5 Reasons NY Giants should avoid an offensive tackle in first round
By David Solow
Reason #1- There are more tackle options for the NY Giants outside of the top four prospects
There are capable tackles that will be available throughout the draft. Dave Gettleman raved about the depth of the tackles in this year’s class (which I admit could be interpreted in multiple ways.) In the second round, the G-Men could select a high-upside right tackle with the 36th pick.
Isaiah Wilson is the kind of hog molly that Gettleman dreams about. At 350 pounds, the right tackle out of Georgia can really move people in the run game. The native New Yorker is athletic for a man his size, and was a more highly regarded high school recruit than Andrew Thomas.
Lucas Niang is another right tackle with limitless potential. The athletic lineman out of TCU has some injury concerns, but he a starting-caliber player when healthy. He held his own against Chase Young and Nick Bosa during his 2018 matchup versus Ohio State.
Chase Young on toughest opponent:
— Ric Serritella (@RicSerritella) March 7, 2020
“The TCU tackle (Lucas Niang), my sophomore year, he was pretty good. I was a younger guy, that’s when I was really figuring out technique. Playing that game I definitely had to find out that I needed technique to win beyond my physical skills.” pic.twitter.com/f8NOjSXyOw
Ben Bartch, Matthew Peart, and Jack Driscoll are other high upside options the Giants could consider in the middle rounds. Charlie Heck is someone with high upside I like for later in the draft. If there is one thing that Gettleman excels at as a general manager, it is finding gems in the middle and later rounds.
In his time as the general manager at Carolina, he was able to draft Trai Turner (considered by many the best guard in the NFL) and Darryl Williams. Will Hernandez was a solid pick in the second round in 2018. Hence, Gettleman should not feel the pressure to have to draft a tackle at #4 overall.
Next year’s best tackle prospect is better than any tackle in this year’s draft. Penei Sewell, the offensive lineman out of Oregon, was so good in 2019, he received a 2nd place Heisman vote. The quartet of Becton, Thomas, Wills, and Wirfs are not the only possible solutions to the NY Giants’ offensive line problems.