The NY Giants have not had a blue-chip offensive tackle in what seems like forever. In a draft full of them, Big Blue has to come away with one in 2020.
Other than Ereck Flowers, the NY Giants have only selected one other offensive tackle in the first round during the past 20 years, and that’s if you count Justin Pugh who later kicked over the guard.
If the 2020 NFL draft has one thing, it’s multiple blue-chip offensive tackles. The NY Giants sit in the sweet spot at number four of where teams will begin looking to add one of those tackles, but it’s still likely in their best interest to trade down to a QB-needy team, accumulate picks and still come away with one of the four premium prospects.
One could make a legitimate case for all of the ‘fabulous four’ to go at number four and Big Blue can’t screw this up once again. As electric of a player as Isaiah Simmons seems he’ll be, the fact remains that it’s much easier to find linebackers (or safties) later in the draft or in free agency than it is to find a true stud tackle.
For far too long, the Giant offensive line has consisted of a patchwork group that was more meant to hold together for a short period of time than be around for the long haul. Pairing up an All-Pro level tackle with Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley so early on in their careers could make the Big Blue offense hum for years to come.
Nate Solder and his massive contract cannot inhibit the Giants brass from making the right call here. It would be incredibly short-sighted, and while there are always talented offensive tackle prospects in the latter half of the first round, statistics show that the closer to the top a tackle is taken, the better chance they have to be a star (duh).
Like quarterback, offensive tackle is one of those positions where top draft picks make up a far larger percentage of the top players than with most other spots on the field. As we just experienced, going after a veteran in free agency can be risky and far too costly.
So, while we’ll all have our personal favorite on who we’d like to see Big Blue take out of the big four, the most important part is that we come away with one of them.
If Dave Gettleman is true to his word and wants to set the NY Giants up for the future, he’ll make the most prudent move and finally really fix the offensive line.