Monday, May 1, 2017

A look at the New York Giants 2017 Draft

The Giants came into the draft needing to address a number of needs from tight end to offensive line, running back, and even back-up quarterback. While New York didn't address perhaps the biggest needs on this team which were the offensive line and running game, they did add a pass catching tight end in Evan Engram.

Engram is big and physical. Last year he hauled in 65 passes for 928 yards and eight touchdowns for Ole Miss, which was by far his best season at the school. Still though he averaged around 14 yards a catch, which tells you that he is a vertical threat. The one weakness with Engram is that he is not a great blocker, an issue that all these pass catching tight ends struggle with. Regardless he will give Eli Manning another option to throw to, as if Manning doesn't have enough receivers.

The drafting of Dalvin Tomlinson is an interesting pick, a defensive lineman from Alabama, because it is a pick that is more about adding depth than about adding a guaranteed starter. The Giants are well versed in adding as much depth as possible to their defensive front. They have done it for years, especially under Jerry Reese.

Tomlinson is said to have a very high motor, and is considered NFL ready. He did have ACL injuries early in his career, but had his best season his senior year at 'Bama. He will likely slid in behind Damion Harrison, and with the Giants other top pass rushers, there is no pressure here on Tomlinson to explode out of the gate -- although it would help.

The most curious drafting was in the third round when Big Blue selected Cal quarterback Davis Webb. Webb was considered by some scouts to be one of the more talented quarterbacks in this draft when it came to arm strength, but this is a guy who spent much of his college career as a back-up. He didn't really get a chance to start until he transferred to Cal after jared Goff left. A lot of Giants fans jumped on Twitter proclaiming that their team found Eli Manning's replacement.

 Let's take it easy. Unless Manning retires in the next year, or gets into more trouble over the memorabilia scam that he ends of suspended by the NFL, or even worse, there is really no chance this kid is ever going to see the field in a regular season game. Like Jared Lorenzen and Ryan Nassib before him, Webb will spend much of his time with Big Blue holding a clipboard.

The eventual successor to Eli Manning is not anywhere near this team right now.

Overal Grade: C- . The Giants added a pass catching tight end, which is nice, but they really needed to address the offensive line in this draft, which they didn't do until the sixth round.

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