The lovable New York Giants continue to make friends around the league as a team that doesn’t ruffle feathers. Their recent draft history proves that.
The New York Giants have become one of the clunkier organizations in football over the past near-decade since their Super Bowl XLVI victory over the mighty New England Patriots and Tom Brady.
Since their Super Bowl victory, Big Blue has finished above .500 in two of eight seasons, made one playoff appearance with zero playoff wins and has racked up five top-10 draft picks, including picking in the top six in each of the last three years. It seems as though the G-Men are further away from another Super Bowl title than ever.
But what exactly is the problem in the NFL Draft and why can’t the Giants’ front office seem to shine on the big Thursday night stage college prospects around the country eagerly anticipate every year?
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The Giants have had two general managers in this time period in Jerry Reese and Dave Gettleman. Dating back to Reese’s days after their second Super Bowl win, the Giants drafted in the first round:
- David Wilson in 2012, who had a bad injury and never really regained his standing. Some would call him a “bust,” but we never really got to see him play 100 percent healthy.
- Justin Pugh in 2013, who struggled highly at first, but then eventually started to develop into a nice offensive line piece; though he’s now in Arizona.
- Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014, who is one of the most talented players this game has ever seen, but character issues have held him back from breaking through to being a viable piece in a winning football locker room.
- Ereck Flowers in 2015, who was supposed to be the next great left tackle in this league. After being moved over to right tackle to try and salvage his career, he ultimately became one of the major “busts” in draft history and was dropped from Big Blue’s roster. But since leaving New York, he’s caught on with the Redskins and now the Dolphins and had a very good year with Washington playing the left guard position.
- Eli Apple in 2016, who struggled at the corner position, flirted with switching over to wide receiver and was at one point called a “cancer” to the team by former teammate Landon Collins.
- And Evan Engram in 2017, who’s actually been fairly impressive during his tenure with Big Blue, crotch-grab after his first career touchdown aside.
Then came Dave Gettleman, who’s had the reins for the last three NFL Drafts and has made five first-round selections that are all still (to this day) being highly questioned and second-guessed by the football world.
In 2018, Gettleman selected Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick. To Gettleman’s credit, he didn’t draft a bust in any respect as Barkley is immensely talented. However, it must be considered what the general manager left on the board. As they were ready to move on from Eli Manning, taking a devalued running back didn’t make a ton of sense.
For as talented as Barkley is, the Giants left Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and even Lamar Jackson on the table. Three of those four were projects, yes. But even so, they needed a project or any kind of future at quarterback. When you consider that only Rosen hasn’t panned out even marginally to this point out of that group, it’s hard to think about what Big Blue missed on.
After passing on the quarterbacks in 2018, the Giants were all but forced to select a quarterback the following year. Unfortunately, the quarterback pool wasn’t as deep. Frankly, it appeared as if it was a two-player class with Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins at the position. They went No. 1 and No. 15, respectively.
New York actually started the 2019 draft with two first-round picks, Nos. 6 and 17. They could’ve taken the best player available with the first selection, pass-rusher Josh Allen or linebacker Devin Bush, then been in position to move up for Haskins from No. 17. Instead, they selected Daniel Jones at No. 6.
Now, it’s important to note that Gettleman may have made the right decision as Jones was a better player than Haskins as a rookie. But did they have to use the sixth overall pick? Was anyone going to take him before the 17th selection, if even that high? It’s impossible to say but it does appear as if the Giants passed on a ton of other good players to change the direction of the franchise to over-draft a quarterback, no matter how talented he is.
And let’s not forget that the Giants also selected a run-stopping defensive tackle at No. 17 in Dexter Lawrence before trading back into the first round at No. 30 to take Deandre Baker, who got torched as a rookie.
Finally, there’s the 2020 NFL Draft as Big Blue was staring at four legitimate offensive tackle prospects to fill a major hole that has haunted them for several years. And with the No. 4 overall pick, they had the chance to take one of those players. They ultimately avoided the temptation of Isaiah Simmons and selected Andrew Thomas out of Georgia.
Thomas could very well be a stud at right tackle before eventually moving to left tackle. However, he was the No. 4 rated offensive tackle on many draft boards behind the other top players at the position. So couldn’t they have moved back to rake in more picks and still land Thomas in the first round? It seems as if they could have.
Time and again with the Giants, especially in Gettleman’s three drafts, the Giants have gone after “their guys” rather than the consensus highest-rated prospects. And if New York stuck to their guns and Thomas is the best tackle in the class, then good on Big Blue.
But the issue isn’t necessarily “who” the Giants selected but rather “where” they selected Thomas. Taking the tackle at No. 4 seems like a major reach, just as they did with Jones in the 2019 draft.
New York’s consistent over-drafting or failures in the NFL Draft are bad signs for a team that can’t get out of the cellar of the standings. It seems as if the Giants are behind the pack right now and it starts with their draft strategy.
Subpar organizations and front offices make for subpar products on the field. Make no mistake, the Giants have added some talented players that will help the roster. But when you consider the value that they’ve sacrificed to get those players, it’s clear that Big Blue still has a vast hole to climb out of.