The Lesson Learned by the New York Giants in This Year's Draft and How It Paid Off
For the New York Giants, trading down in the NFL draft certainly has its benefits.
Gettleman and the Giants, who saw the Philadelphia Eagles leapfrog ahead of them in the first round of this year's draft to select Alabama wide receiver Devonta Smith (believed to be one of the Giants’ top targets had he been there at No. 11), learned from their past when it comes to drafting.
You might recall in 2016 when the Giants, slotted to pick 10th in that draft, were heavily rumored to desire offensive tackle Jack Conklin and edge rusher Leonard Floyd, in that draft class. Unfortunately, the Giants were outmaneuvered by Tennessee and the Bears respectively for booth players, as both teams drafted ahead of the Giants to swipe New York’s targets out from under their noses.
Instead of trading back, the Giants went into a panic mode and reached for Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple, a player very few scouting reports had rated that high.
Apple turned out to be a disappointment for New York, who ended up trading him to the Saints in 2018 for a pair of draft picks, putting an end to the tenure of yet another first-round draft pick from the previous regime failing to earn a second contract.
This time, the Giants traded back with the Bears, who sat at No. 20. New York picked up three additional draft picks, including a fifth-rounder this year (which the Giants later traded away) and a first- and fourth-rounder next year that gives them extra picks in a class projected to be a more talent-rich class across the board than this year’s group.
For good measure, the Giants still came away with a receiver in the first round of the 2021 draft with their pick of Florida’s Kadarius Toney.
Trader Dave’s newfound affinity for resisting the temptation to stay put and reach for a player at No. 11 despite the value not necessarily paying off resulted in the highest net gain by any NFL GM in the last 12 years of the NFL draft, according to Lee Sharpe, an NFL data analyst whose work has appeared in Pro Football Focus and NFLGameData.com.
The Giants 2021 draft class earned strong grades from numerous media outlets and analysts, ranging from a B+ from ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Pro Football Focus to an A from Chad Reuter of NFL.com.
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