New York Giants: Top 10 Second Round Draft Picks of All-Time
By Neal Lynch
1. Michael Strahan – DE, Texas Southern Tigers (1993, #40)
Games: 216
Approximate Value: 161 (2nd in team history)
Average Approximate Value Per Season: 12
The Giants selected Texas Southern defensive end Michael Strahan 40th overall in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft, a few slots before Colorado’s Chad Brown went to the Steelers and eventual Giant Michael Barrow went to the Houston Oilers.
In his 15 year career, Strahan started 205 of the 216 games he played in, picking off four passes, taking two of those to the house, knocking down 16 passes, forcing 24 fumbles, recovering 15, registering more than 850 combined tackles, and 141.5 sacks, which places him 5th on the all-time NFL list.
That sack total is also the most in Giants franchise history, nine more than Lawrence Taylor, however, sacks weren’t an official stat until 1982, a full season after LT entered the league, so it’s possible LT is unofficially #1. Not to mention, 1982 was a strike-shortened season in which LT only played in nine games, and Strahan played in 32 more games over his career.
The 24 forced fumbles is second most in Giants lore, eight behind Osi Umenyiora. His 659 solo tackles are second most in franchise history, one behind fellow defensive end Leonard Marshall.
Sacks:
1997 – 14.0 (3rd most in NFL)
1998 – 15.0 (3rd most in NFL)
2001 – 22.5 (1st in NFL/1st all-time)
2002 – 11.0 (9th in NFL)
2003 – 18.5 (1st in NFL/20th all-time)
2005 – 11.5 (7th in NFL)
Career 141.5 (5th in NFL)
The 7-time Pro Bowler (1997 – 1999, 2001 – 2003, 2005) and 4-time First-Team All-Pro (’97, ’98, ’01, ’03) was inducted into Hall of Fame in 2014. He was the NFC Defensive Player of the Week five times. His career approximate value is 31st highest in NFL history, tied with former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, and current San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.
Next: New York Giants: Top 10 First Round Draft Picks of All-Time
Strahan’s lengthy list of accolades are below:
2001 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year
Pro Football Hall of Fame 1st team All-2000s Team
Pro Football Reference 2nd team All-2000s Team
1997 1st Team All-Conf. Pro Football Weekly, 1st Team All-NFL Associated Press, 1st Team All-NFL Pro Football Writers, 1st Team All-NFL Sporting News
1998 1st Team All-Conf. Pro Football Weekly, 1st Team All-NFL Associated Press, 1st Team All-NFL Pro Football Writers
2001 1st Team All-Conf. Pro Football Weekly, 1st Team All-NFL Associated Press, 1st Team All-NFL Pro Football Writers, 1st Team All-NFL Sporting News
2002 2nd Team All-NFL Associated Press
2003 1st Team All-Conf. Pro Football Weekly, 1st Team All-NFL Associated Press, 1st Team All-NFL Pro Football Writers, 1st Team All-NFL Sporting News
2005 1st Team All-Conf. Pro Football Weekly, 2nd Team All-NFL Associated Press, 1st Team All-NFL Sporting News
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