Okay, the first day of the NFL Draft is in the books. The Jets had one pick, the Giants had three.
Gang Green took Quinnen Williams, the monster Alabama defensive tackle, with the third pick overall. Lots of analysts had ranked him as the best player in the entire draft, so he seems a good get. Still… if it had been me, I would have taken Josh Allen, the edge rusher. The Jets have not had an edge rusher worth his salt since… could the last one have been Mark Gastineau? Surely not. Maybe John Abraham. The thing is, they need sacks and QB pressures. And they already had a monster defensive tackle named Williams (Leonard). Now they have two. I hope it works out. The main thing is to give Tom Brady nightmares, though, and I am not sure Quinnen will do that. Time will tell. Overall, though, a very solid pick.
The Giants, on the other hand…
Daniel Jones from Duke at number six? Yes, they need a young quarterback to groom as Eli’s successor. But Dwayne Haskins was right there. Why not him? I don’t follow college ball, but by every measurable Haskins is way better than Jones. Jones threw 52 TDs in three years at Duke, Haskins threw 50 in one year at Ohio State. Within fewer interceptions. Against much tougher opposition. Dave Gettleman must have seen something in Jones that no one else could see. But even if you accept that, taking him at six seems insane. He would have been there at 17. Why not take Josh Allen or one of the other defensive studs at 6, and Jones at 17? Makes much more sense. Who else was going to nab him? The Skins? The Skins preferred Haskins, that was common knowledge. Everyone in the world except the G-Men preferred Haskins, so far as I can see.
And then we got to number 17, the pick the Giants got for Odell. What did they pick there? A huge 342 pound defensive tackle out of Clemson. Very very strong, they say. Not going to get a lot of sacks, but terrific against the run. Who does that sound like? It sounds like Snacks Harrison to me. Who the Giants cut in mid-season because… ahem… “all he did” was stop the run, he didn’t get sacks. After his release, Big Blue spent the rest of the season getting gashed by runs right up the gut. Had to fix that. So to fill the Snacks hole, we draft Young Snacks. All it cost us was a Hall of Fame receiver.
The Giants did trade up late in the round to get a third pick, which we used on a cornerback. Supposedly the best CB prospect in the draft. That was good. They need good cornerbacks in the worst way. Maybe this kid will help.
Neither the Giants nor the Jets have a second round pick today.
Big Blue has a couple in the third round, and more later in the draft. I hope Gettleman can find some gems. Because right now, the team looks a lot weaker than the one that entered the 2018 season, and that squad finished 5-11.
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