New York Giants: Top 10 Third Round Draft Picks of All-Time
By Neal Lynch
6. John Mendenhall, Grambling State Tigers (1972)
Games: 101
Approximate Value: 47
Average AV Per Season: 7
The Giants selected Grambling State nose tackle John Mendenhall with the 55th overall pick in the third round of the 1972 NFL Draft, just behind North Dakota linebacker Jim LeClair going to the Cincinnati Bengals, and before defensive end Ken Sanders went to the Detroit Lions and Colorado State running back Lawrence McCutcheon went to the Los Angeles Rams.
In eight seasons with Big Blue, Mendenhall had 98 starts in 101 games played. Though defensive statistics are hard to come by for that era, John’s best year came in 1977 when he unofficially had 10 sacks and 7 forced fumbles.
Earlier this year, I named Mendenhall to our Giants All-Time All-Rookie Team and he also made Big Blue View’s rundown of the best Giants third round draft picks of all-time back in 2009. John was runner-up to Jim Burt in CBS New York’s ranking of local athletes by jersey number.
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