Dave Gettleman’s terrible NFL Draft picks sinking NY Giants in 2021

DE Lorenzo Carter (3.2, 2018) & DT B.J. Hill (3.5, 2018)

After going with offense in each of his first two picks, Gettleman opted for defensive line help with both of his early third-round picks.

At that point in the draft, you’d typically expect players that are worthy of starting, or at the very least, high-end rotation players on the defensive line. Unfortunately, neither have panned out well.

Coming out of NC State, Hill had a promising first season, playing in all 16 games while starting in 12 of them at defensive end in the Giants’ 3-4 scheme. He registered 5.5 sacks and six tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Carter tallied four sacks and seven tackles for loss in 15 games, primarily lining up as a rotational outside linebacker in his first year out of Georgia.

Much like Hernandez, that first year for both Carter and Hill would be their peak seasons. Over the next two years, Hill and Carter would combine for just 7.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, with most of the production coming from Carter, despite him playing just five games in 2020 due to injury.

Prior to this season, Hill was dealt to the Cincinnati Bengals for center Billy Price as the Giants needed o-line help, unsurprisingly. On the other hand, Carter remains on the Giants and has largely struggled to this point, going six games without a sack as a starting 3-4 outside linebacker.

One of the picks here could’ve LB Fred Warner (3.6), who went just one pick after Hill and has established himself as one of the league’s premier linebackers with the San Francisco 49ers. The other pick could’ve been two-time Pro Bowl OT Orlando Brown Jr. (3.19), as the Giants still had holes on the offensive line at the tackle positions.

Other potential picks: OLB Jerome Baker (3.9), DE Sam Hubbard (3.13)