Deep Sleepers New York Giants Should Target in 2017 NFL Draft
With more than 300 draft prospects hoping to land with an NFL team, the New York Giants will certainly have choices available to them.
However, the real test for general manager Jerry Reese and the rest of the draft-day brass is finding those hidden draft gems from among the masses, guys who, for example, could potentially become the next Ahmad Bradshaw (Round 7, 2007) in helping this team finally get back to the super Bowl.
Good front offices really earn their keep with the Day 3 draft picks, players who can at least provide depth if they're not starting for their team.
Here's a look at some potential hidden draft gems who could be fits for the Giants.
CB Jalen Myrick, Minnesota
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Ultimately, the Giants are going to need a replacement for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who last year filled the team's slot cornerback role.
Minnesota cornerback Jalen Myrick, 5'10", 200 pounds, could be a late-round gem capable of filling that role. Projected by NFL.com's Lance Zierlein to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick, Myrick has allowed a completion rate of 48.1 percent over the last three years, per Pro Football Focus, posting a NFL rating of 65.3 in that period.
While Myrick is too small to be a full-time outside cornerback, his skill set should translate nicely to the slot, where his quick hands and ability to "mirror and punch out of press coverage to slow receivers from press release," per Zierlein, should enable him to keep up with his competition at the next level.
Myrick also has experience as a kickoff returner, a role that the Giants are likely to restaff if they decide to part with veteran Dwayne Harris after this season.
DE Noble Nwachukwu, West Virginia
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After missing out on a chance to grab Leonard Floyd in last year's draft, it's thought that the Giants might try again with landing a player who can lineup as an outside linebacker, speed-rusher type and who could also play some snaps with his hand in the dirt.
Assuming the Giants aren't able to get such a player by the end of Day 2, and assuming they don't think they have a viable option already on the roster to groom in case they can't re-sign Devon Kennard after this year, a young prospect who might be developed for down the line is West Virginia's Noble Nwachukwu—6'1, 268 pounds.
Nwachukwu's 7.8 run-stop percentage rate was the sixth-best out of 31 4-3 defensive ends who played in 60 percent of their team's run snaps last year, and his 24 stops for zero or negative yardage tied him for fourth (with three others) from that same 31-member sample size.
As a pass rusher, Nwachukwu, who primarily lined up at left defensive end, ranked 16th out of 18 eligible 4-3 defensive ends, earning a 6.0 pass-rushing productivity score.
Nwachukwu finished as Pro Football Focus's 13th best 4-3 defense end (out of 22 draft eligible players who featured in at least 75 percent of their team's defensive snaps). He doesn't meet the prototypical size requirements of the typical Giants defensive end, and, in fact, might be better off as an outside linebacker at the NFL level.
However, Nwachukwu's quickness off the snap and his motor allow him to play beyond any size limitations, as Zierlein noted.
K Zane Gonzalez, Arizona State
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It would be a stunning turn of events if the Giants spend one off their draft picks on a kicker, not if head coach Ben McAdoo's enthusiasm for Aldrick Rosas, signed to a reserve/futures contract in January, is sincere.
An even more stunning turn of events would be if the Giants don't add another kicker to compete with Rosas.
While the most likely scenario will be for the team to add a veteran, if they want to devote a draft pick on a kicker, Arizona State's Zane Gonzalez, 6'0", 202 pounds, could be worth a late Day 3-pick if he's still on the board.
Gonzalez finished the 2016 as Pro Football Focus's top-ranked kicker. He converted 23 off 25 field goal attempts (92 percent) including 13 out of 15 attempts of 40 or more yards last season.
When it came to kickoffs, Gonzalez averaged 68.6 yards and had an average hang-time of 4.34 seconds, with 60 of his kickoffs going for touchbacks (second-most out of the 32 draft-eligible kickers who played in at least 12 games last season.
Kickoffs, of course, was an area in which the Giants had struggles. The Giants averaged 65.8 yards, 25th out of 34 eligible kickers who played in at least 10 games, with 51.2 percent of kickoffs returned (sixth most among the sample group).
