Revisiting the New York Giants' 2014 Draft Class Grades
It took seven years, but New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese and staff seem as though they finally got it right.
“It” would be the Giants’ 2014 draft class, a collection of mature rookies who at one point or another in their respective careers were team leaders in college and who were solid citizens.
That seven-member rookie class combined for 81 games played with 36 games started. (By comparison, the 2007 draft class, Reese’s first as general manager, started 21 games while contributing to 101 games overall, according to data gathered from Pro-Football-Reference.com.)
In addition, the contributions from the rookies like receiver Odell Beckham Jr., offensive lineman Weston Richburg and linebacker Devon Kennard have for the first time since that 2007 draft class set the Giants up for much better times ahead if they can somehow get their injury situation under control.
Let’s take a look back at the post-draft grades given to each rookie and then review each man’s season to come up with a final grade based on his production (or lack thereof if applicable) in his first season.
Note: The Giants did not have a seventh-round pick in 2014; that pick was sent to the Carolina Panthers to complete the trade for linebacker Jon Beason.
Round 1: WR Odell Beckham Jr.
1 of 7
Things didn’t initially look good for receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the spring or summer as a balky hamstring caused him to miss the final two weeks of OTAs and most of training camp.
Frustrations grew for both Beckham and head coach Tom Coughlin over the situation, but in the end, it had a happy ending once the rookie out of LSU got back onto the field and started lighting up opposing defenses like a holiday tree.
Beckham, who finished with 91 receptions for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games, went on to rack up record after record.
His 108.8 yards-per-game average was the highest figure by a rookie in NFL history. He also led the league in game receiving yards in each of his last six contests, the longest streak ever by an NFL rookie.
He currently has four straight 100-yard receiving games in his last four games, becoming the first NFL rookie to have four consecutive 100-yard games since the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Jimmy Orr in 1958.
He also had 10 or more receptions in a game four times, becoming the first rookie in NFL history to do so.
Want more? Beckham set a new Giants rookie record for touchdown receptions with 11 and tied the franchise’s rookie record for total touchdowns at 12, sharing the mark first set in 1943 by running back Bill Paschal. He also topped tight end Jeremy Shockey’s record of 75 receptions by a rookie.
A two-time Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award winner and finalist, Beckham will look to break Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin’s streak of nine games with 90 or more receiving yards on kickoff 2015 in September.
If that all wasn’t enough to sell you on this dynamic rookie, he also supercharged the punt return game, finishing with a team-high 8.1 yards per return.
And let's not forget "the catch."
Enjoy, Giants fans!
Initial Grade: A
Final Grade: A+
Round 2: OL Weston Richburg
2 of 7
In Weston Richburg, the Giants drafted their center of the future in the second round.
Only one problem. Richburg spent his rookie year entrenched at left guard, a position that he had little prior experience playing.
This was partially due to the team’s investment of what Over the Cap reported to be a two-year, $6 million contract with $2.5 million (including 100 percent of his $1.25 million base salary in 2014) on J.D. Walton.
The other factor in Richburg’s move to left guard was the toe injury suffered by Geoff Schwartz in the preseason as well as Chris Snee’s retirement.
In Week 12, Richburg—who, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), finished the 2014 season with a minus-14.3 overall grade, the third-worst mark on the Giants offense—was removed from the starting lineup in favor of Adam Snyder.
That wake-up call turned out to be just what the doctor ordered, and after that, Richburg, who returned to the starting lineup the following week, played better ball.
Moving forward, Richburg will probably move over to center, the position for which he was drafted. He will also have to get considerably bigger if he is to hold up to the pounding in the NFL trenches.
Overall, Richburg did a good job with grasping the playbook, brought a nasty streak to the game that at times reminded one of former offensive lineman Rich Seubert and showed that he has yet to come close to hitting his ceiling.
Initial Grade: B+
Final Grade: B+
Round 3: DT Jay Bromley
3 of 7
The surprise of the Giants' 2014 draft class was their decision to take Syracuse defensive lineman Jay Bromley, projected as a sixth-round pick by CBS Sports, in the third round.
Based on the playing time he received—113 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus—Bromley might very well have been a Day 3 pick.
Why didn’t Bromley, the latest in a string of drafted Giants defensive tackles to not see the field much as a rookie, get more opportunities?
Per Inside Football (subscription required), Bromley struggled at times with his leverage, playing too high and oftentimes playing a reactive game rather than dictating to the opponent.
With more reps and experience, which are probably coming his way in 2015, Bromley should develop into more of a contributor.
