New York Giants: Dave Gettleman’s first draft in New York will be interesting
The New York Giants have an interesting choice to make in the draft when they go on the clock with the number two selection.
It has been a long time since the New York Giants have held the number two overall selection in the NFL draft. It has also been a long time since a general manager from outside the organization has been at the helm of the draft. On both accounts this is where we sit. Dave Gettleman is here, after four years with the Panthers, to lead Big Blue into the future. He also has the world at his fingertips holding the second pick of the draft.
So what is he going to do with the pick? It’s a lot more interesting than you might think. When looking at a franchise that was bad enough to be picking second it is usually a straightforward decision. For the Giants, however, it very much is not. They could go several different directions, staying in the pick or trading down.
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It wouldn’t be difficult to say that the Giants should go quarterback here. Eli Manning is 37 years old and whether fans want to admit it or not, has been declining over the last few years. His best days are behind him and they will have to turn the mantle over at some point. Either Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold will be available with the number two selection. The Giants could take the heir to the throne and be done with it.
This new regime may not be ready to do that, however. The previous regime sent Eli to the bench causing temper tantrums all across the fan base, but Gettleman and Pat Shurmur may not be there at this point. If not quarterback, then what?
He would have his choice of edge pass rushers, but why go there? The Giants are already paying Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul to get that done. They don’t need interior defensive line help as they have someone in the midst of eating “Snacks”. They don’t need to look at wide receiver with some guy known as “OBJ” returning, although it is not a big class at that position anyway.
They could go running back at number two. Many of the current mock drafts have the Giants taking Saquon Barkley from Penn State with their choice. This would be interesting. The Giants have not had a real explosive back in quite some time and Barkley checks those boxes with gusto. He certainly could bring the fireworks to MetLife this season.
But Gettleman could decide that he is satisfied with the play of Orleans Darkwa. He did rush for 751 yards at 4.4 yards per carry clip on a bad Giants team. He could opt for mid-round help at the position rather than a superstar.
Next: Reviewing the Giants interior offensive line
The offensive line had Manning running for his life in 2017 and it’s amazing that Darkwa was able to average over four yards per carry. They were bad. The Giants may give the offensive line serious consideration and they don’t need to stay with the number two pick to do it. They could trade back, obtain more picks and address the guys that are protecting Eli and whomever the heir apparent becomes.
Point being that for a number two pick, the situation is far from straightforward. Often times we know exactly what the team choosing second needs and is going to do. Not so here. Dave Gettlemen has interesting work to do here. We will see how it turns out.