I was reading a promo article for the Senior Bowl from 2014 that was the seven cornerstone positions in the NFL. It was from their Executive Director Phil Savage, who spent 20 years in the NFL as a scout and executive, including four years as the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. It opened with every organization, when it analyzes its roster, feel like it needs seven prime time, first-rate, blue-chip starters at these seven positions. On offense they were the quarterback, a left tackle, a wide receiver and a running back. On the defense they were a pass rusher, a cornerback and a middle field defender. The middle field defender is typically a defensive tackle but could be a middle linebacker or a free safety. Going with that the Giants have drafted at one of those positions in the first round for the last three drafts for a total of five first round picks.
Last year they picked their left tackle with Andrew Thomas at pick four. It is too soon to say how that has worked out. He started 15 games his rookie year. He struggled early but appeared to be progressing as the season went on. The Giants have invested capital in that position and will need at least another season to see if Thomas can be a cornerstone player.
The year before in 2019 the Giants drafted quarterback Daniel Jones with pick six. Jones showed great potential his rookie year. He broke numerous Giant rookie quarterback records. In addition he tied the NFL record for most passing touchdowns in a single game by a rookie quarterback and was the first rookie to have three games with four touchdown passes and no interceptions. He had four games with over 110 passer rating and five 300+ passing yard games. Though his second season wasn’t as flashy, Pro Football Focus gave him a higher grade. He went from a 65.7 grade his rookie year to 78.4 in 2020. He drastically cut down his turnovers which was a big hit against him in 2019, Again at least another season is needed to see if the Giants have their cornerstone player at quarterback. But things look good here.
The prior year, 2018, the Giants selected running back Saquon Barkley with pick number two. Barkley made AP 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year and the NFL All-Rookie Team. Saquon Barkley In his first 31 starts ranks 13th among running backs in yards from scrimmage all time in their first 31 starts. Among those top 100 backs in yards from scrimmage all time Barkley ranks 20th in yards per touch. The Giants appear to have their cornerstone player at running back.
The only offensive cornerstone position not covered is wide receiver. The last first round pick on wide receiver was Odell Beckham in the 2014 draft at pick 12. They have since moved on from Beckham.
On defense the Giants have acquired cornerstone players thru free agency and the draft. In 2019 they picked defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence with pick number 17. Also at defensive tackle they acquired Leonard Williams in free agency. Both would be considered cornerstone players at the middle defender spot. Leonard Williams was sixth in the league in quarterback pressures and seventh in sacks in 2020. He was fourth among defensive tackles in total tackles.
Furthering enforcing that middle defender spot over and above one cornerstone player, they acquired inside linebacker Blake Martinez in free agency. Martinez was third in the league in total tackles. Through the first nine games of the 2020 season Pro Football Focus had Martinez ranked No. 1 in the NFL in STOPS with 38 and had him as the fifth-highest graded linebacker in the league.
At the cornerback position they acquired James Bradberry in free agency. Bradberry was selected to the 2020 Pro Bowl. He was tied for second in the league with 18 passes defended and 16th with three interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus, Bradberry allowed 0.72 yards per coverage snap, which was tied-third best in the entire league for outside cornerbacks.
The last cornerstone position of pass rusher was last addressed in the draft in round one when Jason Pierre Paul was selected with pick 15 in the 2010 draft. The Giants have since parted ways with JPP.
Lets go back to Phil Savage’s point that a team should have one blue-chip player at the seven cornerstone positions. The Giants have addressed this with the two exceptions being wide receiver and pass rusher.
The defense in 2020 ranked ninth in the league in yards per play allowed. They ranked tenth in quarterback pressure percentage per dropback with 24.9%. That even though they ranked only 21st in decreasing blitz percentage. They are getting to the quarterback without heavily relying on blitzing. The Giants ranked twelfth in the league in sacks with 40. The Giants do not have a cornerstone player at pass rusher. However they are doing a pretty good job without one. In addition they could be getting Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines back from Injured Reserve.
On offense the Giants ranked 29th in the league on yards per play. The Giants were 31st with the second lowest number of 15+ yard passing plays. Their 68 plays of 15+ yards receiving were almost half of top ranked Chiefs with 123. The highest Giant player was Darius Slayton with 19 plays. That was 36th in the league. (However Slayton was ninth in the league in yards before the catch per reception with 11.9 yards.) The Giants receivers were not that good at yards after the catch per reception. Slayton came in tops among Giant wide receivers at rank 137 in the league with 3.1 yards. The Giants were 27th in the league in passing first downs and 29th in passing yards.
Of the two cornerstone positions still lacking a blue chip player the wide receiver position would appear to be the glaring need over that of pass rusher. In addition you are still evaluating your third year quarterback. You want to do so with the tools available to help him succeed.
Looking at some draft big boards, thedraftnetwork, pff, thehuddlereport and nflmockdraftdatabase all have three wide receivers listed first before you get to the first edge rusher. Of course it depends who is available when the Giants pick at number 11 and what type of player you want. There is also the possibility of trading down. Those top ranked three receivers are the same on all those boards though the order may change. They are in no particular order Ja’Marr Chase, Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle.
Draft prospect wide receiver Rashod Bateman is regarded as an exceptional all-around receiver. He is not regarded as the top in any category. He does excel among the top three in three important categories – route running, hands and contested catches. The most important skills for a receiver are hands and separation. You have to catch the ball and you have to get open. Bateman excels at hands and route running. Throw in that he excels at contested catches and you have a well rounded receiver. He is not a burner but his playing speed is good enough. Bateman is also good at getting yards after the catch because he is such a physical receiver. Bateman is versatile and can play inside or outside and is regarded as a capable blocker. In 2019, fifty of his sixty receptions made first down for an outstanding 83%. He was 8th in average yards per reception and had a 37% team market share of receiving yards. That market share percent is historically indicative of a 5-time Pro Bowl level.
Rashod Bateman is not ranked as high as the top three listed above. Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus has Bateman ranked as the fourth best wide receiver in this draft class. The consensus board at nflmockdatabase.com has him at number 19. Although it lists his peak at ten. I have seen comps of Rashod Bateman to many productive NFL receivers including Michael Thomas, Justin Jefferson, Allen Robinson and Keenan Allen.I have seen him comped to Adam Thielen. Thielen did make two Pro Bowls with 1000+ yard seasons for each of those seasons. CBS had Bateman’s floor as Marvin Jones, his ceiling as Julio Jones and his middle as Allen Robinson.
(Update 1/31/2021)
The draft positions with the most players ranked in the range of Giants picks on the first two days are OT (10.6) followed by WR and ER (10.25). Based on rankings from PFF, The Huddle Report, thedraftnetwork and nflmockdraftdatabase the top number of players from 1-76 picks are
OT 10.6
WR 10.25
ER 10.25
CB 8.75
LB 7
After day one those numbers decrease to
WR 46% (4.75 players)
LB 50% (3.5)
ER 54% (5.5)
OL 55% (8.75)
CB 65% (5.75)
The wide receiver position shows the biggest drop off of these top positions. Another reason to pick a receiver on day one.
