Who will the New York Giants select with the 11th overall pick on Thursday night at the NFL draft? No one is sure, but there is one person who believes he might have more insight than many mock drafters.
Greg Gabriel, a longtime confidant of Giants general manager Dave Gettleman, told the New York Post he doesn’t know exactly who Gettleman will settle on come Thursday night but knows what his old friend values in his draft picks.
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“I’ve known Dave for close to 40 years,” Gabriel said. “Number one, he’s a good friend and I know he’s a very good evaluator. … Chemistry is very important in his mind. It’s team building, you’ve got to have the right people in the locker room. And you got to rely on your scouts to get you that proper information so you know you’re getting the right people in the locker room.”
The Post’s Paul Schwartz writes:
Getting the right people in the locker room was part of the job description for Gabriel, and Gettleman, when they worked together for four years (1998-2001) with the Giants. Gettleman, 70, and Gabriel, who turns 70 in early May, are lifers when it comes to evaluating players. Gettleman has more than 30 years of experience as an NFL scout and executive. Gabriel was in the NFL for 30 years (17 with the Giants), was the scouting director for the Bears for nine years and most recently was the personnel director of the D.C. Defenders in the XFL before it shut down.
We have seen that thus far in Gettleman’s three drafts with the Giants. All of his first-round picks have proved to be solid players and citizens with the exception of cornerback DeAndre Baker, who the team swore had no red flags before the draft.
Gabriel stresses that the No. 1 priority should be to protect the quarterback, in this case Daniel Jones.
“I don’t know exactly how they set their board now, but subconsciously you always set up things according to need,” Gabriel said. “You push a guy up a little higher, maybe, because of the need. They took a tackle [Andrew Thomas] last year, could they take another tackle? It never hurts.”
At No. 11 that would be either Penei Sewell or Rashawn Slater. If both are off the board, the pick would likely be another offensive weapon such as a wide receiver.
“Rule number two, get him weapons. They got [Jones] a number-one wide receiver in free agency [Kenny Golladay]. The draft is also very deep at the wide receiver position, so they can get a receiver that is very good later in the draft. If a top offensive lineman is there that might be the direction they go,” Gabriel said.