Eli Apple: One Of Worst 2016 Draft Picks According To Pro Football Focus
By Neal Lynch
Pro Football Focus ranked the New York Giants’ selection of Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Eli Apple among the worst of the 2016 NFL Draft.
According to Matt Lombardo of NJ.com, ESPN NFL insider John Clayton said the Giants drafted Apple due to “intelligence failure”:
"“It wasn’t intelligence as far as the selection, but the intelligence in the office, because I was hearing, like everyone else, that John Mara wanted to take Jack Conklin. He was going to try [to] push Jerry Reese to do that. However, Jerry and the staff were looking to take Leonard Floyd. … Guess what, two teams jumped the Giants and now they had to reach a little bit to take Eli Apple. That kind of diminishes it a little bit.”"
Despite the backlash and the media circus surrounding Apple’s mom – who deserves her own TV network – Apple impressed recently retired Giants legend Justin Tuck:
"“I normally don’t give shout-outs to rookies, but I’m going to give one because he might be smarter than the education would normally lend him to be from Ohio State,” Tuck, a proud Notre Dame alum, said of Apple. “A couple of days ago, the other Eli called me. And it was funny, because I look at the number and I was like, ‘Who is this?’ And he starts talking about how he wants to learn how to be successful in New York. Eli, you might be on to something.”"
In rookie mini-camp Apple got burned by second round draft pick Sterling Shepard, which caused everyone to cry out about Apple’s demise, only to have Eli get the last laugh.
So, why did PFF rank Big Blue’s Apple-picking among the worst in this year’s draft?
"“This is another pick where the team didn’t select a bad player — we had a first-round grade on Apple — but they passed up better options in order to get him. The Ohio State cornerback was fourth on our draft board, and from a grading standpoint, he wasn’t close to Vernon Hargreaves or William Jackson III over the past two seasons. It also leaves the Giants with the question of who plays slot cornerback. Apple, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and Janoris Jenkins had fewer than 100 snaps among the three of them out of the slot last season.”"
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Once the dust settles, which might take three or four seasons, Eli Apple should emerge as a dependable starting cover corner. Superstar? His mom is. Let’s hope the Apple doesn’t fall too far… you know what, I’m better than that. You’re better than that. And Eli will only get better covering the likes of Shepard, Beckham, and Cruz.