Former kicker Robbie Gould, who left via free agency to join the 49ers, also managed to nail just 19 touchbacks put him 31st out of 34 kickers.
Scoring is important for a kicker, but so too is limiting the opponent's starting field position. Gonzalez appears to have the leg to accomplish both objectives.
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TE George Kittle, Iowa
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In all likelihood, the Giants are going to add a rookie tight end from what is a deep draft class at some point in the first three rounds.
If the draft board suddenly falls in a way no one in the organization was expecting—see last year's wild first round, which saw two teams leapfrog ahead of the Giants for picks that were strongly rumored to be Giants targets—the good news is the tight end class is so deep that there are a few Day 3 diamonds in the rough who would be solid consolation prizes.
One such player is Iowa tight end George Kittle, 6'4", 247 pounds. Kittle comes from a run-first offense at Iowa where Todd Worly, a Midwest regional scout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, offered the following glowing praise of Kittle in an article written earlier this year:
"In a day and age when tight ends are increasingly just big wide receivers that don't bring much to the table in the running game, Kittle is a breath of fresh air.
He has the explosiveness, knee bend, feet, physicality and nasty streak to create displacement in the running game. And the former high school wide receiver also has the explosiveness, suddenness, and top-end speed to finish the play and make something happen after the catch.
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Of the draft-eligible tight ends with at least 50 percent offensive snaps logged, Kittle finishes as Pro Football Focus's fifth-best overall tight end.
While Kittle doesn't have the eye-popping receiving statistics of some of the bigger names in this class, such as O.J. Howard, Gerald Everett, and David Njoku, the former high school receiver does appear to offer more of a complete package in terms of being both a receiver and a run-blocker.
That's a rarity these days at the tight end position and an attractive set of skills for a Giants offense that will be revamping the right side of its offensive line while also holding its breath for its starting left tackle to finally fulfill his pedigree.
WR Jalen Robinette, Air Force
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The Giants don't technically need a receiver this year, not so long as Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard and Roger Lewis Jr. are healthy and capable of running plays.
Still, a good-sized receiving target is Air Force's Jalen Robinette, 6'3", 220 pounds, who is a sixth- to seventh-round draft prospect, per NFL.com.
Of the 30 draft-eligible receivers in this class who played in at least 75 percent of their team's snaps, Robinette leads the pack with 27.4 yards per reception.
Zierlein opines that while Robinette has all the tools and a high ceiling, his route running "is extremely raw due to the limitations of Air Force's option-based attack," and that the young man could use a redshirt year to make the transition to a pro-style attack.
The Giants would certainly be able to afford Robinette a redshirt year were he to become part of their roster.
OL Collin Buchanan, Miami (OH)
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The Giants, having added free-agent D.J. Fluker to the mix, are likely to point out how they now have three first-round draft picks (guard/tackle Fluker, left guard Justin Pugh and left tackle Ereck Flowers) and one second rounder (center Weston Richburg) all competing to be a part of the 2017 offensive line.
In no way should the Giants rest on their laurels when it comes to this unit. Regardless of how the battle on the right side shakes out, they still need to add an offensive tackle prospect who can also slide inside to guard should there either be an injury or if expectations for Fluker and Flowers fall short.
A promising young developmental prospect who could potentially compete for a spot on the right side of the offensive line is Collin Buchanan, 6'5", 316 pounds, of Miami (OH).
Like most college offensive linemen preparing for the next level, Buchanan's biggest objective as a rookie will be maintaining a consistent pad level, which will help him better land his hands when he goes to punch opponents.
This conversion likely means that if he makes a 53-man NFL roster, Buchanan will probably spend his rookie season as a redshirt.
As for Buchanan's best position at the NFL level, Zierlein points out that because the young man lacks length, he probably projects to guard.
However, Zierlein also added that Buchanan's "balance and athleticism are good enough to offer value as a backup right tackle which should add to his value on the third day."
Unless otherwise noted, all advanced analytics are from Pro Football Focus and all draft prospect measurables from NFL.com.
Patricia Traina covers the New York Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information were obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.
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