NFL Draft busts are nothing new and God knows every team has had them over the years. The New York Giants are no different, but then again, they are.
In Pro Football Focus’ recent list of the top 10 draft busts since they began scouting college players in 2014, the Giants placed two players on the list:
2016 ROUND 1, PICK 10: CB ELI APPLE, OHIO STATE
Ohio State has been a cornerback factory over the past half-decade, but Apple is one of the school’s few flops in the NFL. Unlike others on this list, though, Apple didn’t have many on-field red-flags to worry about. The biggest from a grading perspective was his tackling. Apple earned tackling grades of 61.3 and 53.7 in 2014 and 2015, respectively. We’ve seen that show up at times in the NFL, as he missed 19 tackles on 100 attempts in 2018.
I think the biggest thing here was simply overvaluing his skillset. He was good at Ohio State, but not near what we’ve seen from their other recent top picks from a grading and statistical standpoint. Apple earned and 82.0 coverage grade his final season at Ohio State and allowed 14 first downs in his coverage.
Apple never fit in with the Giants. He grappled with authority and with the help of his outspoken mother, managed to display an unusual level of immaturity. He was traded to the New Orleans Saints at the 2018 trading deadline for a 2019 fourth-round pick and a 2020 seventh-round pick. The Giants used that fourth round selection to up in the draft to take DeAndre Baker.
The second bust was probably the most obvious, although he has now turned his career around at another position.
2015 ROUND 1, PICK 9: OT ERECK FLOWERS, MIAMI (FL)
Flowers was a guy who graded out extremely well his final season at Miami with a 90.0 pass-blocking grade, but the tape showed a guy getting by on pure physical talent. He faced one quality edge defender all season long in Nebraska’s Randy Gregory and got put on skates a few times in that game. The first two lines of the “Weaknesses” section in his NFL.com scouting report by Lance Zierlein reads:
Pass protection needs plenty of work. Footwork gets sloppy and undisciplined, causing base to narrow.
That’s not unlike a lot of top college tackle prospects, though. It’s difficult to be a finished product at such a skilled position coming out. The problem was that three years into his career you saw the exact same issues.
Flowers was a mess at left tackle for the Giants and almost got Eli Manning beheaded numerous times with whiffs and miss assignments. The Giants ended up releasing him in October of 2018 after he failed to successfully make the switch from right tackle from the left side.
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