Palladino: Giants Must Go O-Line First To Shore Up Unstable Blocking
By Ernie Palladino
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It made total sense for Jerry Reese to tell the media last week that he has no plans to move out of Thursday night's 23rd pick in the NFL Draft.
A general manager can get a quality offensive lineman down there. And that's exactly what the Giants need.
With no Eli Manning-type player in this draft to entice him into major upward mobility, Reese's answer to a tongue-in-cheek opening hinted at more truthfulness than gamesmanship or humor.
"We decided we are going to take our pick at 23," the general manager answered when asked about his ultimate target.
Unless Reese has pulled the proverbial wool over everybody's eyes, he will indeed stick at No. 23 and choose -- Ta-Dah!!!! -- either Wisconsin's Ryan Ramczyk, Utah's Garrett Bolles, or Alabama's Cam Robinson.
It's no coincidence that that trio represents a melange of offensive tackles, at least two of whom should be available to the Giants. If they do take one of them, it will mark the third time in five drafts they've gone O-line in the first round.
Clearly, the rebuild Reese started in 2013 with 19th overall pick Justin Pugh and continued in 2014 with second-round center Weston Richburg and 2015 first-rounder Ereck Flowers has yet to reach completion. The line was a mess; a major reason behind the near-total lack of a running game and the spiral from Manning's downfield-looking air game of 2015 to the constant check downs of 2016.
With Marshall Newhouse and John Jerry starting, the right side basically failed to exist. Once 23-year-old left tackle Flowers inexplicably lost the ability to count to three, the left side deteriorated into a unit beset by false starts and holding flags.
Flowers' best block of the season came not on the field, but after an October game against the Packers when he pushed an ESPN reporter away from his locker.
Signing former Chargers first-round lineman D.J. Fluker could give Ben McAdoo the flexibility to move Flowers to the right side, where he is more comfortable. But the 26-year-old Fluker had his issues protecting Philip Rivers' blind side. He's not a sure thing to stabilize any part of the line.
Taking one of the young linemen could check off the "Best available" and "Need" boxes in one shot.
Ramczyk made a big splash with the Badgers in 2016, his only season in Division I after transferring from junior college. Scouts say he has excellent hands and is quick with the punch, something Flowers struggled with last season.
The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder is projected as a potential Day 1 starter on the left side. He'd look awfully nice next to the veteran guile Pugh brings at left guard. Comparisons to San Francisco's five-time Pro Bowler Joe Staley don't hurt the reputation, either.
The 6-5, 297-pound Bolles presents a lighter and quicker option. He plays with a purpose, having overcome teenage behavioral problems to dedicate himself to work and religion. Besides that, he plays with a mean streak that will only grow under an NFL weight-training program.
Robinson has a Flowers-like frame at 6-6, 322, but brings more athleticism to the position. Plus, having started three years for the Crimson Tide, he has had success against some of the SEC's best edge rushers, some of whom now find themselves in the NFL.
MORE: Keidel: Giants Would Be So Lucky To Have McCaffrey Available At 23
All this can change as the names come off the board, of course. And it's unlikely that anyone in this draft outside of Stanford's do-it-all running back Christian McCaffery will entice Reese into making the first first-round trade of his career.
He'll most likely hold to his initial feelings, stay put at No. 23, and take the best of what falls to him.
Lucky for a general manager needing to shore up an unstable blocking game, an offensive lineman might pop as the best of the rest.
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