New York Giants Receive Average Grade From Mel Kiper For 2017 NFL Draft

How did the New York Giants 2017 NFL Draft class get graded by ESPN’s Mel Kiper?

The New York Giants had an up-and-down 2017 NFL Draft. Jerry Reese‘s stubbornness when it comes to making trades once again seemed to burn the Giants early on.

The board was shaking out well for the Giants through the late teens. With three quarterbacks, two running backs, three wide receivers, and four defensive backs coming off the board in the first 18 picks the Giants were sitting pretty. None of those positions were one of a need for the Giants, and everyone they were reportedly targeting was there for the taking.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would come on the clock at No.19 and things would quickly unravel. Reese had a chance to trade up and nab either tight end O.J. Howard or offensive tackle Garett Bolles. Instead, he stayed pat and the Giants watched their board crumble before their eyes.

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That started off a bad trend for the Giants in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Giants would end up selecting tight end Evan Engram with the 23rd overall pick. The pick was highly debated, as some people had Engram has a top-20 prospect or outside the top-40.

With their second round pick the Giants made another reach for Alabama defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. Quarterback Davis Webb was selected in the third round, a selection that was disliked by former Giants offensive lineman Shaun O’Hara.

The Giants finally found some value and hit a need in Round 4 when they selected Clemson running back Wayne Gallman. Round 5 was yet another reach, as defensive end, Avery Moss of Youngstown State was selected. Moss has a checkered history, and some people had him rated as a seventh-round pick or even a priority undrafted free agent.

In Round 6 the Giants finally landed an offensive lineman. Reese traded up in the round seven spots, sending the Tennessee Titans their seventh round pick as well. With the pick, the Giants selected Pittsburgh offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty.

It was a mixed bag, to say the least, for the Giants. What did ESPN’s NFL Draft insider Mel Kiper think of their draft? He gave the Giants a very average grade of C+. Here is part of what he had to say about their draft.

"The Giants added some useful pieces, though it’ll be interesting to see whether Engram is a weapon in this offense, or more of a decoy. And offensive tackle is still a huge concern."

Kiper mentioned the athleticism that Engram will bring to a Giants offense that likes to spread things out. Standing 6-fee-3 inches and weighing 234 pounds, Engram will be a matchup nightmare with his 4.42 speed.

He is an excellent addition from a receiving standpoint, as the Giants now another weapon in addition to Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard to help take pressure off of Odell Beckham Jr.

But, blocking for Eli Manning still looks like a problem. Engram will not help in that area at all; he rarely played inline at Ole Miss. If the Giants want Manning to take advantage of his plethora of weapons, they will need to block for him.

Kiper broke down the rest of the draft and wasn’t thrilled with the value of some of the picks as there were higher rated prospects on numerous occasions available.

"Taking Davis Webb in the third round raised eyebrows, but that is about where I thought he’d go. I never bought the talk of him being a potential first-rounder. I had Nathan Peterman, Joshua Dobbs and Brad Kaaya all rated higher. Dalvin Tomlinson is probably Johnathan Hankins‘ replacement, but I had Chris Wormley, Carlos Watkins and Jaleel Johnson, among others, higher on my board. Tomlinson is more than a clogger in space; he’ll get in the backfield. I like Wayne Gallman in the fourth round to complement Paul Perkins. He’s not very fast (4.60 40), but he runs hard and has good body lean. Adam Bisnowaty is my eighth-ranked tackle, so there’s some value here in the sixth round."

The Giants grade from Kiper is negatively affected by them passing on players he had higher rated. Their stubbornness to not address linebacker should have knocked them down as well; they passed on Alabama’s Rueben Foster in Round One and Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham in Round 2. Both would have stepped into the vacant middle linebacker spot immediately.

This draft grade will improve exponentially if the team can mold Webb’s tools into an NFL quarterback. He has the size, arm strength, and athleticism to make it work, but has a lot to learn coming from the Air Raid offense in college.

Next: Complete 2017 NFL Draft First Round Grades

This is a draft that looks so-so right now as the Giants addressed some secondary needs. But they still have glaring holes at left tackle and middle linebacker; at least one, if not both, of those, could have been filled in the first three rounds of the draft.

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