Shaun O’Hara blasts pick of Davis Webb as “a waste”

No offense to sixth-round pick Adam Bisnowaty, but for the second straight NFL Draft the New York Giants basically ignored trying to help their offensive line. Former New York Giants center and current NFL analyst Shaun O’Hara didn’t like it one bit.

Via NJ Advance Media:

"You're going to draft a quarterback that's not going to play for at least 3-4 years? Eli hasn't missed a game in his entire career - not one game," O'Hara said during the NFL Network's broadcast of the draft. "They still have some holes on the offensive line."

O'Hara's comments were made before the Giants packaged their sixth- and seven-round picks in a trade with the Titans to move up seven spots to pick Bisnowaty. It's unlikely that pick would have changed O'Hara's opinion after the Giants bypassed offensive linemen earlier to draft Webb.

"I look at this draft and I can't believe that they're again not going to help out on the offensive line, create some more competition," O'Hara said. "To me, that third-round pick was a waste. I think that quarterback Webb, as good as his arm is, he's not going to see the field. So now any other position, you would not draft a guy in the third round and say, 'Hey, maybe we'll see you in three or four years down the road.' No. This is Eli Manning's prime. You just went out and got Brandon Marshall. You added D.J. Fluker to the offensive line. You have a great opportunity now to make a huge statement, protect Eli and help him out. I think they're missing out on it."

O’Hara, of course, isn’t exactly objective on the subject of the offensive line, or Eli Manning. Still, the Giants didn’t take an offensive lineman in the 2016 NFL Draft, and the only one they took in 2017 is a guy unlikely to make any sort of significant contribution this season.

Let’s look at the draft and see where the Giants could have taken an offensive lineman.

Round 1

The Giants took tight end (at least, that’s what we will call him) Evan Engram. They could have taken Ryan Ramczyk, Cam Robinson or Forrest Lamp, all of whom likely would have competed for a starting spot somewhere on the line.

Round 2

The Giants chose defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. Among the offensive linemen they left on the board were Dion Dawkins, Taylor Moton, Antonio Garcia and Dan Feeney. Dawkins, Moton and Garcia were particularly attractive targets, but the Giants liked Tomlinson too much to let him pass.

Round 3

Webb. This is the choice that really got under O’Hara’s skin. Someone has to be Manning’s eventual successor, and if Webb turns out to be that guy the Giants will be proven right. They could, however, have snagged an offensive lineman to help their current quarterback. Garcia went two picks before the Giants were on the clock. The Giants left guards Doran Johnson and Nico Siragusa on the board to take Webb. The real argument here might be letting the New England Patriots move in front of them to select Garcia. Again, this all comes down to what Webb turns into.

Round 4

The Giants rook running back Wayne Gallman. Maybe they would have taken Gallman regardless, but to me this was a big missed opportunity for an offensive lineman. The Giants dropped from 23rd to 34th in this round because of the walkie-talkie penalty. Between 23 and 31 in the fourth round, four offensive lineman were selected.

The penalty cost the Giants opportunities to select Florida offensive tackle David Sharpe (Raiders, 23rd), Bucknell offensive tackle Julie’n Davenport (Texans, 24th), Oregon St. guard Sean Harlow (Falcons, 30th) and USC offensive tackle Zach Banner (Colts, 31st).

Even having been knocked down 10 spots, the Giants still could have selected from offensive tackles Roderick Johnson and Will Holden or guards Isaac Asiata and Jermaine Eluemenor.

So, is O’Hara right?

Was the pick of Webb “a waste?” Personally, I think that’s harsh. I do think, though, that even if they considered this a weak offensive line class the Giants didn’t do something in the first three to four rounds to add talent and competition to what they already have.

Your thoughts, Giants fans?