The New York Giants and general manager Joe Schoen entered the offseason with concern over their depth along the defensive line.
Despite adding several bodies throughout free agency, Schoen decided to continue piling on quantity during the 2023 NFL draft. And with pick No. 243 overall in Round 7, they selected Oregon defensive tackle Jordon Riley.
Riley is a massive body at 6-foot-5 and 338 pounds. Here is a brief background (pre-Oregon) courtesy of Sports Illustrated:
Jordon Riley is a transfer from Nebraska. Before Nebraska, Riley spent one season at Garden City CC, appearing in nine games. He finished with 26 tackles, two sacks and 3.5 TFLs. Became a leader on a Garden City defense that limited opponents to 289.0 yards of total offense and 125.0 rushing yards per game. At Nebraska last season, he saw action in 10 games, recording seven tackles and one TFL. He was also a part of the Academic All-Big Ten team in 2021.
Don Smalley of Ducks Wire also offered this take on Riley following his pro day:
Oregon Ducks defensive lineman Jordon Riley was most likely not on NFL scouts’ immediate radar, but after the Oregon Pro Day event held inside the Moshofsky Center, Riley might now be a blip on that radar screen.
The big 6-foot-5, 338-pounder showed his speed and agility with good times in the 40-yard dash and in the 10-yard split. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to show his strength as he skipped the bench presses.
But there’s much more to being an effective defensive lineman than raw feats of strength. There’s technique, determination and drive to get to the opposing quarterback or to make a big play when the team needs it the most. It’s called intangibles and Riley has plenty of those and then some.
Riley joins a rotation that includes A’Shawn Robinson, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, and D.J. Davidson.
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