NY Giants Draft Picks 2017: Results, Grades and Analysis for Each Selection
If you've had enough of the 2017 NFL mock drafts, take heart: The real draft is finally here.
Over the next three days, New York Giants fans will finally get answers to their questions regarding who the Giants like and who they do not.
We'll learn who they thought was the best available among the college draft class, and we'll also start to gain some clarity regarding how the 2017 roster is going to look, particularly on the offensive side of the ball where there were so many questions to end last season.
Be sure to bookmark this page for quick-hitting analysis on the Giants' class of 2017, which will include scouting reports, how the picks fit into the big picture, and select quotes from general manager Jerry Reese, vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, head coach Ben McAdoo and the players themselves.
Unless otherwise noted, player information and stats are via NFL.com. All quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter, @Patricia_Traina.
Round 1: TE Evan Engram, Ole Miss
1 of 6The New York Giants got their tight end, but much to the dismay of their fans who were starting to get excited when they saw Alabama tight end O.J. Howard slide down the board, the pick was Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram, who is 6'3", 234 pounds.
Reese, who said the Giants didn’t consider trading up to get Howard, believes that in Engram, they have themselves another guy who can help the offense.
"We think he can be a matchup nightmare for teams covering him with a linebacker or a safety," Reese said. "The coaches think they can use him in different ways."
Engram is an interesting prospect because many draft guides have pegged him more as a wide receiver type more so than a traditional tight end.
According to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, Engram compared to Washington tight end Jordan Reed—a big-bodied target with a good blend of athletic ability and speed for the position.
The Giants can use all the speed and athleticism possible at the tight end position. Per Sporting Charts (h/t Inside Football), neither Jerell Adams nor Will Tye averaged more than 4.5 yards after the catch last season.
Engram, per Pro Football Focus, averaged 6.9 yards after the catch.
"We're just trying to help our offense and our team anyway we can," Reese said. "We think we got a good player."
Only time will tell, but what they seem to have gotten in Engram is a guy who can exploit the middle of the field, which has been a problem for the Giants offense the last few years.
Of Engram's 936 receiving yards last season, 654 came in the middle of the field.
"The fastest way to the end zone is down the middle of the field," said head coach Ben McAdoo. "Anytime you can add someone to your offensive with that speed and length, that stretches the defenses."
Grade: B+
Round 2: DT Dalvin Tomlinson, Alabama
2 of 6
Regardless of what would have happened with defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who ultimately signed with Indianapolis, the Giants were all but certain to draft a defensive tackle to add depth to a paper-thin unit that, other than for Damon Harrison, has limited experience.
In the second round, the Giants did just that, adding Alabama defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, who is 6'3", 310 pounds.
Tomlinson, a former heavyweight wrestler, has overcome two torn ACLs (one in each knee) and the passing of both of his parents, posting his best season for the Crimson Tide as a senior with 62 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks.
As Giants safety Landon Collins once said, Alabama head coach Nick Saban's defense goes the extra mile in getting the players ready for the NFL.
Tomlinson appears to be no different. He has college experience as both a defensive tackle and as a defensive end, according to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, but Giants general manager Jerry Reese said that Tomlinson, who wowed the team during his combine interview, is strictly a two-gap, inside player.
"We think he can push the pocket inside. He's violent with his hands inside," Reese said.
Interestingly, Pro Football Focus compares Tomlinson to Hankins, noting that Tomlinson "should at least be viable in the run game, capable of winning from multiple alignments, while he'll have to improve his pass-rush arsenal to made a three-down difference."
If he becomes a starter, Tomlinson would give the Giants a pair of 300-plus-pound defensive tackles pairing up with Damon Harrison inside, which is just fine with head coach Ben McAdoo.
"I like third-and-long," he quipped. "That's a good place to start with defensive tackles."
Grade: A
Round 3: QB David Webb, California
3 of 6
The moment that many New York Giants fans have likely dreaded seems to have finally arrived.
New York drafted quarterback Davis Webb of Cal in the third round. The 6’3”, 230-pounder becomes the highest drafted quarterback by the Giants since 2004, when New York drafted and then traded Phillip Rivers to the Chargers to acquire Eli Manning.
Unlike Ryan Nassib—whom the Giants famously traded up to get in the 2013 draft and was not re-signed after hitting free agency this year—Webb has a much more legitimate chance to succeed Eli Manning after his playing days are done.
"He was very productive in that offense," said vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross. "We thought he had the best arm in the draft this year. For a tall guy, he's a good athlete who can buy time with his legs. We think he has a high ceiling to come in and learn from Eli and develop."
