New York Giants: Summing Up NFC East Draft Classes
Typically by the end of the season, draft day bluster gets met firmly by reality. Fortunately the New York Giants selected draft pieces who worked in their favor in 2016. Big Blue seemingly reached on its first selection, cornerback Eli Apple of Ohio State. Thankfully, other players were not as much of a gamble and can continue to contribute. But how did the G-Men stack up in their draft against the rest of the NFC East. Let’s take a look:
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Eli Apple (Ohio State) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the New York Giants as the number ten overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Cowboys
Don’t kid yourself Giants fans. When you grab your starting quarterback and a potential MVP candidate in the same draft, you’ve hit it out of the park. Yet, the selection of Ezekiel Elliott was not universally acclaimed when it was done. The Cowboys needed defensive help.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King on Nov. 23, 2016, “They loved the running back from Ohio State, and they didn’t love a single defensive player in the draft. They didn’t think their needy front seven could get refurbished with any single player in this draft. Owner Jerry Jones told me two hours before the draft that the reason Elliott made sense is that he would be able to take pressure off the defense by making sure it stayed on the field for less time in 2016.”
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The Prescott pick was almost entirely lucky, as Dallas wanted Paxton Lynch or Connor Cook in Big D. Getting Lynch would have required their second-round selection (more on that later), but Jones was beaten out by Denver. Cook curiously went to Oakland and actually saw action on Wild Card Weekend.
Dallas eventually settled on Prescott, but convinced they were not. Injuries to starter Tony Romo and back-up Kellen Moore thrust Prescott into a starting role. And the rest is history.
Adding to the Cowboys’ largess is another gamble. The team selected Jaylon Smith of Notre Dame in the second round. Smith himself could have been a top five pick except for a devastating knee injury suffered against Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. Smith will not play this season, according to ESPN.com on Jan. 5, 2017, but if he comes back anywhere close to his NCAA form, this draft will be an A++ for the ‘Boys.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are another team that gambled and seemingly won. With starter Sam Bradford in tow, the Birds jumped up to second, and selected Carson Wentz of North Dakota State. Wentz was the second quarterback behind Jared Goff to be chosen in this draft. The truckload of draft picks sent to the Cleveland Browns to secure Wentz was mitigated by a later trade that sent Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings.
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The Bradford trade was necessitated by the devastating knee injury to Teddy Bridgewater, so circumstances helped the Eagles.
At first blush, Wentz appears to be the real deal, so getting your franchise quarterback gives the draft an automatic “A”. As far as other pieces, running back Wendell Smallwood (5th Round) chipped in, especially with frequent injuries to Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles.
If Smallwood continues to be a productive (312 rushing yards, 4.1 yards per carry), then this draft elevates to the A+ category. Also worth mentioning is cornerback Jalen Mills (7th Round).
According to NJ Advance Media on Dec. 31, 2016, “His playing time has increased throughout the season, and his 697 snaps this year are second most among all cornerbacks on the team. Although the Eagles have played Mills all over the field, putting him both on the outside and in the slot, his primary position has been outside cornerback.”
After the debacle that was Chip Kelly, the Eagles have gotten back their sea legs. Getting your franchise quarterback, a rotational running back and a starting cornerback in one draft makes that an A++ effort too. Let’s see how it works out.
Washington Redskins
General manager Scot McCloughan did a great job in year 1 of running the Washington Redskins. Getting Brandon Scherff (6th Pick, 2015) kept him away from the Giants. Scherff would have filled a need for New York along the offensive line, and the team wouldn’t have settled for Ereck Flowers. Preston Smith was brought in to replace Brian Orakpo, while Matt Jones and Jamison Crowder provided offensive starters.
McCloughan’s second draft was mainly a bust because of an injury to first-rounder Josh Doctson. Elite talent thinned out around Washington’s selection at 22, but a cornerback like Artie Burns (25) or William Jackson (24) may have been a better choices.
Would the team have signed Josh Norman after drafting a cornerback?
With both DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon likely departing the nation’s capital as free agents, Doctson will have a make or break chance in 2017. The long-term evaluation will begin.
Second round pick Su’a Cravens is a hybrid safety/linebacker, or as I like to call them, an undersized linebacker. There are guys who have successfully played bigger than the listed height and weight (Troy Polumalu, Earl Thomas), but drafting for that is a huge gamble. Cravens became that for the ‘Skins.
Maybe McCloughan got boxed in by his turn in the queue, so time will have to tell on this class. But the argument can be made that Washington fell just short of the playoffs because there was limited production from this draft class, however.
One thing to like about McCloughan is that he doesn’t shy away from drafting “football” players who don’t rock the combine. Temple product and New Jersey native Matt Ioannidis falls into the category. And Nate Sudfeld (6th round) of Indiana may be a sleeper pick at quarterback given time to develop.
Later on, we may have a better opinion on this class, but right now it rates as the worst in the NFC East for this season.
New York Giants
First-round draft pick Eli Apple was given a baptism under fire this season with the G-Men. At this point, the jury is still out on the former Ohio State player. Just like he does with Ereck Flowers, general manager Jerry Reese points to Apple’s young age. Conversely, grabbing someone at the ninth or tenth pick should mean that you have a fairly complete NFL prospect, not a work in progress.
It’s the difference between tweaking and an overhaul.
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Top ten picks need to play right away and contribute.
Apple rated 84th among cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus with a 63.0 grade. By contrast, Artie Burns of the Pittsburgh Steelers (25th pick) played 100 more snaps than Apple, and he had 76.7 grade, good for 44th overall. We will see what year 2 brings for Apple.
As far as Sterling Shepard, he was largely as good as advertised, but by no means a “steal” in the second round. The 2016 NFL draft was an anomaly in that the wide receiver class across the board did not have the impact that it normally has. Shepard had a nice season, and he certainly becomes part of the solution moving forward. But 63 catches and 683 receiving yards seems about right for his draft position. His eight touchdowns catches were a key stat.
In his last seven games, he only had one with more than four catches (Philadelphia). Shepard’s longest reception of the season went for 32-yards, so any comparison to Victor Cruz (in his prime) and Odell Beckham are off base.
Running back Paul Perkins came on and becomes part of the solution at running back in 2017. Since I criticize Reese for squandering late draft picks on projects, Perkins becomes the anti-Reese pick. He had a resume coming out of UCLA and produced in year 1 (456 rushing yards) for the G-Men. Keep in mind, the Chicago Bears grabbed Jordan Howard (1,313 rushing yards) one pick after Perkins.
Tight end Jerrell Adams was given opportunity to play, but the team reverted back to Larry Donnell in the playoff game, and that speaks volumes. Linebacker B.J. Goodson also secured playing time, and he was a fixture on special teams. Both players will have an offseason of OTAs, as well as training camp to secure a starting position. If neither player can do that, then they simply fall back into status quo draft picks.