New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman lectured fans and media about his plan for the team.
Undoubtedly, Gettleman wanted universal acclaim for the New York Giants trading popular wideout Odell Beckham for draft picks and safety Jabrill Peppers, as well as all the other moves that got them to 5-11 last season.
After all, a team should be a sum of its parts, and not a collection of individuals, right?
The fan base waited patiently to see how the 2019 NFL Draft transpired, and there it was. After Jon Gruden, and his big ego grabbed Clelin Ferrell with the No. 4 selection, Josh Allen (Kentucky) was sitting there for the New York Giants to poach.
The best pass rusher on the board, and a need to bolster the pass rush made this a no-brainer.
Then the unthinkable happened, the G-Men turned in their draft card with the name of Daniel Jones, quarterback, Duke University on it.
So the guy who told us that quarterbacks did not receive any dispensation from the “best player available” (BPA) model, gets universal acclaim for the biggest reach in the 2019 NFL Draft. Clearly, Gettleman swiped the “most curious pick” title away from Gruden, which in reality was incredibly hard to accomplish.
Take a breath Big Blue fans!
And just when fans had the opportunity to wrap their heads around the Jones selection, the No. 17 for the New York Giants was due. And he became Dexter Lawrence, defensive tackle from Clemson.
Gettleman doubled-down on doing it his way by grabbing Lawrence, that much is clear. Damn, we have more defensive hog mollies than any team in the league right now. Let’s see, Lawrence gets to rotate with B.J. Hill, R.J. McIntosh, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Pierre Olsen.
Then again, our top pass rush threats right now are Kareem Martin and Lorenzo Carter, so everyone needs to calm down. And don’t forget about Avery Moss either!
Later on, Gettleman swung a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to grab a player at the back end of the first-round. Tackle Jawan Taylor (Florida)? Tackle Cody Ford (Oklahoma)? Edge defender Chase Winowich (Michigan)?
Nope, that selection became Deandre Baker, a cornerback from Georgia.
Now with three picks in the first-round, the New York Giants did not address their two biggest needs: pass rush and right tackle.
In his self-righteous manner, Gettleman will talk down to everyone in his typical circular way. In fact, Trader Dave said that he and Jerry Reese are two different people, but when it comes to drafting, these guys are cut from the same cloth.
They rely on their very own magic draft board.
Keep in mind, there were zero draft boards, that had Daniel Jones going in the top 10. Well, except for the New York Giants draft board. And even after the ego machine, Jon Gruden, flipped everyone the bird by drafting Clelin Ferrell, Big Blue couldn’t take the serendipity of Josh Allen being available and running with it.
So the G-Men not only made a significant reach at No. 6, they also made old skipper, Tom Coughlin’s night, by gifting him a plug-in and play edge rusher.
Now before everyone points to the trade, which was clearly the best, and quite frankly, most predictable thing Gettleman did on Day 1, understand that a draft class shouldn’t be rated upon the third of three picks.
Previously, Reese sold the media and fan base the BPA narrative with Ereck Flowers, Eli Apple, and even Evan Engram to a large extent. It wasn’t true then, and it certainly isn’t true now.
Maybe all three guys in this draft pan out, as drafts always come with surprises. But right now, it’s hard to see how the New York Giants are better today, than they were yesterday. We will be told that these selections will pay dividends in two to three years. That means that franchise running back Saquon Barkley will be in year four or five of his rookie contract.
So Gettleman gets to say, “I told you so” about his Kansas City model. Except good old Dave is forgetting that the Chiefs were/are a playoff team that seamlessly transitioned quarterbacks. And that they also waylaid the draft when they snuck up and selected Patrick Mahomes in 2017.
Kansas City also received a few assets when they traded veteran signal-caller Alex Smith to the willing Washington Redskins. Details, details, details. Don’t let them get in the way of the Gettleman narrative. It’s his NFL world, and don’t forget it. He certainly won’t let you forget it, even if the G-Men end up in the draft’s top-10 pool again next year.