NY Giants 2015 Draft: Aggregating Report Card Grades from Around the Web

After months of buildup and excitement, the 2015 NFL draft is officially in the books.

The New York Giants, who went into the draft with eight picks—their original seven plus Denver’s seventh-round pick acquired in a trade last summer for kicker Brandon McManus—ended up using only six of their picks thanks to a trade they made with Tennessee in the second round to get safety Landon Collins.

The final tally for the Giants was split 50/50 on offense and defense.

They took three players on offense—tackle Ereck Flowers (Round 1), receiver Geremy Davis (Round 6) and guard Bobby Hart (Round 7).

They also took three players on defense—Collins (Round 2), defensive end Owa Odighizuwa (Round 3) and safety Mykkele Thompson (Round 5).

“We think we picked good players,” senior vice president and general manager Jerry Reese told reporters in his post-draft press briefing.

“Obviously, you don’t know until you get them out there and you let them play, but we feel good about this draft class.”

How do the draft analysts feel about the Giants’ haul? Read on to find out. 

ESPN

Gail Burton/Associated Press

Mel Kiper Jr.: B-

Mel Kiper Jr.’s grade and analysis seems consistent with what most of the other analysts are saying. 

The one point that really stood out from Kiper’s analysis involves first-round pick offensive tackle Ereck Flowers, of whom Kiper wrote, “If Flowers can transition well, the Giants could get better at two positions with one pick, but you just can't make that promise.”

No, you can’t make that promise, but Kiper is spot-on in that the selection of Flowers does indeed kill two proverbial birds with one stone.

Last year, Justin Pugh, who admittedly struggled through injuries, didn’t have a strong sophomore season at right tackle.

Per Pro Football Focus, his overall season grade dropped from 1.0 in 2013 to minus-2.6 in 2014.

While Pugh did get better in pass protection, his run blocking took a horrible tumble, falling from 5.9 in 2013 to minus-3.6 in 2014.

Further breaking down that run-blocking grade, the Giants earned a combined minus-17.9 grade on rushing attempts to the right side compared to the minus-4.1 combined grade running to the left.

Does Ereck Flowers help fix that? That remains to be seen, but if he does, then it would be hard for anyone to dispute that the Giants didn’t get good value in the first round with that draft pick.

SI.com

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

SI.com (Analyst “DF”): B-

The biggest critique in SI.com’s draft review was with the Giants’ first-round selection of offensive tackle Ereck Flowers.

The analyst, “DF,” wrote, “Big Blue's draft started out with a big thud in the minds of some when the Giants selected Miami left tackle Ereck Flowers with the ninth pick. I had seven tackles ranked ahead of Flowers, a powerful run-blocker whose pass protection leaves a lot to be desired.”

This assessment would align with College Football Focus, which listed Flowers as the 12th-best pass-blocking offensive tackle with his 97.9 pass-blocking efficiency.

Accordingly, he allowed 10 quarterback pressures (including hits, hurries and sacks), giving up zero sacks, three hits and seven hurries.

However, what this analysis fails to mention—and what was a bigger problem last year for the Giants offensive line—is Flowers’ ability to run-block.

Per CFF, Flowers was actually the second-best offensive tackle prospect in run-blocking efficiency with his 95.5 percent score, which reflects the percentage of run blocks that Flowers executed that resulted in positive yardage.  

Interestingly, Brandon Scherff, who went No. 5 overall, was not even list in CFF’s top-10 run-blocking tackles. That’s surprising considering that many analysts such as Lance Zierlein of NFL.com and NFL Draft Scout touted run-blocking as one of Scherff’s strengths.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay also praised the Giants' selection of Flowers, his favorite Giants draft pick. Of Flowers, McShay wrote: "He can make some improvements to his game, but he's very coachable and his physical tools are outstanding. He has a massive frame with really good length and rare athleticism for his size. He could start at right tackle as a rookie."

If Flowers remains healthy, it would be shocking if he doesn't start at right tackle as a rookie.

CBS Sports/NFL Draft Scout

Associated Press

Defensive end Owa Odighizuwa

Rob Rang: B

CBS Sports/NFL Draft Scout’s Rob Rang downplays the grumbling about whether first-round pick Ereck Flowers was a reach, writing:

"

Ereck Flowers will be perceived by some as a reach, but his combination of length, strength and nastiness is precisely what the Giants have been missing along the offensive line for several years. No one will be questioning how high he was selected five years from now when he has helped stabilize New York's leaky offensive line.

"

Rang also goes on to praise the selections of safety Landon Collins and defensive end Owa Odighizuwa, concluding that, "In terms of aggression and physicality, no club improved more than Big Blue with its first three picks.

