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NY Giants football: 3 Undrafted free agents to watch for in 2020

By Charles Vitolo

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Oluwole Betiku Jr. #99 of the USC Trojans looks on during a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame won 49-14. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Oluwole Betiku Jr. #99 of the USC Trojans looks on during a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame won 49-14. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Owuole Betiku of the NY Giants (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
Owuole Betiku of the NY Giants (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

2. EDGE Owuole Betiku

Another common complaint of Dave Gettleman’s 2020 draft strategy was that he didn’t address the edge position in a meaningful way. I, for one, was actually in favor of this despite knowing all too well how badly the NY Giants need help at pass rusher.

However, this draft was the weakest pass-rushing class in recent memory, so I really didn’t mind the approach of going after multiple high-upside guys late instead of taking a chance on an underwhelming prospect early on.

Owuole Betiku was one of the more intriguing edge prospects in the entire draft class, despite going undrafted. The main reason for that is there just isn’t much tape on the former five-star USC prospect. Betiku is still crazy raw as he didn’t even start playing football until his junior year in high school, yet he was finally able to find success after transferring to Illinois for his final season.

Via SI.com:

"“It was a scary decision. Going into the portal after the injury and not having film, a lot of people told me it was the wrong idea. Coaches passed up on me and they canceled my official visits because I didn’t have film. I’m really grateful to Coach Lovie (Smith), (former defensive line) Coach (Austin) Clark. They gave me an opportunity to come here and they believed I could play and they watched my practice film,” Betiku said at Illinois’ Pro Day workout on March 9."

Former NFL coach Lovie Smith’s faith in Betiku paid off in spades as the senior racked up 36 tackles – including 13 for a loss – and 9 sacks despite missing three games.

Even though it’s a small sample size, it shows just how much potential is oozing out of Betiku. At 6’3, 250 pounds, Betiku may work out nicely in the 3/4 edge role as he’s probably too small to play as a traditional 4/3 defensive end.

Despite the NY Giants’ edge group being pretty weak overall, it is a deep group, so the raw prospect will have his work cut out for him to make the initial roster.

However, he’s a name to watch as things shake out and he could easily work his way up from the practice squad into a meaningful role as the season progresses.

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