Top 5 Combine takeaways: New York Giants may have QB choice
By Henry Buggy
#3 – OL Takeaways – Should G-Men Stay Away From Orlando Brown?
Both Gettleman and Pat Shurmur have made it clear that the Hog Mollies up front are a priority this offseason. The Giants new general manager and head coach both know it doesn’t matter who’s behind center or at wide receiver if the team can’t block up front.
The Giants consistently struggled to find offensive line talent in the draft under Jerry Reese. That needs to change under Gettleman. Luckily there is plenty of interior offensive line talent in this year’s class.
The only problem with that is New York’s biggest weaknesses are their offensive tackle positions. Oklahoma’s Orlando Brown was projected to be one of the top three offensive tackles off the board come April, but a terrible performance at the Scouting Combine is likely to move him down multiple teams’ draft boards.
The 6-foot-8, 360-pound first-team All-American put up just 14 reps on the bench press. He ran the fifth slowest 40-yard dash time (5.85 seconds) of any player since 2003. Worst of all, Brown was told to stop “loafing” by coaches during the combine drills, according to Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller.
The Giants already had problems with effort in 2017. They can’t afford to waste another high draft pick on a player with question marks. Brown’s draft stock may have taken the worst hit at the Scouting Combine. But he can still be one of the top tackles off the board, depending on the results of his pro day and draft visits.
The Sooners left tackle wasn’t the only offensive line prospect to hurt his draft stock. Ohio State’s Jamarco Jones also struggled in Indianapolis, posting the second worst three-cone drill time (8.32) among offensive linemen. Jones was one of the biggest risers at the tackle position following the 2017 season. The Buckeyes tackle could now find himself falling to the third or fourth-round.
While Jones and Brown damaged their draft value in Indy, there were some offensive linemen that boosted their draft stock over the weekend.
UTEP’s Will Hernandez, Notre Dame’s Quenton Nelson, and Iowa’s James Daniels all displayed why they are considered first-round selections. Nevada’s Austin Corbett and UCLA’s Kolton Miller were among those that boosted their value in Indianapolis.
The other biggest storyline among the offensive linemen was Billy Price’s partially torn pectoral. Ohio State’s first-team All-American suffered the injury during the bench press portion of the event. He was considered a first-round prospect prior to the Scouting Combine, but he isn’t worried about the injury, via NFL Network.
"“I’m not worried about this at all. This is something where I’m gonna come back stronger. You’re gonna really have to put a bullet between us Ohio State guys’ eyes to put us down. So I’m looking to get back out there and whatever team ends up selecting me, we’re going to be 100 percent going into it.”"