But there are questions—loads of them—before that determination can officially be made. For one, Giants head coach Ben McAdoo admitted that his only exposure to Webb was through film work and that he hasn't yet met the young man who might one day be running his offense.
Then there is the matter of getting Webb the experience he needs to develop. Reese made it plain as day that as long as Manning is able to play, he will be the guy. So outside of the preseason, where Webb is unlikely to face an opponent's top competition, and the occasional mop-up role in lopsided games, where will Webb's experience come from?
"We need to get him in and throw as much at him as possible," McAdoo said when the question was put to him about Webb's development.
While the Giants are being realistic in their realization that the 36-year-old Manning won't be around forever, they also haven't developed a solid quarterback since, well, Manning. Time will only tell if Davis Webb will break that trend.
Grade: C+
.png?w=256)
Round 4: RB Wayne Gallman, Clemson
4 of 6
The Giants running game, a unit that has languished at or near the bottom of the league in like forever, continued to get a much-needed makeover via a big, physical college runner who seems to thrive on contact and who has been known to take would-be tacklers along for a ride.
That would be Clemson’s Wayne "The Train" Gallman (6'0", 215 pounds), a junior-eligible who leaves Clemson with 675 career rushes for 3,416 yards and 34 rushing touchdowns.
Gallman is a big, physical running back with some similarities to another pair of well-known Giants' Day 3 running backs: Brandon Jacobs, a fourth-round pick in 2005, and Ahmad Bradshaw, the team’s seventh-round draft pick in 2007.
Per Pro Football Focus, Gallman has averaged 3.0 yards after contact over his college career, a better average than any of the Giants' rostered running backs last season.
Gallman's running style won't ever win points for style, but when it comes to effectiveness and toughness, that's where he shines. Gallman's ball security has been impeccable—he has just four career fumbles in 675 carries (one in every 168.7 rushing attempts).
He's also contributed 486 receiving yards on 66 receptions with two touchdowns.
Gallman has a chance to see action right away for the Giants, assuming they don't add veteran free agent LeGarrette Blount, whom NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported prior to the draft was still in play for the Giants.
Even if the Giants do add Blount, head coach Ben McAdoo has already shown he's not afraid to get young players involved right away.
Grade: A
Round 5: DE/OLB Avery Moss, Youngstown State
5 of 6
The Giants added another pass-rushing prospect to their stable, Youngstown State's Avery Moss (6'3", 264 lbs).
Moss has a bit of a checkered past. He began his career at Nebraska but was banned from the Nebraska campus in 2014 following a December 2012 incident in which he allegedly exposed himself to a female student working at a campus convenience store, according to Jonathan Edwards of the Lincoln Journal Star.
Per Big Red Today, Moss pleaded no contest to the charges but lost his appeal to return to Nebraska, spending the year in between schools working for a Lincoln, Nebraska, car dealership before finally landing with head coach Bo Pelini, the Cornhuskers head coach who went to Youngstown State after being fired.
Last season, Moss earned a starting role, playing in 15 games with 59 tackles, 17.5 for loss, 10.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.
Interestingly, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared Moss to former Giants defensive end Robert Ayers, now with the Bucs.
Like Ayers, Moss is probably more ahead in the pass-rushing aspect of his game than he is in setting the edge against the run and struggles with shedding blocks, but he has the tool set to develop as a legitimate weak-side pass-rusher who could work his way into the rotation to give starters Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon a break.
Grade: C
Round 6: OT Adam Bisnowaty, Pittsburgh
6 of 6
The New York Giants finally did two things that their fanbase has been screaming for since this year's draft started.
General manager Jerry Reese exchanged the team's sixth- and seventh-round picks to the Tennessee Titans to move up in the sixth round for Pittsburgh offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty (6'6", 304 lbs) to wrap up their 2017 draft class.
According to Zierlein, Bisnowaty was one of the top 20 offensive tackle prospects in the country and one of Pennsylvania's most heavily recruited players. He was a 2016 first-team All-ACC as voted on by the league coaches. He started 13 games at left tackle and was chosen to participate in the Senior Bowl.
Reese, in explaining the team's decision to move up seven slots in the draft to get Bisnowaty, said that they never lost sight of wanting to add to the offensive line.
"We thought there wasn't a lot left on the board," Reese said. "We wanted to help the offensive line, but we didn't want to reach for that."
Reese also believes Bisnowaty, the 2016 runner-up for the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, has left tackle potential at the NFL level.
"He's played a lot of football for them," Reese said. "He's a big guy, rugged. We think he's a tackle, but that's the coaches decision."
Grade: B
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Titans Camp Football")
