Giants make mind-numbing selection in PFF's latest mock draft
The New York Giants are approaching next week's draft with a bevy of needs on both sides of the ball including receiver, corner, and linebacker to name a few. One place they seemingly don't need help is the defensive line. With names like Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Kayvon Thibodeaux making up the core of […]
The New York Giants are approaching next week's draft with a bevy of needs on both sides of the ball including receiver, corner, and linebacker to name a few. One place they seemingly don't need help is the defensive line.
With names like Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams, and Kayvon Thibodeaux making up the core of the group, sure they could use some depth at the edge position, but they are well-equipped along the interior, especially when you consider free-agent additions like Rakeem Nunez-Roches.
So when PFF released their latest mock draft, I was hoping to give you all a prospect breakdown on a receiver, corner, or maybe even interior offensive lineman. Instead, I was left shocked and have come to explain why this pick would do more harm than good for the Giants.
Bryan Bresee, DL, Clemson
Bresee was one of the more dominant players in the country early in his career at Clemson, but the past few years have seen a dip in production due to injury and personal matters. When explaining their reasoning behind Bresee to the Giants at 25, Arjun Menon and Brad Spielberger said the following:
The Giants could really use a cornerback here to play in Wink Martindale’s blitz-heavy scheme, but because of the run on cornerbacks earlier in the draft, it doesn’t make sense for the G-Men to reach on a prospect. Instead, they take Bresee, who has fallen a bit down draft boards but would be a good pickup for general manager Joe Schoen and company. They have their starters filled out for this season, but Leonard Williams is a free agent after this season, and there’s no succession plan currently in place.
While I'm all for adding to your strengths and believe in planning for the future, the truth is, the Giants are not in a position to be worrying about what's coming down the road.
That type of planning is reserved for teams at the top of the league like the Chiefs. Say they wanted to add a receiver or tight end. Or division rival Philadelphia if they wanted to add a pass rusher or third receiver.
But when your roster has the obvious deficiencies that New York's does, you can't afford to leverage your future on units that already contain some of your best players or highest-drafted prospects, something the Giants have already done in their assembly of the defensive line.
And this is not to knock Bresee. I think he's actually being underrated in the process, largely because of situations out of his control. The former five-star and number-one overall recruit in the country, Bresee is a special athlete with the character to fight through adversity and make it as a pro.
But that shouldn't be with the New York Giants, or at least not with their 25th selection. If by some chance there were no receivers, corners, linebackers or linemen that the Giants had a considerable grade at 25 and Bresee was just sitting there, I could get behind that.
That scenario is very unlikely, however, and Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll haven't made it this far by making poor decisions. I fully expect them to continue building this roster the right way, and can't wait to see who they select at 25th overall next Thursday.
