Sunday, April 30, 2017

Reading the Coverage: The Giants' Draft

It’s been a good sports weekend thus far.  The Yankees have beaten the Orioles twice and have therefore taken sole command of the AL East, the Bluefish have to date split their series with the South Maryland Blue Crabs and are one game out of first place in the Atlantic League's Liberty Division, and oh yeah, we had the NFL draft.

 I'm not sure what the Giants did qualifies as "good".



 2017 NFL Draft, Winners and Losers: Browns make smart moves, Bears fall short (CBS Sports)
A decent article overall, and the following perfectly summarizes my thoughts on what the Giants’ draft day moves:
Loser: New York Giants
If the Giants were trying to set up Eli Manning to win now, well, they didn't do a great job of it. Evan Engram is fine at tight end as a weapon at No. 23 and Dalvin Tomlinson as a defensive tackle in the second round was a nice pick. Davis Webb might be a steal in the third round if he develops.
But those guys aren't blocking for Eli, and if he can't stand up while passing, the Giants could struggle. Adam Bisnowaty out of Pittsburgh was a very good pick, but he was their first offensive line investment at No. 200 overall. Clemson running back Wayne Gallman could actually make some noise in that backfield. Avery Moss is a guy they can throw into a deep defensive line rotation.
I like the Webb pick more now than I did when they made it, but yeah…  Manning at age 36 is not the guy who’s going to throw effectively from a collapsing pocket.  If they fix that, I think the Giants could be contenders again.  If they don’t, then last year’s team represents this year’s ceiling.
Giants GM Jerry Reese: “We wanted to help the offensive line” (Big Blue View)
Why didn’t the New York Giants do more to help their offensive line than add a sixth-round pick who is unlikely to contribute much, if anything, on offense in 2017?
“We wanted to help the offensive line but we didn’t want to reach for anyone and we did that,” GM Jerry Reese said Saturday night during his post-draft press conference. “We always want to help every position and offensive line is a position that we tried to help, but again, we’re not going to reach for anyone.”
Okay.  I get that these guys really didn’t like any of the tackles in the early rounds.  But seriously…
*groan*
And actually, I’m not the only who thought that.
Ex-Giant Shaun O'Hara rips 'waste' of 3rd round pick on Davis Webb (NJ.Com)
"You're going to draft a quarterback that's not going to play for at least 3-4 years? Eli hasn't missed a game in his entire career - not one game," O'Hara said during the NFL Network's broadcast of the draft. "They still have some holes on the offensive line…
"I look at this draft and I can't believe that they're again not going to help out on the offensive line, create some more competition," O'Hara said. "To me, that third-round pick was a waste. I think that quarterback Webb, as good as his arm is, he's not going to see the field. So now any other position, you would not draft a guy in the third round and say, 'Hey, maybe we'll see you in three or four years down the road.' No. This is Eli Manning's prime. You just went out and got Brandon Marshall. You added D.J. Fluker to the offensive line. You have a great opportunity now to make a huge statement, protect Eli and help him out. I think they're missing out on it."
O’Hara was the Giants’ center from 2004 to 2010.  

When was the last time you saw a 6th round O-Line prospect get this much media coverage?

 So yeah.  What he said.  If I’m an undrafted free agent O-Line prospect, I know where I’m headed.  So far, the Giants have two:

Chad Wheeler: offensive lineman, USC - 6-7, 306 lbs.
Jessamen Dunker: offensive lineman, Tennessee State - 6-4, 318 lbs.
Did I mention that the Yankees are in first place?
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