Hindsight is always 20/20, but here are some players the NY Giants could have drafted instead of the legally troubled Deandre Baker.
By now, all NY Giants fans are aware of the situation that cornerback and 2019 first-round pick Deandre Baker is dealing with, as he has a warrant out for his arrest for armed robbery and aggravated assault with a firearm.
The accusations were then recanted by several witnesses, only for the next piece of explosive – yet predictable – news to come out on the case was that Baker and his partner in crime (literally) Quinton Dunbar paid off the witnesses to lie.
Both players are now on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. Regardless of your thoughts on Baker’s talent, everyone should agree that the headache following him is not wanted, while most agree that the team’s handling of the whole situation wasn’t the best.
Now that it seems he’s unlikely to play another down for Big Blue, it is time to reflect on who the NY Giants could have selected in his place in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Throughout Deandre Baker’s rookie season, we constantly heard about how he allowed 0 touchdowns throughout his final two seasons at Georgia and only one in four years.
That proved to not be consistent with his play – to be generous – play during his rookie season he allowed 54 receptions on 88 targets for 850 yards and 6 touchdowns with no interceptions for a passer rating allowed of 116.2.
While hindsight is always 20//20 when it comes to failed draft picks, Baker had clear-cut character concerns that left him off several team’s draft boards altogether, and you can bet this is a selection (or selections, really, as Gettleman gave up several other picks to move back up to #30) would love to have back.
Here are a few players that Dave Gettleman and the NY Giants passed over in favor of Baker that they sure would prefer to have on the team right about now.