Michael Strahan is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the New York Giants’ Ring of Honor, and he will long be remembered as one of the most dominant football players of his era.
And that’s exactly what the Giants and general manager Dave Gettleman hope to find here in 2020.
Ralph Vacchiano of the SNY reports that the Giants are in search of a “Michael Strahan-type player” who will dramatically alter the offensive approach of their opponents.
One team source said the Giants are definitely looking for that “Michael Strahan-type player” who can change the approach of an opposing offense all by himself. But unless Young falls to them at 4, they’re skeptical that such a player exists in this year’s draft. They’d have to take a shot at a second-tier player on the second day, like Wisconsin’s Zack Baun, Notre Dame’s Julian Okwara, or Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos.
And they’ll be in the same bind when it comes to free agency. They’ll likely take their shot at Jadeveon Clowney, but they are privately worried that any of the non-tagged pass rushers will end up priced way above what the Giants are willing to pay.
There are 32 teams looking for a “Michael Strahan-type player,” so that’s not exactly a revelation. However, the notion that no such player exists in the 2020 NFL Draft is a curious thought considering how well Chase Young and Isaiah Simmons performed at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
Arguably, there isn’t an all-around talent like Strahan becoming available in free agency, so that skepticism is warranted. But Young and Simmons not being considered in that Strahan-like group? They may play a different style of football, but they seem to possess that game-changing gene the Giants so desperately need on the defensive side of the ball.
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