5 first-round mistakes that continue to haunt the NY Giants
By Zak Musso
1. WR Kadarius Toney
It is rather unheard of to draft a player who only plays one season with a franchise, and Gettleman somehow managed to do it twice.
The 2021 draft was the biggest mistake the Giants have made in recent history. The Giants were reportedly enamored with DeVonta Smith entering the draft, but somehow let their two rivals, the Cowboys and Eagles, swing a trade, one that allowed the Eagles to draft Smith.
The Giants than sat there at pick No.12, and decided to trade down, bypassing Micah Parsons. Rashawn Slater and Alijah Vera-Tucker. With the 20th pick the Giants selected Toney, a wide reciever who had not been connected to the Giants in the pre-draft process.
The selection always felt odd as Toney was always seen as more of a gadget player, which a first-round pick is quite rich for. Toney also had some serious off the field concerns, and given Gettleman’s recent history with Baker, it was shocking to see the Giants go down that route again.
Toney had a disastrous rookie season that included eight separate injuries, cryptic tweets and an ejection from a game. He was traded shortly before the trade deadline this past fall for a third and sixth-round pick, which feels like great value for the insanely injured wide receiver.
The 2021 NFL Draft produced a loaded class of future All-Pro’s, and looks like it will go down in the history books. Giants fans may want to avoid that book. Toney just won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, which has only made matters worse for Big Blue nation.
