New York Giants draft profile of Rashan Gary
By Ed Stein
Leading up the NFL Draft Empire Writes Back will profile some of the prospects the New York Giants could select in the first round. Up today, is defensive end, Rashan Gary.
The New York Giants own the sixth and 17th overall selections in the upcoming 2019 draft. There is a possibility that it can be a franchise-changing event for the G-Men. The importance of this draft can’t be understated. In the days leading up to Roger Goodell announcing the Giants picks, Empire Writes Back looks at some of the potential players New York could select in the first round.
Two weeks before the draft, the New York Giants had an important visitor to their offices. Former Michigan defensive end Rashan Gary was in town as one of Big Blue’s 30 paid visits to team headquarters. Today we go over the New Jersey native’s pros and cons.
Michigan Career
After graduating from Paramus Catholic High School in 2015, Rashan Gary headed off to the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor to play his college ball for the Wolverines. He was the third player ever to be named the nation’s top football recruit by the four major recruiting sites, ESPN, 24/7, Rivals, and Scout.com. Needless to say, expectations were high.
The big defensive end played in 12 games as a freshman. Michigan isn’t the kind of program where freshman can come in and get immediate playing time, but Gary was too good not to play. He finished that season with 23 total tackles including five for loss. The Wolverines were ranked 10th at the end of the season after a 33-32 loss at the hands of Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
It was his sophomore year, 2017 where he finally started to stand out. It was an off year for Michigan (8-5), but not because of Gary. The defensive end started the Wolverines first game of the season and played in all 13 contests. Gary recorded 58 combined tackles, 11.5 of them for loss and five sacks. He was named Michigan’s most outstanding defensive lineman of 2017 and named either first or second team All-Big 10 by conference coaches and the media.
Due to a shoulder injury (more on that later), Gary only played in nine games last season, missing the entire month of October. In those nine games, he was very productive. He still managed 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. He was once again either first or second team All-Big 10 in postseason voting.