Giants Draft for the Present, and the Future
By TOM PEDULLAAPRIL 29, 2017
The Giants believe they used the N.F.L. draft to address their overriding long-term issue — identifying a potential replacement for their franchise quarterback, Eli Manning — while tending to immediate needs.
General Manager Jerry Reese on Saturday pronounced himself satisfied with what became a six-player draft class.
“We always try to get players that can help us now and, obviously, players that can help us down the road,” Reese said after the three-day draft ended. “I think we have a good combination.”
The draft class’s success may ultimately be defined by the performance of one player. Davis Webb, a raw but strong-armed passer out of California who was taken in the third round on Friday night, will have every move scrutinized as the Giants try to determine whether he can succeed Manning, 36, who has three years remaining on his contract.
The Giants’ ability to improve on last year’s 11-5 record and on their playoff performance as a wild-card team — a lopsided road loss to the Green Bay Packers — may hinge on whether the other five newcomers can provide quick returns.
That burden will fall on Evan Engram from Mississippi, a tight end chosen 23rd in the opening round on Thursday night; defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (55th, in the second round) from Alabama; running back Wayne Gallman (140th, fourth round) from Clemson; defensive end Avery Moss (167th, fifth round) from Youngstown State; and offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty (200th, sixth round) from Pittsburgh.
The final three players were chosen on Saturday. Reese stepped out of character to trade places with Tennessee and advance seven slots to choose Bisnowaty. He also sent the Titans the Giants’ seventh-round pick, the 241st over all. That underscored how eager the Giants were to improve their troublesome offensive line, even in a draft considered weak in that area.
Bisnowaty, who is 6 feet 6 inches and 304 pounds, was a four-year starter at Pittsburgh and played all 13 games at left tackle as a senior. The Giants have been dissatisfied with Ereck Flowers, the left tackle they picked in the first round in 2015, and are considering moving him to the right side. They also added D. J. Fluker, a 2013 first-rounder who can play guard or tackle, as a free agent last month.
The Giants are not sure of Bisnowaty’s readiness or whether he can prove himself at the demanding left tackle position. Reese, though, did not want to come away from this draft without an offensive lineman.
The Giants believe that Moss, who became a potent edge rusher when he transferred to Youngstown State after a troubled career at Nebraska, is only beginning to show his abilities. That potential apparently outweighed concerns about his character.
Moss pleaded no contest to a charge of public indecency stemming from accusations in 2012 that he exposed himself to a student working at a campus store. He worked at a car dealership for a year after Nebraska told him to transfer.
Reese said the Giants believed that Moss “has everything together now.”
Moss spoke on a conference call from a Las Vegas hospital, where he was visiting his grandmother. She is recovering from a stroke, Moss said.
“I definitely learned from everything,” he said during the call.
AI
