Dave Gettleman has had a rough go of it during his first two years as GM of the NY Giants. His third draft as GM in 2020 was extremely pivotal; we grade how he did, here.
Even though the NY Giants added a new head coach in the 2020 offseason, GM Dave Gettleman is squarely on the hot seat after two disappointing seasons to start his tenure. With that in mind, his third draft as GM in 2020 is going to have a huge impact on whether or not he sticks around for the long haul.
I’ve been as hard on the long-time executive as anyone, but Gettleman hunkered down and had himself a terrific 2020 draft right from the opening bell.
The NY Giants came into this draft with major holes at OT/FS/C and edge, and while the team was never going to be able to fill all those holes in a single draft, Gettleman came damn close. It’s even more impressive that he was able to do this without holding a selection between #36 and #99 due to the Leonard Williams trade debacle.
The big argument amongst NY Giants fans all offseason was over the #4 pick and which position the team should go after. For the most part, fans were divided about 50/50 between grabbing a blue-chip offensive tackle to finally begin to straighten out this porous offensive line, or to go after the electric defensive talent that is Isaiah Simmons.
The offensive tackle side was further divided on which of the ‘big four’ the team should take, with Georgia’s Andrew Thomas getting the least amount of love due to most fans not actually watching tape and just parroting what the draft ‘experts’ say.
As I pointed out time and time again, it made no sense that the same experts that had Thomas ranked as OT1 all 2019 long suddenly dropped him to OT4 in the offseason when no more games were played. I had a hunch NFL GM’s were not thinking the same way, and boy am I happy Gettleman’s feelings were not in line with the experts.
Gettleman used smokescreens to his advantage, especially in terms of holding multiple meetings with guys like Tristan Wirfs and Jedrick Wills to get teams to think Thomas wouldn’t be in play.
Although most of us wanted a trade down while then still taking a top OT, there were no trade downs there. As a result, Gettleman didn’t panic and stuck to his board and chose the best offensive tackle in this class that should be able to hold down left tackle for us for the next ten years.
Excellent pick.
In the second round at pick #36, he almost outdid himself by selecting Alabama safety, Xavier Mckinney. The consensus #1 safety in the entire class and ranked as the #17 overall player in the draft by ESPN, Mckinney somehow slid due to the NFL foolishly not putting a premium on the safety position despite this being such a passing league.
Gettleman and the NY Giants got terrific value here to fill another hole on the team’s roster at free safety. Mckinney is extremely versatile and is a mini version of Isaiah Simmons; one could actually make the argument that he was actually more productive for a longer period of time in college while being just as versatile.
Mckinney played single-high, in the box, in the slot, and in the normal free safety range. Another terrific pick and another need solved.
While the NY Giants surely missed pick #68 badly as they could have landed a top center, Gettleman was wise to double-dip at the offensive tackle position with the team’s next selection at the #99 spot.
Before the draft, Big Blue had no answers past 2020 (or even in 2020, really) at one of the most important positions in football; now, the team has two potential long-term starters in Andrew Thomas and pick #99 out of Uconn, tackle Matt Peart.
At 6’7, Peart is an athletic freak and was a four-year starter at Uconn, playing both on the left and right sides. He was my #7 ranked tackle, ranked over the likes of USC’s Austin Jackson who went to the Dolphins at #18 overall.
I mocked Peart to the Giants, which in addition to Thomas (in my top options for the #4 pick without trade downs and my only other mock) gave me 2/3 on the team’s first three picks (no big deal). He may not open the season as the starter at right tackle, but he’s going to need to get big-time snaps down the road in 2020 to get his lumps out of the way in a rebuilding season
Another great pick with an interesting mindset behind it. The offensive line is looking young and deep all of a sudden after it as the polar opposite before the draft.
In the fourth round, Gettleman surprised many – including myself- by going with cornerback Darnay Holmes, who I admittedly didn’t know much about. I didn’t think the NY Giants would be drafting any corners, tight ends, quarterbacks, or defensive tackles so I didn’t heavily scout the positions.
At first, I was a tad upset as I – like many others- was itching for a center as there were multiple solid ones left on the board. However, after talking to people I trust, Holmes is a bonafide stud corner and should have an inside track on that starting position from day one.
Julian Love might be the biggest loser in all of this as his two potential spots – free safety and slot corner – were high picks, but you can never have enough corners and he will find his way onto the field as teams frequently go four-wide which sometimes calls for two slot corners.
The team’s fifth-round pick might have been the most interesting pick of them all, as Gettleman went with Oregon “guard”, Shane Lemieux. Lemieux played guard exclusively during his All-American career at Oregon, but after some digging, it appears he’s been practicing center all offseason as he was likely told by NFL teams they view him as a center at the next level.
That was obviously crossing my mind at the time of the pick, as it made little sense to select a guard with competent centers still left on the board. I feel much better about the pick now knowing that he’ll likely be trying out for the starting center gig, and I give him a solid shot to be able to do so.
https://twitter.com/BobbySkinner_/status/1254127478240665601
Between Lemieux and Nick Gates, who are both looking to make the transition to center, the NY Giants are bound to have one of them work out. Another hole filled, even if it’s in an unconventional way.
With the Big Blue’s sixth-round pick and with 3/4 of the team’s seventh-round picks, Gettleman loaded up on linebackers which I absolutely love. This team’s linebacker corps has been weak for far too long, and due to the fact that we play four at a time, you can never have enough.
It’s likely that at least two of these guys will start the year on the practice squad because we had so many 7th rounders, but I’m betting one of these guys will work out long-term just based off percentages.
Cam Brown, the linebacker taken in the sixth-round, is very athletic yet raw but has a solid chance of becoming a decent rotational linebacker.
7th rounders TJ Brunson (two-time captain at South Carolina) and Tae Crowder of Georgia both have big-time SEC experience and that should help them in their mission to succeed in the NFL. Both are thumpers that should contribute on specials and are sure tacklers.
People are raving about Minnesota’s Chase Coughlin – possibly just because of his last name – but the dude can play. He’s got the best chance to make the roster out of the gate.
Lastly, Gettleman went with another corner in Minnesota’s Chris Williamson who will likely have to start his career on the practice squad. He was a big reason for Minnesota’s return to national prominence in 2019 as one of the leaders in the secondary and on the defense overall that led the team to its dominant run in the Big Ten.
So, with all that said, what do I give the man I’ve been so critical of as a grade for his 2020 draft efforts?