So why give the class a B? Rang very fairly points out that “in a division boasting playmakers, though, the lack of flexibility of these defenders could leave New York vulnerable.”

That opinion, though, might be premature considering that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has yet to speak to the media about his thoughts for the defense moving forward.

For example, is Odighizuwa the next Justin Tuck, a player who lines up at defensive end on running downs and then moves inside to tackle on passing downs?

Can Collins play the slot on passing downs, putting his aggressive style of play to good use in jamming the receivers, something the Giants didn’t do much of in the past?

If the answer to both of those questions turns out to be a resounding “yes,” then Rang’s concerns about the flexibility of those two picks is unwarranted. 

SB Nation

Doug McSchooler/Associated Press

Dan Kadar (Mocking the Draft): B-

Citing safety Landon Collins as the Giants’ best pick and offensive tackle Ereck Flowers as the “questionable” pick, SB Nation’s Dan Kadar, editor of Mocking the Draft, noted in his overall analysis of the 2015 Giants draft class that New York “added potentially three starters in the draft, and that's exactly what you want to see.”

Kadar is just about spot-on. Flowers and Collins are both locks to be starters, barring injury of course.

I’m not sure that Odighizuwa, whom I assume Kadar was referencing as the third potential starter, can be thought of as such right now—my guess is George Selvie could be the early favorite to fill the spot vacated when Mathias Kiwanuka was cut in February.

However, Odighizuwa does have a lot of upside to where, much like Justin Tuck (also a third-round Giants draft pick), Odighizuwa could yield a return on investment later in his rookie season rather than straight out of the gate.

One closing thought on Kadar’s analysis involves the cornerback position. Kadar wrote, "One issue coming out of this class is New York needing corners because the depth after Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is thin.”

He’s spot-on here. Amukamara is not only coming off injury, he is entering the final year of his contract and doesn’t appear to be in line for an extension this year.

While that might still happen, that Amukamara is in that "wait and see” group right now as to whether the Giants will choose between franchising him or defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is a tad concerning.

Also concerning is that the Giants don’t really have a solid slot cornerback option after losing Walter Thurmond III in free agency. Trumaine McBride is a decent player, but his 5’9” height makes him a liability against taller, more physical receivers.

It’s possible that the Giants might be planning to deploy a safety as a potential long-term slot cornerback if they decide to move on from McBride, thus making that point moot.

Still, the fact remains that the depth behind Amukamara, Rodgers-Cromartie and McBride is relatively unproven, as we saw last year when injuries started wiping out the unit.

Bleacher Report

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Jerry Reese earned a "F" for the 2015 draft class from B/R's Ty Schalter.

Ty Schalter: F

Of all the report cards reviewed for this slide show, B/R’s Ty Schalter’s grade was the harshest.

Here is some of what Schalter had to say:

"

On NFL Network, Charlie Casserly lauded the Giants for getting three immediate contributors. Drafts, though, shouldn't be graded on how thin your roster currently is. They should be graded first on whether you got long-term difference-makers, and second on whether you got value.

The Giants didn't do either.

"

Whether people want to admit it or not, a team needs 11 quality starters on offense and on defense to have a chance.

Going into the draft, the Giants were a quality offensive lineman away; on defense, they were missing at least one safety.

Getting two young players in offensive tackle Ereck Flowers and safety Landon Collins, both of whom have the pedigree to become long-term difference-makers at those positions, fixed that problem while marrying value with need.

As for defensive end Owa Odighizuwa, chosen in the third round, he probably won’t be a Week 1 starter, but he should be a solid contributor as a rookie in that rotation.  

Damontre Moore has thus far struggled to get out of the gate as an every-down defensive end—he’s also coming off offseason shoulder surgery, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.

Robert Ayers Jr. skipped having offseason surgery to repair a season-ending pectoral muscle tear and is entering the final year of his contract.

The Giants still don’t know what version of Jason Pierre-Paul is going to show up this year: the dynamo form 2011 or the injury-prone shell who labored through the 2012 and 2013 seasons.

George Selvie, added this offseason via free agency, is also on a one-year deal, leaving Kerry Wynn as the only young, albeit still raw, defensive end with the potential of being a long-term difference-maker.

In Odighizuwa, they got a prototypical 4-3 defensive end with good size (6’3", 271 lbs) who should be able to anchor against the run and rush the passer as he continues to refine his game.

Given the “win or else” mandate hanging over the organization’s head, Reese and the Giants played it safe for most of this draft.

While every incoming rookie has his rough spots in his overall game—even veterans still are sanding off the rough edges two, three, four or more years into their careers—to dismiss any rookie, especially those taken in the first three rounds at this point as not being long-term difference-makers is shortsighted.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. 

Follow @Patricia_Traina