Good morning, Giants fans! Here are your Friday morning headlines.
Could Giants look at Isaiah Battle in the NFL Supplemental Draft?
The NFL will hold its annual Supplemental Draft on July 9, which will feature seven players eligible to be selected. The biggest possible drawback for teams is that if they do pick one of the eligible players, they will lose their pick in next year's regular draft for the round in which the player was selected. As an example, Josh Gordon was selected in the second round of the 2012 supplemental draft by the Cleveland Browns. Because of this, the Browns forfeited their second round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Now, no player has been selected in the supplemental draft since Gordon, but this year might be the year when that streak is broken. The player garnering the most attention is Isaiah Battle, a former offensive tackle at Clemson. Battle has played at both tackle positions while starting 16 games for the Tigers over the past three seasons. Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing more than 300 pounds, Battle is a raw athlete with quick feet that could make him a fit in a zone-blocking scheme. Battle, a Brooklyn native, would add to the depth on the Giants' offensive line, but probably could not step in and start right away. Still, considering the Giants' injuries on the offensive line, selecting Battle may be something for general manager Jerry Reese to ponder.
"He's got good range, moves well for a big man,'' an AFC scout said. "He just needs to get stronger, both in the upper body and lower body. You watch his games last year and he was a lot better at the end of the season than he was at the beginning. There's some upside there. Now, if you're looking for a guy to come in and start right away, I don't know that. But if you're OK with him for a year, maybe two, you might have something really good.''
NFL Players React to NBA Free Agency
NBA Free Agency started on Wednesday, and multiple players cashed in. When it comes to NBA contracts, most are fully guaranteed. In just the first day of free agency alone, NBA free agents collected a total of more than one BILLION (with a b) guaranteed dollars, partially due to the salary cap scheduled to skyrocket in the next few years, meaning teams are spending more than in the past. Here are how some NFL players reacted:
All this guaranteed money NBA throwing. Meanwhile the NFL, which generates the most money wont even make the league minimum $1M
— Duke Ihenacho (@NachoLyfe) July 1, 2015
Boy these NBA contracts!
— T.J. Ward (@BossWard43) July 1, 2015
These NBA contracts are crazy!!! Happy for the the players in that League #NBAFreeAgency
— Brian Orakpo (@rak98) July 2, 2015
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Enjoy your fourth of July holiday weekend, everyone!
[Editor's Note: Stephen Milewski is a Syracuse University student and newest member of the Big Blue View staff. Stephen will be handling the 'Morning Report' on occasion, as well as helping with other news items.]