Why the New York Giants Should Not Trade out of the No. 9 Spot
Any temptation for the New York Giants to trade out of the No. 9 spot in the NFL draft is very appealing.
While no one knows how the board is going to fall just yet, it wouldn’t be surprising if teams slotted to draft in the 11-15 slots reach out to general manager Jerry Reese to gauge his interest in moving down a few slots and picking up an extra draft pick or two in the process.
On paper it sounds really tempting, especially for a Giants team that still has some glaring needs at offensive line, defensive line and safety, just to name a few.
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However, as tempting as it might be to make the swap with some team desperate to jump up to No. 9, the Giants should exercise control and stay true to their draft board.
Before making a case for or against why the Giants should sit tight at No. 9, let us look at the three most glaring areas of need the Giants have and line them up with the projected value in the first round.
Offensive Line
At the NFC coaches breakfast during the recently concluded league meetings, head coach Tom Coughlin said that while the offensive line is still a work in progress, “We did pass-protect well—you got to remember that part.”
He is, of course, correct. Per Football Outsiders, the Giants had the 10th-best offensive line when it came to pass protection.
Run blocking was another story. Per Football Outsiders, the Giants run-blocking unit ranked 22nd in the league last year. Not surprisingly, that contributed to the Giants running game finishing 23rd in the NFL.
That Coughlin has said that there is still ways to go with the offensive line underscores there is definitely a need, though getting a healthy Geoff Schwartz back and putting him at right guard and moving Weston Richburg to his natural spot at center should help the interior of that offensive line in a big way.
So what about the value in the first round of the draft? Is there a must-have offensive lineman who is worthy of top-10 status?
Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com lists Ereck Flowers of Miami and Andrus Peat of Stanford as the only two likely first-round picks among the offensive tackles, while the rest of the bunch could potentially go anywhere from the first to the third round.
NFLDraftScout.com, meanwhile, lists four offensive tackles—Brandon Scherff, La’el Collins, Andrus Peat and Flowers—as prospective first-rounders, with Scherff, who some view as more of a guard, the highest overall, thanks to his No. 8 ranking on the big board.
The same situation holds true for players projected as guards. Campbell's list does not include a first-round pick.
NDS, meanwhile doesn’t list any guards as prospective first-round picks, its big board showing South Carolina’s A.J. Cann as the 43rd-best overall player in this year’s class.
Does it make sense then for the Giants to trade down to get an offensive lineman?
If Rang’s and Campbell’s projections are accurate, even if the Giants were to drop down as far as No. 15 with the intention of getting an offensive lineman, they would probably still be reaching for a prospect.
Safety
This is rather obvious largely due to the numbers.
Simply put, the Giants have three inexperienced players under contract at safety—Nat Berhe, Cooper Taylor and Thomas Gordon.
One of those three young players will likely emerge as the new starting strong safety.
The Giants also whiffed on landing top unrestricted free agent Devin McCourty, who would have been an instant upgrade at free safety.
They declined to get into a bidding war for long-time strong safety Antrel Rolle, who signed with the Chicago Bears.
In addition, they have yet to reach a deal with Stevie Brown, last year’s starting free safety who will be two years removed from ACL surgery, but who, per Pro Football Talk, is also recovering from offseason foot surgery.
As far as draft picks go, there’s Alabama’s Landon Collins, listed as a strong safety by NFLDraftScout.com, as the only likely first-round pick; however, Collins is not projected as a top-10 pick on NDS' Rob Rang’s big board.
If the Giants are counting on one of Berhe, Taylor or Gordon to emerge as a strong safety, going with a strong safety at No. 9 makes little sense.
The situation at free safety is even grimmer, as per NDS, there isn’t a first-rounder projected among the lot.
Defensive Line
This is the position where the Giants probably have the greatest need as far as landing a playmaker, and where it would not be a shock at all if they gift-wrap a pass-rushing stud for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to integrate.
Although the Giants franchised defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, it would not be surprising if he plays out this year, a year in which he will be guaranteed $14.813 million if he signs the tender and gambles on posting a second consecutive solid season that would ultimately increase his market value.
If that happens, the Giants could franchise Pierre-Paul again in 2016 if they want to keep him; if Pierre-Paul doesn’t have a strong season, they could go in another direction.
Regardless, the other side of the defensive line is still up in the air. The team would no doubt like to see Damontre Moore, who is entering his third season, start to show signs that he can be an every down player.
They could also potentially try Robert Ayers as the starter, assuming he is recovered from his season-ending pectoral injury, though last year, Ayers, per Pro Football Focus, didn’t grade out quite as well against the run (minus-3.0) as he did as a pass-rusher (18.8).
What about newcomer George Selvie? Based on his 2014 PFF grades, his year was the opposite of Ayers’, with his run defense being a solid 6.8 grade, but his pass rushing coming in at minus-11.4.
The draft class appears to be rich with players who can line up with a hand in the dirt.
NDS projects five defensive ends to be first-round picks, including Shane Ray (Missouri), Randy Gregory (Nebraska), Alvin Dupree (Kentucky), Owamagbe Odighizuwa (UCLA) and Preston Smith (Mississippi State).
While there is some debate as to whether some of the defensive-end prospects are better fits for a 3-4 defense, former Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce said that Spagnuolo is a fan of using multiple defensive fronts and that he also likes his players to be versatile.
To that end, the Giants could also be looking to grab an outside linebacker that can play with his hand in the dirt in certain packages—Dante Fowler (Florida) or Vic Beasley (Clemson) might be two such prospects that might draw the Giants’ interest if they are there at No. 9.
The idea of getting an outside linebacker who can rush from the defensive end spot is particularly intriguing if the Giants have plans to move Devon Kennard, projected to be this year’s starting strong-side linebacker, to the middle.
Why the Giants Should Stay Put
Although the Giants’ opinions of their personnel vary from those of us who don’t draw paychecks from the team, it’s not hard to see where the need and value aligns for New York in this draft.
As previously noted, this year’s draft class is a make-or-break group for Reese and his staff. The Giants can’t afford to gamble.
The Giants need a Day 1 starter, and their most glaring need right now, despite the lack of numbers at safety, is in the front seven.
If Coughlin, who per Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media, said there will be a lot of the same looks though with different personnel in Spagnuolo’s defense, it makes no sense for the Giants to trade down and potentially miss out on getting a blue-chip quality defensive prospect, no matter what the compensation.
All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange.
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