Safest, Riskiest Choices New York Giants Might Consider in 2015 NFL Draft
Will the New York Giants play it safe in the 2015 NFL draft, or will they be risk-takers?
You know what you're getting in a safe pick. It's a player who is "NFL-ready" and can step into the starting lineup right away. Other prospects may have a higher ceiling than the safe pick, but they also possess the risk of a lower floor—a boom or bust, per se.
While general manager Jerry Reese has taken plenty of successful risks in the past, recent history tells us the Giants might play it safe this year. Still, some risky options could be too enticing to pass up.
This article will highlight the safest and riskiest picks for the Giants in each of the first three rounds.
Safest Round 1 Option: Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa
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A top-10 draft pick is the most valuable piece of roster-building weaponry known to football.
The Giants are rarely armed with one, and those they've been graced with have been used with varying degrees of success, as Dan Salomone of Giants.com recently pointed out.
To extract the full value from this year's ninth overall selection, New York must pick a player who can start all 16 games and make a noticeable impact the moment he steps onto the field. Plenty of players possess this type of potential, but which ones are most likely to actualize it as a rookie?
Iowa's Brandon Scherff is one guy who will.
Scherff is the best offensive lineman in the 2015 draft class, and he's projected to be selected by the Giants in the latest mock draft created by Bleacher Report draft expert Matt Miller.
"Taking care of Manning as he heads into the last phase of his career has to be a priority for the Giants," Miller wrote, "and adding Scherff to the line does that."
Miller isn't the only guy mocking Scherff to New York, either. Nick Powell of NJ Advance Media put together a mock draft roundup for the Giants and pointed to Scherff as the popular pick, noting that Peter King (The MMQB), Don Banks (Sports Illustrated) and Pete Prisco (CBS Sports) each had the 6'5", 319-pound former Hawkeye joining the G-Men.
The Giants are such an obvious fit for Scherff due to the team's ongoing offensive line woes paired with the prospect's Pro Bowl potential at either tackle or guard. Although he played well at left tackle in college, last week I wrote about Scherff becoming Big Blue's next Chris Snee if he lines up at right guard in the NFL.
Riskiest Round 1 Option: Randy Gregory, EDGE, Nebraska
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While Brandon Scherff would be a cozy pick, perhaps helping quarterback Eli Manning sleep at night, selecting Nebraska's Randy Gregory could do the opposite and put many Giants fans on edge.
It's not as if Gregory lacks Scherff's game-changing potential—in fact, since he plays a defensive skill position, it could be argued that he has more—but we can't predict the pass-rusher's rookie impact with the same degree of certainty. In other words, Gregory is a high-risk/high-reward draft prospect for New York.
Watch Gregory's college highlights and it's hard not to fall in love with his athleticism. He's practically plastered to the passer, and he pursues plays that originally pass him by. He has a certain explosiveness that can't be taught and an uncanny nose for the big play that can't be priced.
In two seasons at Nebraska, Gregory racked up 17.5 sacks and 25.5 tackles for a loss—tantalizing statistics for sure. They are solid enough figures for B/R's Matt Miller to rank him as the second-best edge defender in the 2015 draft class.
However, look a little deeper into this former Cornhusker, and you'll find the red flags waving vigorously.
His tall, lanky build (6'5", 235 lbs) is a far cry from the ideal frame for a 4-3 defensive end. He is a better fit as a 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL, unless he puts on a fair amount of weight. The Giants would be playing with fire by trying to rebuild Gregory into a defender who better fit their scheme.
To top off the concerns, Gregory failed a drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine back in February.
While the Giants could use a young, impactful pass-rusher, the risk surrounding Gregory may be too high for the team to take a chance on him.
Safest Round 2 Option: Laken Tomlinson, G, Duke
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If the Giants don't choose the safe pick in Brandon Scherff with the ninth overall selection, they can still get a surefire offensive lineman with their second-round pick.
The guy to go after is Duke's Laken Tomlinson.
Tomlinson isn't the sexiest second-round pick, but few men weighing 323 pounds are. The hefty O-lineman is a pure left guard and has a unique story to go along with his stellar blocking skills, making him one of the safest picks projected to be available outside of the first round.
Born in Jamaica and raised in Chicago, Tomlinson double-majored in evolutionary anthropology and psychology at Duke. Last month, the mauler told Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports that one of his favorite pastimes is researching anything to do with neurology.
There's a good chance Tomlinson is the smartest player in the 2015 draft class. He spent plenty of time developing his mind in Durham, and all the while, the former Blue Devil was also developing into a consensus All-American.
