When David Gettleman made the divisive call to trade Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns in early March he had signalled to rest of the NFL that the New York Giants were taking a sledgehammer to their foundations and entering rebuild mode.
But with a salary cap suffocating from an abundance of dead money and with the inconsistent recruiting from the Jerry Reese era still lingering like forgotten milk, this is no over-night fix for the New York Giants.
With holes covering this team like mice-bitten cheese, Gettleman cannot afford to get this wrong. And so, with an array of draft picks permeating throughout the entire forthcoming draft, this is how Gettleman must begin to awake the sleeping Giants from this scarring nightmare.
1) Do not trade up for a quarterback. There are too many holes throughout this whole Giants team to squander draft capital on a quarterback leading a somewhat mediocre class. Gettleman must stay at six, Murray will be gone but if Haskins drops then take him by all means. The Buckeye quarterback can ball in the pocket, just don’t dance with a bleak future to get him
2) If either Murray or Haskins fail to fall through the metaphorical trap door of the top five draft picks then ‘the best man available’ mantra enters the forefront of the Giants plan.
Defensive Tackle Ed Oliver, a player with tremendous upside and someone who has drawn comparisons with Aaron Donald would prove to be a priceless fit alongside Dalvin Tomlinson and BJ Hill in Bettcher’s 3-4 scheme. The other choice is to take a Devin Bush or Clelin Ferrell, a pass rusher reminiscent of what Giants fans would call the good old days.
3) Continue to build the defence.
With Janoris ‘Jackrabbit’ Jenkins’ best days entering the rear-view mirror, a solid corner at seventeen is a necessity this year. Greedy Williams, Deandre Baker or Byron Murphy would all prove to be exciting additions to this depleted defence currently holding tightly to the hope that supplemental-draft pick cornerback, Sam Beal will unlock his unknown potential.
4) Early second round: attention must swing back to the offensive line. Ideally Darryl Williams would have salvaged the Giants recent free agency period following the acquisition of Kevin Zeitler.
Sadly, for them he chose to stay in Carolina for another season. But with a draft class thriving with potential in both the left and right-tackle departments, the Giants can still acquire the protection Eli Manning has been starved off in recent times with a selection like Andre Dillard.
5) Find the future cornerstone of this team.
This is a must for Gettleman this year if the Giants are to leave this perpetual crossroad of poor draft acquisitions in the right direction. Doing this however is no strange feat for Gettleman who demonstrated his capability to acquire talent in the mid-rounds of the NFL draft in the form of Lorenzo Carter and BJ Hill a year ago.
Following this philosophy will not bring immediate success by any means but it will bring stability, youth and hunger to a team that reeks of desperation and starved talent.