5 first-round mistakes that continue to haunt the NY Giants
By Zak Musso
The NY Giants stunned the football world in 2022 by not only making the playoffs, but beating the Vikings in the Wild Card Round. Most of the credit for the immensely successful 2022 campaign belongs to two men: Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen.
When Daboll and Schoen decided to defect to New York City from western New York last January, they inhertied a football team that was in salary cap hell and didn’t feature a lot of big-time talent. Schoen’s predecessor, the lamentable Dave Gettleman, constantly botched the NFL Draft, the main reason the Giants posted a 22-58 record over his tenure.
Schoen has repeatedly stated that he wants to build the Giants through the draft, something Gettleman failed to do. Here are five first-round mistakes that continue to haunt the NY Giants:
5. TE Evan Engram
The last first-round pick of the Jerry Reese era, Evan Engram was selected No. 23 overall in the 2017 draft out of Ole Miss. Engram was drafted to be a monstrous receiving tight end, but recorded just 17 touchdowns in five seasons in blue. Engram averged a pedstrain 565.5 yards a season, and just 34.9 yards a game.
Engram flashed his immense talent at times, but he will be most remembered for his back-breaking drops. The most famous play of Engram’s Giants tenure, a Week 7 drop in the 2020 season, which cost the Giants a playoff berth.
If Engram caught that beautiful pass from Jones not only would the Giants have clinched a road victory against Philadelphia, they would have ended up winning the NFC East. A painful memory Giants fans will never forget.
To make matters worse, three defensive All-Pro’s, TJ Watt, Tre’Davious White and Budda Baker, were all drafted in the next 12 selections after the Engram pick. The Giants have certainly had worse first-round picks than Engram, but his Giants tenure was rough, and that is putting it nicely.