The New York Giants have received hefty praise for their 2019 draft class, which comes with a thick serving of irony given how critical many are of general manager Dave Gettleman and his perceived misuse of analytics.
Already this offseason, the Giants have seen their rookies lauded, even topping their NFC East rivals with a letter grade of “A-” courtesy of Nick Shook of NFL.com.
That praised continued recently with NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice and Nick Shook releasing their final 2019 rookie power rankings, in which Big Blue checked in fourth overall.
NEW YORK GIANTS: A-
The Giants made the most of their haul from the Odell Beckham trade, which landed them, in part, the 17th overall pick, by selecting Lawrence, who had a solid rookie season. New York also might have found its franchise QB in Jones, answering a huge question for the team’s foundation. Baker had a tough start but finished strong and stands to make a significant improvement in Year 2. Ximines was effective in his first season despite making just two starts, recording 4.5 sacks. Love is an exciting young player for the back end of New York’s defense. Darius Slayton was an excellent find in the fifth round. Ballentine struggled with a position change to the slot, but he could improve with more time.
The only three teams to check in ahead of the Giants were the Jacksonville Jaguars (third, A-), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second, A-) and San Francisco 49ers (first, A).
The argument could be made that the Giants’ rookies were actually better than both the Jaguars’ and Buccaneers’, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue they were better than the haul San Francisco walked away with.
Interestingly however, the 49ers received credit for drafting tight end Kaden Smith, who ultimately ended up with the Giants.
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