New York Giants Throwing Eli Apple Right Into The Fire
The New York Giants wasted no time with first round pick Eli Apple, throwing him right into the fire once OTA’s began this week.
The New York Giants look to be a much improved team this season over last talent wise. They spent a lot of money during free agency, and addressed multiple needs during the NFL Draft. One of the areas that the Giants beefed up this offseason was the secondary, as Janoris Jenkins signed a huge free agent deal and their first round pick was used on cornerback Eli Apple of Ohio State.
Usually teams will take things slow with some rookies, but when you are a top-10 pick as Apple was, you are expected to make an immediate impact. The Giants want to see what they have in their top pick, and have thrown him right into the fire during the start of organized team activities.
With Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie not at the first day of OTA’s, Apple was assigned to defend Odell Beckham Jr. during some drills. Talk about a tough first day on the job. While OTA’s are light activities, it was still an opportunity for the rookie to show what he has got, as the Giants would have easily given the assignment to Jenkins, but instead decided to go with Apple.
Apple had only good things to say about his first chance at defending Beckham Jr., saying, “It was interesting, for sure. He runs his routes well. He’s a fast guy. It was fun going against him. They didn’t throw the ball his way when I was going against him, but you can tell, with his explosiveness and how he gets out of breaks. It’s impressive.”
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While he may not have been tested while defending Beckham Jr., he did seem to be targeted a lot by Eli Manning according to ESPN New York’s Dan Graziano. But, it was something that Manning said was just by coincidence, not something that was planned.
“Right now, it’s just Day 1 of OTAs,” Manning said. “We’re not going after matchups or picking on guys. Just working on the basics and going through your progressions.”
Apple was busy during his first day, as he not only defended Beckham Jr., but started the process of learning how to play the slot. It is something he didn’t do much of, if any, at Ohio State, and he admits that he will be a learning process basically starting from scratch.
“It’s not going to be an easy adjustment, for sure,” Apple said. “I’m going to have to be in my playbook every day, talking to my coaches and trying to pick the brains of other guys and just get more experience out there. Getting more reps is definitely not a bad thing at all.”
With Rodgers-Cromartie and Jenkins expected to start on the outside, the quickest way for Apple to get onto the field and make an impact is by playing the slot. While the Giants could still sign a veteran with experience in the slot, Apple will have a chance to earn that role in the early going.
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If he is able to lock down, it will only make the Giants secondary that much better, as they would be deploying three players with legitimate No.1 cornerback qualities. That is a good problem to have in a league that has turned more and more vertical in recent seasons.