I can imagine the Redskin war room reaching a consensus on Leonard Williams. Then Snyder pulls off his sunglasses, raises an eyebrow and murmurs, "No... That's just what they'll be expecting us to do."
As the linked mock page shows, everyone and his sister had the Giants taking Scherff. Would they have taken him, or was Flowers the pick all along? Who knows? In any case, considering subsequent events, it's a good thing they didn't take Gurley - not that it ever seemed likely.
A lot of second-tier draftniks picked up his tune. As the draft approached, though, McShay joined the mainstream and consistently had NYG taking Scherff.
I don't remember every name the talking heads on ESPN linked to the Giants in the half hour or so between the Redskins taking Scherff and NYG going on the clock. It's only natural that Gurley would have been one of them, since he was the next player selected after the Giants took Flowers.
If there was a pre-draft smokescreen though, it was Scherff, because that's the guy everyone thought Reese would take. And we'll never know whether it was a smokescreen or a reflection of their actual board.
Gurley was just one name among many: White, Waynes, Peat, Parker, Beasley, Dupree, blah, blah, blah. Even Landon Collins (right team; wrong round).
In other words, the Giants may have blown smoke about Gurley...
over Flowers based on the tenor of the post-draft comments from the F.O.
I think Flowers has the higher upside and MAY become a franchise quality LT (something we haven't had since perhaps Jumbo) but is much less polished. In Lieu of Beatty's injury Scherff may have been the better fit at least short term.
mayock and others thought we were taking Gurley
nfl.com final mocks: Mayock and Co. - ( New Window )
As the linked mock page shows, everyone and his sister had the Giants taking Scherff. Would they have taken him, or was Flowers the pick all along? Who knows? In any case, considering subsequent events, it's a good thing they didn't take Gurley - not that it ever seemed likely.
I don't remember every name the talking heads on ESPN linked to the Giants in the half hour or so between the Redskins taking Scherff and NYG going on the clock. It's only natural that Gurley would have been one of them, since he was the next player selected after the Giants took Flowers.
If there was a pre-draft smokescreen though, it was Scherff, because that's the guy everyone thought Reese would take. And we'll never know whether it was a smokescreen or a reflection of their actual board.
Gurley was just one name among many: White, Waynes, Peat, Parker, Beasley, Dupree, blah, blah, blah. Even Landon Collins (right team; wrong round).
I think Flowers has the higher upside and MAY become a franchise quality LT (something we haven't had since perhaps Jumbo) but is much less polished. In Lieu of Beatty's injury Scherff may have been the better fit at least short term.