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The New York Giants are looking for a receiver to take pressure off Odell Beckham Jr. in 2016. Draftniks are buzzing about this guy and that guy as potential options to line up opposite him. How about someone to draw attention towards the middle? Could a new man in the slot help this offense fire on all cylinders? If it is, then Daniel Braverman, a lot of player in a small package, could be a name to keep an eye on.
Measurables
All data is collected from player's Pro-Day.
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 177 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.47 seconds
Vertical jump: 28.5 inches
Broad jump: 9 feet, 4 inches
Short shuttle: 4.2 seconds
3-cone: 6.86 seconds
Bench: 10 reps
Pros
- Slot-receiver with deep-threat potential.
- Sure hands.
- Noticeably strong route-running and footwork.
- Can make players miss early in the route, and after the catch.
- Blocks better than you could expect from a 5-foot-10 receiver.
Cons
- Small stature will naturally limit him to slot duty.
- May struggle to break tackles at next level.
- Lean frame, even for a short receiver. He doesn't appear short so much as shrunken.
- Though he may resemble Wes Welker, he in no way has the same catch radius.
Prospect Video
Big Board Rankings
Big Blue View - Unranked*
Mocking The Draft - Unranked
CBS - 152nd
Draft Tek - 252nd
*New BBV Big Board due this week. I have Braverman ranked 81st. Very high on him.
Does He Fit With the Giants?
When given a short white slot receiver, most people will immediately compare him to one of a few players. All have been New England Patriots at one point or another; Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Danny Woodhead. Naturally, one could imagine Braverman ending up as Tom Brady's leading receiver in 2024 (Brady is immortal, don't deny it).
However, to me, Braverman reminds me of a player partly responsible for taking down the Pats in a Super Bowl year rather than spurring them on to glory. I'm talking about Victor Cruz. Now follow me here. Braverman is a slot guy who can get open deep and makes guys miss or simply speeds by them once he has the ball. That's Cruz!
So, yeah, Braverman could fit with the Giants. For all his successes last year, Dwayne Harris isn't the type of player that Cruz was in his prime, and there's still time for good ol' Victor to return to form, but wouldn't Braverman be excellent Day 3 insurance if that isn't the case? It seems silly to bank on a player who hasn't played since early in 2014, and this little Western Michigan guy would be an interesting way to boost depth at a position where the team really need a lot of help.
Final Thoughts
I think Braverman is a starting wide receiver in this league, but I don't think people value slot guys the same as outside personnel, so he's likely going to go late in the draft. The Giants need to adopt a Belichickian philosophy of getting as many talented players as possible and then working their scheme to fit around them. If you think Braverman isn't worth a fourth or fifth round pick, go look at the video above from DraftBreakdown. At around the 2:30 mark he makes an over the shoulder catch between two DBs. The one matched up on Braverman? That's Eli Apple; likely first-round cornerback. Sit with that for a while.