Yes, it's very early, but why not some actual football discussion? What do you think of Evan Schwan? He's apparently been really making some noise with an extremely quick first step.
Obviously a long-shot to make the team, with Vernon, JPP, Okwara, as almost certain locks, with Devin Taylor and Wynn as the most likely top five. Moss was just drafted and has apparently looked good so far. Owa is having his issues, but you have to figure if he makes it to camp he'll get his reps in before Schwan. Beyond that there's still Moss. You figure Schwan is ahead of Jordan Williams and then there's the now LB but previous DE Maponga who could be battling for a spot.
I don't know much of anything about Schwan other than the reports coming out. Here's his scouting report from BBI.
| Evan Schwan was signed by the Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft. Schwan is a big defensive end who was an ascending player at Penn State late in his collegiate career. Smart and hard working. He is a better run defender than pass rusher as he lacks ideal quickness. |
Again, it's early, but the reports have him with an explosive first step, not what the scouting report would lead you to believe. Here's just a few quotes about his performance in case you missed them.
| Evan Schwan continues to look impressive. Very quick first step. |
- tweeted on Tuesday by
Pat from Inside Football.
| If contact was allowed, Evan Schwan would have several sacks between OTAs and minicamp-GM |
- tweeted by
@GiantInsider on Wednesday.
| The undrafted defensive end Evan Schwan continued to wreck havoc on the line, breaking through on a team drill for another & #147;sack.” |
-
Inside Football Minicamp day 2 report from Geoff Magliocchetti.
So - anyone have an opinion on him? Have you been watching him since college?
if he were to make the roster, who gets bounced? i have doubts about odighizuwa due to his lack of production so far in his career and his absence at the current time. Im a big Kerry Wynn fan due to his ability against the run and versatility / ability to play inside. Im not particularly a robert thomas fan and jat bromley has not done much but theyre both DTs not DEs. Schwan will need to out play those guys to make it, if he proves he can do so then hopefully he sticks around. He has potential...
Taylor should earn a spot - the other one is up for grabs. None of the vets are good pass rushers and Moss is a fellow small school rookie.
With All Pros OV and JPP here, you'd think one of the young DE's would boom sooner or later.
Probably a more impressive athlete than Okwara and Wynn. Ran 4.68 at 6'5 1/2" 261 lbs. Got those long arms and big hands to be a 2-way DE.
If any of them have something to worry about, it's Odighizuwa and Wynn.
Owa has issues that he's working on that doesn't cause coaches to want to take him into battle when the season starts. If he sticks, it will because he came back to practice and wows his coaches. That seems unlikely.
Wynn has been good, but it can be said that he lost a step last year and wasn't as sharp as the year before. He too has to prove he's better than a hungry Schwan who is letting it all hang out.
Again I repeat: Graham will take the best defensive linemen (as he sees them) into battle come showtime. It's not just the players that want to keep their jobs, so do the coaches and they make the decisions. Loyalty to a previous player sounds nice, but coaches have to go with the players that show they can perform better than their competition in the ranks. With that said, I think Schwan could very well end up making the team and surprising a lot of people. He could end up being a younger version of OV and getting to practice with JPP and OV will bring out the best in him.
+1
I can still remember when we would do "skull drills"- only helmets- and the DEs and rush LB would be flying around- and the OL would laugh and say- wait till the pads come on- the "heroes without pads" will show the true colors. Sure enough, once the OL were able to hit back, those same DE and rush LB were suddenly slow.
Actually an explosive 1st step is one of the things that does mean something, even without pads on.
Again - it's too early to state anything definitively, but it's fun to wonder.
Wish I could hear from some more Penn St. fans that would let us know about him.
Anyway - Schwan doesn't seem to be in the top six but has a chance to beat out the others, and if there's an injury above him you have to think he'd have a chance.
It's going to be a long six weeks until camp.
Thanks Taxman - that's what I was hoping to hear. I had this idea that he wasn't explosive at all, so the reports about a quick step and explosion were misleading to me. Glad to hear your opinion.
A DE his size who runs in the 4.6s is a good athlete.
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I saw a handful of Penn St games last year and he always stood out. If he played the way he did last year in his junior year, he probably would've been drafted. But he's kind of a late bloomer. His size and speed are NFL level. He's 6'6", 264 and runs a 4.65. Long arms and good instincts. He may need a year in the weight room but if he shows the explosiveness I saw in the games I watched and what they were talking about in OTAs, he has a legit chance at making the team, especially if we carry 5 DEs. I don't know how he is on specials. That'll probably be the deciding factor.
Thanks Taxman - that's what I was hoping to hear. I had this idea that he wasn't explosive at all, so the reports about a quick step and explosion were misleading to me. Glad to hear your opinion.
No problem man. I didn't know if the quickness and explosion I saw from him last year would translate to the NFL level but so far, in OTAs anyway, it has. I mean a 4.6 guy is a 4.6 guy. He just has to translate that to this level. JPP & Vernon are the only locks at DE in my opinion. After that, it's up for grabs. Owa isn't there mentally. Wynn is limited in the pass rush. Okwara disappeared down the stretch. Taylor was signed late for a reason. He did nothing most of last year. Moss might be the closest thing to a lock among the rest of the DEs. So Schwan has a legit chance to make it as the 4th or 5th DE. I don't think we carry more than 5 DEs.
