Draft Picks
Outside of Saquon Barkley, all of Gettleman’s draft picks are works in progress at best, and complete busts at worst.
Starting in that 2018 class, Barkley was drafted second overall. He is unquestionably the Giants best player. He was offensive rookie of the year in 2018, as he led the Giants with 1,307 yards rushing. He added another 721 yards receiving. He also rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2019, despite missing three games to injury. But he played in just two games this season before going down with a season-ending injury. And while no one can question his ability, his durability now raises concern.
Of that 2018 draft class, B.J. Hill, drafted in the third round, has been the next best. Will Hernandez, taken in the second, falls behind him.
The Giants had three first round picks thanks to Gettleman in 2019. They drafted Daniel Jones at #6, Dexter Lawrence at #17, and Deandre Baker at #30. They also drafted Oshane Ximines, Julian Love, Darius Slayton, and Corey Ballentine that season.
Jones has shown promise, but many of the games lost over the past two seasons are due to his inability to hold onto the ball. Lawrence has helped strengthen the defensive line. Baker had a dreadful rookie year before being arrested this offseason and consequently released from the team. And that was a worry other teams had about him, which was why he fell to the Giants at the end of the first round.
Love has held his own this year in a weak Giants secondary, and Slayton continues to be a solid receiver. The Giants hope he can fill the gap left by Odell, but he’s not quite there yet. I mention Ballentine in this post only because he was released this year. He is now on the NY Jets.
In 2020, Gettleman drafted Andrew Thomas with the #4 pick overall. And while it’s unfair to Thomas to be thrown into the left tackle spot so soon, because Solder opting out, the fact is he has not played up to his draft status.
Thomas showing some improvements, but Judge just fired their offensive line coach because the line has been a revolving door, allowing Jones to be sacked 31 times this year. The Giants kept Eric Flowers in that left tackle position for way too long, and if Gettleman makes the same mistake as his predecessor, it will be detrimental to the development of Jones.