I mean we're going to draft a LB in the first round one day

Just win, baby.





Which, y'know, they haven't.

You need interchangeable parts but I don't think you need 2 studs back there. You've got Martinez, who is only on a 3 year deal, he ties everything together. But if you're building your team around your down lineman and secondary, that 2nd guy is more of a luxury than key piece. Especially when you factor in the kind of defense that we're running, we're legitimately 4 deep at safety and corner with a lot of positional versatility with those guys. A few of our safeties and corners can play that off-ball role. I get why they liked Davis too, he can move like a DB...that's the key on the 2nd level here. You need LBs that can move like that or secondary players that can hold up physically. They need to be interchangeable because a lot of what we do is running pretty basic coverages but mixing up the responsibilities among the 2nd level guys to confuse the offense.

so understandable that we didn't invest as much capital in LB's. Harder to understand recently but I'd have been happy with Ojulari at 20 - so what difference does it make in the end? The idea is to get the players.

In comment 15264563 bluepepper said:

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so understandable that we didn't invest as much capital in LB's. Harder to understand recently but I'd have been happy with Ojulari at 20 - so what difference does it make in the end? The idea is to get the players.

We're not really running a 3-4 though. It's a mash unit. Ideally you've got a handful of jokers that can do everything and you supplement the defense around them. Short of that, you're mixing and matching skillsets, look at our late round LB picks last year and what they do to get an idea of what I'm talking about there. That stud edge or off-ball guy isn't completely necessary, you can get by without him, but if there's a guy there that checks all those boxes you move on him because he becomes one of those core interchangeable pieces.

as long as we dont have to even think about drafting a QB.

Whatever helps the team the most at the time. Our LB picks all became DE picks after the switch to a 4-3 defense back in the 90's. Edge defenders have certainly been picked high. If we are taking ILB or MLB we never drafted them in the first round; Pepper Johnson was a 2nd round pick. The 1st round picks were Taylor & Banks at OLB. Much as we try to forget we took Cedric Jones in the 1st round with the 5th pick back in 96'. We took Jason Pierre-Paul in the 1st round and Kiwanuka as well; Strahan & Umenyiora were 2nd rounders and Tuck was a 3rd.

As far as next year's offseason & draft I am looking at what were interested in this year. We got a playmaker on offense who is a threat to score on any given play like Saquon is; plus with DJ running one occasion these guys keep defensive coordinators up at night. We got some depth at CB, and we got two good young pass rushers who add to a talented young group at OLB.

According to all sources we were interested in Davonta Smith, who is not a slot guy but an outside receiver who wins out in space. We drafted Toney and he can do a lot of different things and I believe that he is best utilized when he can be moved around. With the contracts we have already I don't see another FA WR so I would not be surprised at all if we went after an outside receiver in the first round of next year's draft.

According to Trader Dave we were looking at offensive linemen throughout the draft but they kept getting chosen before our picks. DG probably learned the if the Giants grade an O-lineman high then they might consider raising the grades because they are obviously undervaluing them. I see us going after some more interior linemen on both sides of the ball to keep us strong in the trenches where it counts.

Depending on what we intend to do with Peppers & Engram I see us possibly looking for more young talent at Safety & Tight End.

...and maybe a young ILB in the 1st round

....

take what you can get...

we're going to have to deal with Micah Parsons for a long, long time.

He was ours for the taking, too.

Alas, his personality test trumped his film.

on another player

in round 1 -- maybe even 2

Could've had the late Thomas Howard, OLB, UTEP, in the same draft and saved themselves the trouble.

In comment 15264598 Klaatu said:

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....

Chubb was the Giants second choice after Barkley. Their board was reportedly Barkley, Chubb, Nelson, Darnold.

If they weren't scared off by the red flags I'm sure he would have been the guy this year.

In comment 15264604 bw in dc said:

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we're going to have to deal with Micah Parsons for a long, long time. He was ours for the taking, too. Alas, his personality test trumped his film.

not really fair. Would people like randy Gregory, josh Gordon, be worth it? It’s not perfect (e.g., Deandre Baker) but even there, if Baker’s test had flagged him, would it have been worth it?

Now, we don’t know Parsons future, but if he’s never available, are you still ruing passing him over? IMO, this was not a pick that we should have put at risk this year.

.

When you realize that their draft philosophy since Parcells left doesn't really value the LB position very high. They almost never take them in round 2 either.

They prefer to get their LBs out of the bargain bin or FA. Occasionally you get a Pierce, Kavika Mitchell, or Blake Martinez, but you get a lot more JAGs. And with predictable results.

You can argue the merit of their philosophy, but it should't baffle you. It's been consistent for decades.

In comment 15264661 Bill L said:

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In comment 15264604 bw in dc said: Quote: we're going to have to deal with Micah Parsons for a long, long time. He was ours for the taking, too. Alas, his personality test trumped his film. not really fair. Would people like randy Gregory, josh Gordon, be worth it? It’s not perfect (e.g., Deandre Baker) but even there, if Baker’s test had flagged him, would it have been worth it? Now, we don’t know Parsons future, but if he’s never available, are you still ruing passing him over? IMO, this was not a pick that we should have put at risk this year.

I'm not really complaining. The theme is LBs we passed over in the draft, so it makes sense to bring up Parsons.

If he becomes this monster player some predict, Parsons is going to be a real pain in the ass to deal with twice a season.

When the offense sucked so bad?

You don't need to draft a LB in rd 1 when your offense is ranked 31st.

If your offense was as bad as it was last year- wouldn't it mean there should be more of a concern on drafting quality offensive players rather than LB?

they may not be fine. There is some investments at LB now. Just like there are investments at O-Line. Have to let these young players develop before we can say that the offense sucks or the defense sucks. We are just going to have to wait and see. All I can say is that I am optimistic at both sides of the football.