PFF regrades 2019 NFL draft: Giants take another tumble

Pro Football Focus has regraded the 2019 NFL draft and for the New York Giants, things look worse now than they did then.

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In looking back on the New York Giants’ 2019 draft class, it has — like many other team’s drafts — changed in perspective as time has passed.

The main thing to remember is that they made three picks in the first round, which were all questionable at the time, and two of the three could end in disaster if quarterback Daniel Jones doesn’t pan out.

Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus revisits the Giants’ 2019 draft, which began as above average and has taken a slight dip over the past two years.

NEW YORK GIANTS

Round 1 (6): QB Daniel Jones, Duke
Round 1 (17): DI Dexter Lawrence, Clemson
Round 1 (30): CB Deandre Baker, Georgia
Round 3 (95): EDGE Oshane Ximines, Old Dominion
Round 4 (108): CB Julian Love, Notre Dame
Round 5 (143): LB Ryan Connelly, Wisconsin
Round 5 (171): WR Darius Slayton, Auburn
Round 6 (180); CB Corey Ballentine, Washburn
Round 7 (232): OT George Asafo-Adjei, Kentucky
Round 7 (245): DI Chris Slayton, Syracuse

Then: Above Average
Now: Average

As bad as Deandre Baker looked as a rookie, it’s difficult to ding the Giants too much for the pick; off-field issues ended his time with the franchise. The relative merits of the Daniel Jones pick still looms large over the organization, but they got three other solid players in this draft in defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, defensive back Julian Love and wide receiver Darius Slayton.

To be clear, the Baker thing was more than a mess because they traded three picks to get back into the first round and have nothing to show for their efforts. This class naturally relies on the success of Jones. If he becomes a franchise quarterback, no one will care about Baker.

The positives to take away are exactly what Renner pointed out — Lawrence, Love and Slayton are all viable pieces. Ximines has a chance to still salvage his status but must stay healthy, something he has failed to do. Connelly looked like a gem but blew out his knee and the team gave up on him. Ballentine, Asafo-Adjei and Chris Slayton are no longer with the team.