Regrading the Giants '20 draft?

that Lemieux might start at LG this year was comical.

arguably the best 2 player draft in 15 years. 2010 was Linval Joseph and JPP which was Jerry Reeses best draft duo.

and I think that's a good grade considering the Giants did (or should have) drafted in the top 4 of every round.

It was a 2 player draft, and they hit big on the first two. I live the AT pick at the time, and McKinney was a legit quality starter before his injury this year.

Trading away the 3rd rounder to the Jets for LW sucks, and the rest of the picks are meh or suck, IMO. Maybe Holmes is better than meh, but he has way too many penalties.

But the first two picks turn a bad draft into a B+ for me.

is the definition of meh. Lemieux was the worst guard in the league the year he played and has been hurt since. Pointing to him as a positive was so laughable. But yes. Thomas and McKinney make it a very good draft.

It really helps the draft as a whole. For that alone, a solid B in my opinion.

In comment 16122284 ElitoCanton said:

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is the definition of meh. Lemieux was the worst guard in the league the year he played and has been hurt since. Pointing to him as a positive was so laughable. But yes. Thomas and McKinney make it a very good draft.

Not saying Lemieux is great by any means, but the run game improved significantly when he stepped in for Hernandez. Ever since it’s been injury city, but let’s not discount how much better the run game was when Lemieux stepped in a few years back.

pass blocking guard in the league. Gave up immediate inside pressure multiple times every single game. He was terrible and didn't improve at all over the course of the season.

… the impact was probably felt more in the cap cost of tagging and then extending Williams than the opportunity cost of the two draft picks. That third round didn’t produce many success stories. Ashtyn Davis, whom the Jets took at #66, is a mediocre safety who has been hurt a lot. Of course, the Giants would have picked a different player. We’ll never know who it might have been.

Getting really good players from the first two rounds is critical and AT represents the first upper tier OL drafted since 2004. Couple solid special teamers.

If Peart or Lemieux somehow become a quality starter I'd bump it up a notch and one needs to be at a least a quality backup imv.

In comment 16122284 ElitoCanton said:

Quote:

is the definition of meh. Lemieux was the worst guard in the league the year he played and has been hurt since. Pointing to him as a positive was so laughable. But yes. Thomas and McKinney make it a very good draft.

Yet, despite your expert evaluation of Lemieux, Daboll had him as the starting LG.

AT is great, but he was the fourth pick in the draft. He better be. McKinney was drafted 36th overall, and while he's a good player at a non-premium position he has yet to make a pro bowl in his short time with the team.

The rest so far seems to be JAGs. Unacceptable picking 4th. I give it a C.

Especially when there wasn't a true consensus with all of those tackles that year. In fact Thomas started out as the favorite but every pundit kept pushing him to 3rd or 4th. Thankfully, they stuck to their conviction and nailed the pick.

That alone makes that draft solid - you get a stud at one of the most premium positions on a football team.

I like McKinney, but we are going into year 4 and he hasn't really broken out yet. We are still talking about solid play with flashes with him. Health is a big reason...if he does reach his ceiling, I actually think this is a great draft.

The fact that Holmes has played as much as he has (albeit unspectacular) is great value for a 4th rounder, and Lemieux can still eventually become something if he stays healthy.

B+, teetering on A-

...and again was projected to start for Daboll's staff, so clearly the coaches on two different staffs view him differently than many on BBI. And if he has a healthy year, I expect he will figure in at some point this year, maybe not as a starter (because Day 2 draft picks Ezeudu and JMS are penciled at LG and OC), but as a top reserve who will likely see time. He is a seriously underrated player on BBI!

In comment 16122352 mikeinbloomfield said:

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AT is great, but he was the fourth pick in the draft. He better be.

Saying "he better be" is all well and good, but how many times does it not work out for a top 5 pick? The hit rate when it comes to being consistent Pro Bowl players is below 50% and oftentimes they are outright busts (see Clelin Ferrell from the year before).

since 07 probably.

He was probably the best non-QB pick in the top 20 of that draft. Wirfs may have been slightly better value at #10, but not at #4, IMO. Jefferson was a steal at #22; he wasn't a consideration anywhere near #4.

I'm far less enamored with McKinney at #36, playing a non-premium position. He was nothing special as a rookie, very good in 2021, then less noteworthy in 2022 - even before the injury. And no matter how one feels about his vacation plans for the bye, he's responsible for the results. Also, while I understand the advantages of having a linebacker set the defense, it's not exactly a tribute to McKinney that a newly-signed UFA from a different system is wearing the blue dot.

Not denigrating the McKinney pick, just withholding judgment a little longer.

... is the number of successful NFL players taken behind him in that round. In contrast to the usual difficulty of drafting well, Round 2 in 2020 was about as close to shooting fish in a barrel as it gets. Still plenty of busts, but several legit stars like Jalen Hurts, Jonathan Taylor (pre-injury), Trevon Diggs (sort of), and Antoine Winfield, plus a boatload of solid starters.