It's safe to assume Tomlinson is highly coachable and willing to take on an NFL-sized workload.
If the Giants end up picking Tomlinson, he can start right away at left guard. Weston Richburg can then take on his intended role at center, while a healthy Geoff Schwartz finds a new home at right guard. Will Beatty and Justin Pugh can continue to bookend the offensive line from the tackle positions.
Is Tomlinson the final peg needed to rebuild the unit?
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Riskiest Round 2 Option: Denzel Perryman, LB, Miami
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Not many jobs are safe with the Giants. Quarterback Eli Manning is entering a contract year. Head coach Tom Coughlin was recently extended through the 2016 season, but New York could easily fire him if it fails to reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons.
Even general manager Jerry Reese is sitting on a hot seat, so it'd be in his best interest to avoid Miami's Denzel Perryman in the second round.
Now, Perryman is going to be a solid NFL linebacker—few doubt that. B/R's Matt Miller ranked him as the fourth-best 'backer in the 2015 draft class. However, the former Hurricane's rookie impact, especially with the Giants, could be limited.
Perryman played at 250 pounds last season and looked every bit of it. He's at his best playing downhill, when he can build up momentum and lay a lick on an unsuspecting running back at or behind the line of scrimmage. His violent energy will bring an intimidating swagger to any defense, and fans are sure to love it.
However, look at Perryman's playing style and compare it to the players New York already has on the roster. He's not going to be a more polished middle linebacker than either Jon Beason or Jameel McClain in his first pro season, and Devon Kennard was sensational on the strong side in his rookie season last year.
Inserting Perryman on the weak side would expose his biggest weakness: dropping into coverage.
The Miami product could one day be a Pro Bowl linebacker, but Perryman would likely be a backup as a rookie with the Giants. With so much on the line this season, Reese would be wiser to spend his second-round pick on a player with a clearer path to a starting role in 2015.
Safest Round 3 Option: Damarious Randall, FS, Arizona State
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The Giants need to find a safety somewhere. The pickings were slim in free agency, and the options are again limited in the draft. The hole is glaring, and inaction in the draft would be to enter the season with a major need unaddressed.
Yet, if Arizona State's Damarious Randall is still hanging around when the Giants pick in the third round, the team's safety struggles could be safely solved.
In his most recent mock draft, B/R's Matt Miller had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selecting Randall with the first pick in the third round, so it's completely conceivable for him to fall nine more spots to the Giants. New York better hope he does, too, because Miller likened Randall to Tyrann Mathieu, a standout in the Arizona Cardinals secondary, in his latest scouting notebook.
After losing a valuable tool in the defensive backfield in Antrel Rolle, the Giants could use a playmaker back there with Mathieu-like instincts. Randall showcased that type of impact in college, collecting 108 tackles (9.5 for a loss) and a sack as a senior.
In addition, he intercepted three passes in each of his two seasons with the Sun Devils, returning one for a touchdown both years.
Randall is a late-riser after pursuing baseball over football early in his collegiate career, so the Giants could land him just as he reaches his prime. (The Giants need a center fielder at safety, but Randall played shortstop on the baseball diamond—close enough, right?)
If Randall is New York's pick in the third round, he can snag a role along strong safety Nat Berhe in the starting lineup.
Riskiest Round 3 Option: Lynden Trail, EDGE, Norfolk State
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If the Giants make one of these risky picks, there's a good chance it comes in the third round.
New York has shown in the past that it's not afraid to go after an under-the-radar player in this round. For example, the Giants took Syracuse's Jay Bromley in the third round last year, so early that even the defensive tackle was surprised to hear that he had been selected.
The Giants showed an early interest in Norfolk State's Lynden Trail when the team met with the small-school prospect at the Senior Bowl, per a Walter Football report. Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net noted at the time that Trail perfectly fits New York's mold for a pass-rushing defensive end at 6'7" and 269 pounds.
Trail would make a nice addition to the Giants' pass-rushing arsenal, but is he at all worth a third-round pick?
The answer to that question depends on whom you ask. B/R's Matt Miller mocked him to the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round a couple of weeks ago, but CBSSports.com still projects him as a third- or fourth-rounder.
The uncertainty and discrepancy surrounding Trail's value led Andy Staples of The MMQB to dub him the 2015 draft class' "mystery man." The fact that he could wind up playing tight end in the NFL only adds to the mystique.
While New York should aim to pick immediate starters with its first- and second-round picks, that's an exponentially more difficult task in the third round. The flexibility to take a risk is there, and if the Giants fear there's another team that sees Trail in the same light, there's a good chance they pull the trigger on him.
Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.
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