New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese attended the Vanderbilt Commodores’ pro day. The player he reportedly had an eye on: linebacker Zach Cunningham.
It’s no secret that Jerry Reese has disregarded linebackers during his tenure as New York Giants general manager. He’s invested heavily in building up the defensive line and secondary, but the linebacker corps has routinely underwhelmed.
Nothing is guaranteed, but it appears as though Reese is beginning to have a change of heart.
In preparation for the 2017 NFL Draft, Reese will be doing his homework on the top prospects in the country. That includes evaluating the top linebackers in this draft class, even if it isn’t his first inclination to jump at the opportunity to draft one in the first round.
According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN’s NFL Nation, Reese recently proved as much by scouting standout linebacker Zach Cunningham at the Vanderbilt pro day.
"New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese was at Vanderbilt on Thursday for the SEC school’s pro day, a school official told ESPN.Reese was on hand checking out all the Vanderbilt pro prospects (see below), but linebacker Zach Cunningham is the most notable."
There’s no guaranteeing that Reese will draft Cunningham, but it’s encouraging to see him take a proactive approach to improving the linebacker corps.
Cunningham stands at 6’3″ and 234 pounds, and ran a 4.67 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL Draft Combine. Though he isn’t the biggest player at his position, he’s a legitimate playmaker with a proven and respected work ethic.
On a Vanderbilt team that failed to surround him with an ideal measure of talent, Cunningham took it upon himself to anchor the defense by doing a bit of everything.
Though college statistics aren’t necessarily a guarantee of pro-level success, Cunningham’s are tough to ignore.
Cunningham finished his junior season with an SEC-leading 125 total tackles, including 16.5 for losses. He added two fumbles forced, four fumble recoveries, and three passes defended, giving him five fumbles forced and seven recovered over the past two seasons alone.
Named a first-team All-American in 2016, the redshirt junior has the accolades and statistics of a legitimate star in the SEC.
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The question is: will Jerry Reese do the unthinkable and draft a linebacker for the New York Giants?