NY Giants football: Breaking down the first 3 rounds of the draft

RD 3 (99): OT Matt Peart

By the time that the NY Giants got close to making the 99th pick in the draft, many fans of Big Blue were seething about the fact that Gettleman had traded away the 67th overall pick in the Leonard Williams deal. A number of players with first-round grades had slipped to the third round, making the loss of the 67th pick to the Jets sting more than it would have in other drafts.

The stinging sensation over losing that pick quickly subsided when Gettleman and the Giants opted to select tackle prospect, Matt Peart, out of UConn. Peart is seen as a tackle prospect who is a bit raw but who had an early second-round grade from most experts.

Peart is a long and athletic tackle who is still developing but who has a tremendous upside in the future. Peart is 6’7″ and at 315-pounds has room to add mass to his “lanky” frame. If he can add more mass and strength, he will likely represent a future mauler at the right tackle position for the Giants.

Peart had an official measurement of 36 5/8″ on his arm length, which is absolutely massive. The measurement placed Peart in the 99th percentile of all participants in the NFL combine. He exhibited great athleticism with a 5 second 40-yard dash time and 113″ broad jump at the combine.

The last time that Big Blue drafted a tackle out of UConn it worked out fairly well with them. Will Beatty was an excellent tackle for the Giants when he was healthy. Unfortunately, fluke injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential but Giants fans can certainly hope that the team found another quality tackle out of Connecticut.

The fact that New York has Nate Solder, Cameron Fleming, and Nick Gates as options at tackle, allows them to develop Peart slowly. However, if he progresses faster than anticipated, it likely will spell the end of Nate Solder, as having five tackles on the roster might not be ideal for the GMEN.

Adding Peart to an offensive line that now features Andrew Thomas and Will Hernandez on rookie deals and could potentially have a center prospect added to the mix during the later rounds of the draft today, gives the Giants exceptional financial flexibility along the offensive line in the near future.

As NY Giants fans saw with the signing of Nate Solder, quality offensive linemen do not come cheaply. The financial flexibility that this move gives the Giants moving forward should not be discounted.

The addition of Thomas and Peart shows that the Giants brass is finally addressing the offensive line that has been severely neglected for almost a decade. After watching future Hall of Famer Eli Manning be forced to play the prime of his career behind a shoddy offensive line, it is excellent to see the Gettleman taking a different approach with Daniel Jones.

So far, Gettleman and the NY Giants are addressing massive needs on the roster and have found excellent value with their draft picks. New York has seven draft picks remaining in the 2020 draft. If Gettleman can continue to have the success that he has shown to have through his first two drafts and through the initial rounds of the 2020 draft, the New York Giants will be significantly improved going into next season.