Link - ( New Window )
If you have a realistic chance of losing him (not that likely for UDFAs) than you consider cutting a Wynn, who will not be with the team next year, and protecting the longer term potential of Schwan.
He was stuck behind Carl Nassib and had to wait his turn like most college players. When he finally got his shot, he was very good.
A lot of players that are drafted are "one year wonders" because they had to wait their turn behind older, more experienced players.
His size, speed, and quickness cannot be taught. It's an inherited quality. I'm rooting for the kid. I'm afraid if he goes to the practice squad, some team like the Patriots will snatch him up in a heartbeat and we'll spend the next decade lamenting the fact that we had Schwan, but didn't protect him.
Schwan - ( New Window )
Last year Okwara showed that a guy buried on the depth chart could rise if he could make enough plays. Who would've guessed he'd be starting on a top NFL defense (even though the start was due to injury)?
This year could Schwan do the same?
Thank you for that!
I expected to be more impressed since it was a highlight reel. While it shows mainly the end of plays rather than the beginning, I notice quickness and persistence as his most positive traits.
But unfortunately, the thing that jumped out at me is that he will have to get a lot stronger to handle the NFL game. In particular, he looks like he needs to get his back much stronger to handle his height and weight in order to have a shot at winning any leverage battles with NFL OL. And he needs a stronger upper body also to keep them off him or he could be an easy target to get rag-dolled.
That might be the worst song I've ever heard.
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Came into the season as a questionable starter with very little production in his college career. Was really a pleasant surprise. Good character guy, really improved as a pass rusher his senior year. Very productive and stout against the run, but not an elite athlete in any sense. Could be a decent practice squad player if he continues to develop like he did between years 3-4.
He was stuck behind Carl Nassib and had to wait his turn like most college players. When he finally got his shot, he was very good.
A lot of players that are drafted are "one year wonders" because they had to wait their turn behind older, more experienced players.
His size, speed, and quickness cannot be taught. It's an inherited quality. I'm rooting for the kid. I'm afraid if he goes to the practice squad, some team like the Patriots will snatch him up in a heartbeat and we'll spend the next decade lamenting the fact that we had Schwan, but didn't protect him.
Agreed, but I have seen every game Schwan played in. He ws a liability until this prior year. Also note that Nassib was a one year wonder too. Even diehard Penn State fans were not high on Schwan going into the season. He definitely gained a lot of explosiveness and improved against the run.
As far as athleticism, he didn't strike me as very explosive in college. He worked out very well, but I think he lacks some suddenness of the elite players. Like I said not an elite athlete, but definitely a good enough one to be successful in the NFL.
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..... Link - ( New Window )
That might be the worst song I've ever heard.
Modern day hip hop in general might be my most hated music of all time. Most of the beats sound like someone pounding on a typewriter.
Reminds me of someone
For those of you who saw Ted Hendricks play, well, Ted was special...he was an amazing linebacker, both for the Colts and Raiders.
I'm not saying that Schwan is a future Hall of Fame guy, but I wouldn't mind seeing him try out at that position, if he can't get a spot as a DE. 4.6 speed isn't bad for an NFL linebacker.
More likely to Schwan than a stork, but keep hopping! ;-)
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I doubt he'd get through the waiver wire and if he did, he'd be stolen from the P.S. shortly thereafter. Pass rushing DE's his size and speed are in short supply and high demand. Too many teams need a player like that.
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some other team will snap him up, tough decision here...
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I doubt he'd get through the waiver wire and if he did, he'd be stolen from the P.S. shortly thereafter. Pass rushing DE's his size and speed are in short supply and high demand. Too many teams need a player like that.
And yet he went undrafted, and didn't appear to be a priority UDFA for anyone. The Giants signed him for the league minimum with no bonus.
First off, we don't know if he was a priority free agent for other teams or even how interested the Giants were in him. Scouts had him ranked anywhere from a 5th-7th rounder and at worst, a priority UDFA. Which as every draft proves, is pretty much meaningless. Any player drafted on the third day or goes undrafted is a crapshoot. Once in awhile the better wins going up against the house.
That spells S-T-E-A-L as well as L-U-C-K
Every year, some UDFA falls into the right program and excels in the NFL. Let me remind you that Victor Cruz was a UDFA that no team sought and was basically an afterthought for the Giants who simply gave him a shot because he was a local kid from Patterson, NJ. And everyone knows the "rest of the story", the kid turned out to be an NFL star. If it has happened to the Giants again, then it's a really nice break for us.
Can he make the team? Sure. Romeo Okwara did last year. Will he? I still say it's doubtful and that he's destined for the Practice Squad, if anything. The competition for spots at DE is a lot stiffer this year than it was last year, what with JPP's status more stable, the drafting of Avery Moss, and the signing of Devin Taylor.
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some other team will snap him up, tough decision here...
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I doubt he'd get through the waiver wire and if he did, he'd be stolen from the P.S. shortly thereafter. Pass rushing DE's his size and speed are in short supply and high demand. Too many teams need a player like that.
I would much rather keep a guy like Schwan who seems to have a big upside, according to Pat Traina, than keep some guy who may never see the field just to make numbers balance out...
I think our DEs breaking camp (5+1PS) will be OV, JPP, Taylor, Okwara and Moss with Schwan on the PS.