trade down scenario.
OT Jedrick Wills, Alabama
Height: 6-foot 4¼"
Weight: 312 lbs
Hands: 10”
Arm Length: 34¼”
Wing Span: 80¼"
Wills is one of the cleanest prospects in the class: elite level footwork in pass protection, stays low and explodes through his hips in the run game, and he really improved his punch in 2019; not that his punch was abysmal, but his timing, pop, and location were all improved.
He’s incredibly intelligent and rarely gets fooled by rushers who vary their plan, and he’s always on time, and in sync, when facing stunting linebackers and defensive linemen.
It’s hard to find a lot of things to not like about Wills. He played exclusively at right tackle, so a transition to the left side isn’t a given.
Wills is another realistic option for the Giants at 4, and many draft pundits have mocked it in that manner. It would be a seamless fit for the Giants on the right side of the line, with the potential to develop him into an incredibly talented left tackle.
Having an experience left tackle in Nate Solder, who took Ereck Flowers under his wing in their short stint together, would also benefit Wills transition to the left side.
If Wills is the pick, he could start at right tackle and possibly convert to left tackle after the season; unfortunately for Solder in this scenario, his contract’s dead money would be significantly less and he may be expendable at that point.
OT Mekhi Becton, Louisville
Height: 6-foot 7 3/4
Weight: 364 lbs
Hands: 10 3/4”
Arm Length: 35⅝”
Wing Span: 83¼"
Becton’s size-adjusted footspeed is still very impressive, which is incredible, as is his hulking strength. A road-grader who was quoted at the combine saying “if you want to score touchdowns, run behind me and I’ll take you there.”
When he gains the inside leverage on opponents, he easily tosses them around, and his length, combined with his smooth footwork in vertical/jump sets allows for him to punch speed rushers far off their arc.
Defensive linemen are going to struggle to try to bull-rush or even convert speed to power, due to his anchor ability and his size; their only hope is to get him incredibly off-balance.
A few concerns I did notice happened to be on cut blocks on the backside. Given his huge frame, he struggled to locate and effectively cut a lot of players. His punches are also a little erratic when there’s a lot of space between defenders.
I also have conditioning and weight concerns for Becton because some of the weight looks “sloppy,” but all accounts have him as a hard-working individual.
Nevertheless, men of this size aren’t supposed to have these types of movement skills; he’s not as fluid as Wirfs in this area, but he’s still impressive.
We all know Gettleman loves his big lineman that possesses length and has strength, and it's very evident that Becton checks those boxes.
If the Giants do trade back a bit, Becton could be the natural selection who could step in and start at left tackle in 2020.
OG Netane Muti, Fresno State
Height: 6-foot 2 7/8
Weight: 315 lbs
Hands: 10⅝”
Arm Length: 31 3/4”Wing Span: 76½"
Muti would be a much more advertised prospect if his medicals check out. He ruptured his Achilles tendon in 2016, and his other Achilles tendon in 2018. He also missed all but 3 games in 2019 with a lisfranc injury, making him a scary investment, but one should evaluate the play and flag the injuries on the report.
In evaluating Muti, it’s so easy to see why he is still garnering second round buzz, despite these injuries. He's a big, mauler, who is physically dominating at the point of attack and who possesses excellent short-area quickness and lateral agility in short spaces.
He explodes off the line of scrimmage with a solid pad level and rolls his hips, while driving his legs through opponents.
He’s not as clean as some of these other prospects in space, for he lunges a bit too much and doesn’t always locate well at the 2nd level, but if you need a powerful run blocker, who has the footwork in pass protection to excel inside, then Muti is your guy.
The Giants have two, hopeful, starting players at guard for the future, but a transition for Muti to center is something that is intriguing. The main thing he must focus on is his ability to stay healthy. If he does, and he slips in the draft, that’s one heck of a steal.
OC Lloyd Cushenberry III, LSU
Height: 6-foot 3 1/8
Weight: 312 lbs
Hands: 10 3/8”
Arm Length: 34 1/8”
Wing Span: 84¼"
I got to watch Cushenberry down at the Senior Bowl and he was the only prospect that defeated South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw in one on one’s.
Cushenberry was a leader for the Tigers championship run in 2019. He’s a patient, quick-footed, smart, player that plays with good leverage, despite his length at the center position.
I have seen some struggle with lower leg drive on film, but his anchor seemed to be solid when dealing with bull-rushes.
He’s a potential target for the Giants early on Day 2 and his fit as a pass protector, and on the pivot versus the run makes sense. He has good flexibility in his lower body and is a solid athlete in close quarters.
OC Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin
Height: 6-foot 3 5/8
Weight: 314 lbs
Hands: 10”
Arm Length: 32 1/4”
Wing Span:79 ⅞
It seems like forever ago when Biadasz was thought of as the darling of the interior offensive line group, but a sub-par 2019 has him sliding a bit in the perception of draft Twitter.
I watched more 2018 film on Biadasz, but I did see him on the ground more than I would have liked in 2019. Biadasz combines strong hands with a very good anchor in pass protection when he’s playing forward and doesn’t have to shift laterally too much.
He’s a good downhill blocker, who can locate well at the second level on the inside zone and can block down well in a power concept. He’s not the best athlete, but he comes from a long line of Wisconsin offensive linemen who have done well in the league.
I feel Biadasz will be a good player in the NFL and can operate in either scheme, maybe better in a zone scheme, due to location ability and his high mental processing, pre and post-snap.
He could be a value in the draft for the Giants and he can act as a good pivot in the middle of the offensive line. He doesn’t need to pull all that often and the value of this player could really help the Giants, if the NFL views him in a similar lite to a lot of people who cover the draft.
RB J.J. Taylor, Arizona
Height: 5’5 1/4
Weight: 185 lbs
Hands: 8 1/2”
Arm Length: 28 3/4 ”
Wing Span: 71¼"
I’m not a big player comparison guy, because I feel everyone views prospects/NFL players differently, so the message comes off vague to me, but I’m going to do it; J.J. Taylor is a lot like Tarik Cohen.
They’re both very diminutive in height, but the explosive, joystick, type of athlete that a coach yearns to provide touches to, are very similar.
Taylor possesses a very impressive contact balance and will lower his shoulder on anyone. He's very physical and runs hard, high competitive toughness, and he excels out of the backfield as a pass-catcher.
His size will always limit his ability to run through bigger defenders and trusting him in pass protection may not be the wisest thing early on. However, Taylor would be such a unique complement to Saquon Barkley and they would give defensive coordinators fits with such an athletically inclined combination.
He’s a Day 3 pick that would provide another element to Jason Garrett's offense. I would not be surprised to see him selected late in the draft and go on to add immediate value to the offense and the special teams.
RB, A.J. Dillon, Boston College
Height: 6’ 3/8
Weight: 247 lbs
Hands: 9⅝”
Arm Length: 31⅝”Wing Span: 77⅝"
Dillon is the opposite of Taylor; he’s a brute, short yardage, back with excellent lower-leg drive and forward lean to excel near the goal line.
It's hard not to love his physicality. He's very strong and hard to bring down, while also showing solid vision. Like a fellow Boston College alumnus (Andre Williams), he lacks the receiving skills to be a three-down back, but luckily the Giants possess that player.
Dillon should be around on Day 3 and he could play the backup role to Saquon Barkley, while serving as the short-yardage back and spilling Barkley on early downs.
Running back is not a need for the Giants with the investment of Barkley, but if 2019 taught us anything, it’s to have competent back-ups at this position. Dillon has the tools to be that and provide value in other areas of the offense and special teams.