Initial Grade: B-
Final Grade: C-
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Round 4: RB Andre Williams
4 of 7
Usually rookie running backs don’t get on the field as quickly as fourth-round pick Andre Williams did in his rookie season.
To an extent, though, the Giants had no choice, as once David Wilson’s career was ended by a neck injury and Rashad Jennings suffered a knee injury that kept him on the sidelines for several games, it was up to Williams, the 2013 NCAA rushing yardage leader, to carry the torch.
It was a tough start for Williams, who came in with very little experience as a receiver out of the backfield and who had to learn about pass protections on the fly.
However, the young man out of Boston College picked up the playbook quickly enough, and by season’s end, he had developed into a little more patient runner who waited for his blockers to try to open the running lanes up for him.
In his last four games, Williams recorded two 100-yard efforts. Per Pro Football Focus, 461 of his 720 rushing yards came after contact.
Among rookie running backs, Williams’ 530 snaps were the most, surpassing Jeremy Hill of the Cincinnati Bengals. Williams also finished fourth among rookie running backs in causing defenders to miss him on the first contact, which he did so 27 times.
As a receiver out of the backfield, Williams caught 18 out of 28 pass targets thrown his way, the 18 catches tying him for seventh place among rookie running backs (with Bishop Sankey of the Tennessee Titans). In addition, that puts Williams fourth among rookie running backs who took at least 25 percent of their team’s offensive snaps.
Initial Grade: B
Final Grade: B+
Round 5: S Nat Berhe
5 of 7
According to Pro Football Focus, safety Nat Berhe’s 32 defensive snaps were the least amount of any of the Giants draft picks (of those who made the 53-man roster, that is).
Berhe saw the bulk of his snaps in Week 3 against the Houston Texans when he was in on 19 snaps. While he wasn’t able to pass veterans Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps when both began to struggle, on the depth chart, Berhe did what any other Day 3 rookie draft pick would do.
He carved a niche out for himself on special teams, finishing as the team leader in that category.
Moving forward, with Demps, Brown and Antrel Rolle all set to hit free agency, Berhe will get an opportunity in training camp to play a much bigger role on defense, where he projects as a box safety.
Initial Grade: C
Final Grade: Incomplete
Round 5: LB Devon Kennard
6 of 7
Before the Giants managed to squeeze out four serviceable years from Jacquian Williams, a 2011 sixth-round draft pick, their draft record with linebackers was poor.
Granted, injuries were part of the problem, such as what happened to Jonathan Goff, a fifth-round pick selected in 2008 whom the team hoped would anchor the middle for years to come.
However, during general manager Jerry Reese’s era, the Giants had far too many drafted linebackers, such as Clint Sintim (R2, 2009), Phillip Dillard (R4, 2010) and Greg Jones (R6, 2011), not work out until Williams.
Devon Kennard, the second of the Giants' two picks in the fifth round, becomes the most recent of the draft picks to work out at the position.
After shaking off an early-season hamstring strain, Kennard was inserted into the lineup in Week 7 and didn’t miss a game the rest of the way.
Per Pro Football Focus, he played in 338 defensive snaps as a rookie, starting the last six games primarily at weak-side linebacker.
Kennard finished with 43 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and 23 stops for zero or negative yardage. That is solid production from the son of former offensive lineman Derek Kennard.
Kennard can also line up with his hand in the dirt, having played that role at USC, making his versatility invaluable to the next Giants defensive coordinator.
With Williams an unrestricted free agent, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants let him walk and instead explore lining Kennard on that weak side.
Initial Grade: C-
Final Grade: B+
Round 6: CB Bennett Jackson
7 of 7
The Giants took what appeared to be a flier on former Notre Dame cornerback Bennett Jackson, who earned Special Teams Player of the Year honors for the Fighting Irish in his final season.
In the end, though, Jackson was unable to make enough of an impact on special teams to earn a roster spot at a position that, at the time, was extremely crowded.
He did land on the Giants' practice squad, but when the team lost cornerback Walter Thurmond III to a season-ending pectoral tear in Week 2, Jackson wasn’t the first man called up to fill the roster spot, a sign that perhaps he wasn’t ready for a bigger role at this level.
Somewhere along the line, the Hazlet, New Jersey, native suffered a knee injury that, per Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media, was serious enough for the rookie to undergo microfracture surgery in mid-October.
Jackson was placed on the practice squad reserve/injured list and hopes to have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot again in 2015.
Initial Grade: C-
Final Grade: Incomplete
Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
