With their ten picks in the draft, the NY Giants prioritized versatility and improved in multiple ways. Big Blue improved their offensive line, became better in pass coverage, and improved their team speed on defense.
Times have changed since the days of Jerry Reese. Instead of prioritizing talent over everything, Dave Gettleman and the NY Giants found players that fit his team’s new identity. “We’re not collecting talent. We’re building a team… I don’t want 53 independent contractors. I want a team,” Joe Judge explained after the draft.
Gettleman targeted versatile, tough, and fundamentally sound football players that mesh with the philosophy of his young coach. With his ten selections, he prioritized the offensive line, pass coverage, and infusing athleticism into his stable of linebackers.
In a deep and talented offensive tackle draft class, Gettleman had the mindset going in that he was going to fix the offensive line. The newest hog mollies will help the team get better at protecting Daniel Jones in 2020, a major weakness of the NY Giants in 2019. Saquon Barkley should not be getting hit in the backfield as much.
The new additions to the Big Blue defense will help with covering tight ends and slot receivers in 2020, another major weakness in 2019. Judge, the former special teams’ coach from New England, should love the fact most of his new players can contribute to the ‘other third’ of a football game.
How does each draft pick help improve the G-Men and fit into the team concept? In this article, I analyze the ten newest NY Giants and figure out how they can fit in for Joe Judge and his coaching staff.