New York Giants: 2017 NFL Draft Presents Conundrum For Jerry Reese
New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese will be faced with a conundrum at the 2017 NFL Draft: the talent pool is underwhelming at the positions of need.
The NFL Draft provides organizations with an undeniable sense of hope and optimism. In the case of the New York Giants, the draft has provided the organization with cornerstones such as Odell Beckham Jr., Landon Collins, and Eli Manning.
As the Giants approach one of the most important drafts in franchise history, one can’t help but acknowledge the issue that’s presented itself.
New York is coming off of an 11-5 campaign that ended a drought of four consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance. That creates inevitable optimism, but New York will only build upon that success if it continues to improve.
Unfortunately, Reese’s conundrum is quite unfortunate: the personnel may not exist to address two of the Giants’ four most pressing needs.
New York’s positions of need entering the 2017 NFL Draft can be found at running back, tight end, offensive tackle, and quarterback. One could throw guard and edge rusher into the mix and accurately summarize what plagues the Giants.
The unfortunate reality for Reese is that the crop of talent at offensive tackle and quarterback are rather underwhelming on paper.
New York’s offensive line is anchored by two players: center Weston Richburg and left guard Justin Pugh. The Ereck Flowers experiment may not have worked at left tackle, but Reese is confident that he still has value to the Giants.
Reese also acknowledged the possibility of moving Flowers to guard or right tackle, which would effectively address one of the Giants’ issues.
Having said that, there would still be one guard and one tackle spot at which New York has been lackluster. It can improve via free agency, but generally speaking, sustainable improvements are made through the draft.
The issue, however, is that there isn’t a great deal of talent to be found at the position.
Beyond the offensive line is a need to address the future at quarterback beyond Eli Manning. Manning isn’t necessarily on the cusp of retirement, but he’s 36 years of age and has upwards of 200 games of wear and tear.
For as durable as Iron Man Eli may be, father time is undefeated and, at some point in the somewhat near future, the Manning era will end.
In preparation for that pending event, the Giants must be proactive in finding Manning’s heir apparent. Ryan Nassib is a free agent in 2017 and it’s highly unlikely that he’ll sign back on with the Giants for the coming seasons.
Unfortunately, the crop of quarterbacks in this draft class is rather underwhelming both at the top and in the depth it possesses.
Must Read: Quarterbacks to consider in the 2017 NFL Draft
There are still other positions and areas of need that Reese can address, but it will be an uphill battle to address two of the biggest areas of need via the 2017 NFL Draft.