I have listed below the 4 year draft history of GM Dave Gettleman when he was with the Panthers.
Please review his drafts and do the following:
1. Provide a letter grade for his 4 years of drafting
2. Provide 2-3 sentences on why you selected that grade
3. In another 2-3 sentences-point out any tendencies that you think might provide clues to his first Giants draft.
Year Rnd Pick Pos College/Univ
2017 1 Christian McCaffrey 8 RB Stanford
2017 2 Curtis Samuel 40 WR Ohio St.
2017 2 Taylor Moton 64 G West. Michigan
2017 3 Daeshon Hall 77 DE Texas A& M
2017 5 Corn Elder 152 CB Miami (FL)
2017 6 Alex Armah 192 FB West Georgia
2017 7 Harrison Butker 233 K Georgia Tech
Year Rnd Player Pick Pos College/Univ
2016 1 Vernon Butler 30 DT Louisiana Tech
2016 2 James Bradberry 62 CB Samford
2016 3 Daryl Worley 77 CB West Virginia
2016 5 Zack Sanchez 141 CB Oklahoma
2016 7 Beau Sandland 252 TE Montana St.
Year Rnd Player Pick Pos College/Univ
2015 1 Shaq Thompson 25 OLB Washington
2015 2 Devin Funchess 41 TE Michigan
2015 4 Daryl Williams 102 G Oklahoma
2015 5 David Mayo 169 LB Texas St.
2015 5 Cameron Artis-Payne 174 RB Auburn
Year Rnd Player Pick Pos College/Univ
2014 1 Kelvin Benjamin 28 WR Florida St.
2014 2 Kony Ealy 60 DE Missouri
2014 3 Trai Turner 92 OL LSU
2014 4 Tre Boston 128 DB North Carolina
2014 5 Bene Benwikere 148 DB San Jose St.
2014 6 Tyler Gaffney 204 RB Stanford
Some of the takeaways I remember were:
Big bodies up front both sides of the ball.
Not afraid to cluster draft (grab same position in multiple rounds)
I would add, based on last year it’s relevant that he took McCaffrey (a much lesser prospect than Barkley) in the top 10so it appears he’s not afraid spending a high pick on a talented RB.
I'm convinced that, if DG trades down in the 1st round (for the proverbial "boatload" of picks), he will also use these picks as ammo to target his most wanted players
Drafts look pretty average to me.
The Shaq Thompson pick has always been a head scratcher to me. They already had Keuchly and Davis. Not that he's a bad player, but he gets limited snaps behind those 2 in todays NFL where 3 LB's are hardly ever on the field at the same time.
Same with the Vernon Butler pick. They already had Short and Lotulelei on the roster, both were high picks. With Star Lotulelei moving on, Butler will become the starter most likely next to Short this year, but it seemed like a weird pick at the time. They had DT locked down for at least 2 years with Short and Lotuleli. IMO it doesn't make sense to draft a non QB in the 1st round and sit him for half of his rookie contract.
Although some of those players are gone, he has turned them into other assets, showing they still had value...examples Kony Early, Daryl Worley, and Kelvin Benjamin.
Really made some nice value picks late. Loved the Corn Elder pick last year in the 5th and Beau Sandland (even though he has yet to make an impact) in the 7th round.
Training Turner in the 3rd was a nice pick.
I really did not like the Zack Sanchez pick at the time and still don't. It was just a 5th rounder, but when the guy is burnt toast that often in college, he's probably not going to play better in the pros.
In terms of trends here are 2 I notice:
1. He has no problem draft hybrid players or players who have the versatility to present matchup issues. Funchess, Shaq Thompson, Samuel, even Mccaffrey and Benjamin. This might bode well for Barkley whose size and speed present matchup problems. Maybe he'd make a move up for someone like M Fitzpatrick or Derwin James in the unlikely event they slip past 10. Or in round 2 someone like Ronnie Harrison.
2. In terms of colleges he seems to not choose as many SEC/ACC guys - which are probably the 2 biggest pro producing conferences. A lot of big 10/12, Stanford, good chunk small schools. This would certainly bode well again for Barkley, and for 2nd rounders Will Hernandez, Harrison Phillips, Maurice Hurst, Corbett, Billy Price.
Drafts look pretty average to me.
The Shaq Thompson pick has always been a head scratcher to me. They already had Keuchly and Davis. Not that he's a bad player, but he gets limited snaps behind those 2 in todays NFL where 3 LB's are hardly ever on the field at the same time.
Same with the Vernon Butler pick. They already had Short and Lotulelei on the roster, both were high picks. With Star Lotulelei moving on, Butler will become the starter most likely next to Short this year, but it seemed like a weird pick at the time. They had DT locked down for at least 2 years with Short and Lotuleli. IMO it doesn't make sense to draft a non QB in the 1st round and sit him for half of his rookie contract.
Davis and Keuchly have always been ticking time bombs due to injuries and concussions, respectively, so the Thompson pick was not unreasonable.
What players were available at the time of each selection and whom did he pass on?
I am happy in the fact he has a lot of options at #2, and each day is more confusing try to read the signals of which way they are going.
If he does trade down from #2, he probably will use extra picks to trade up later