Not much news surrounding the New York Giants for this Tuesday. Owamagbe Odighizuwa is apparently stepping away from football, and no explanation has yet been uncovered. Johnathan Hankins is still a free agent, and there hasn’t been a bit of news about him for a while.
Let’s take the opportunity to get caught up on some of the chatter surrounding the 2017 NFL Draft.
Todd McShay’s Prospect Tiers
ESPN’s Todd McShay is out with his draft tier rankings. [Insider only]. What is really interesting about these is that the tier rankings, rather than straight “round” grade or ranking of prospects 1-300 is much closer to how NFL teams actually build their value boards.
McShay has only one player (Myles Garrett) with a Tier 1 grade and only nine players overall with grades as obvious top 20 picks. He has 10 other players with pure first-round grades, making only 19 true first-round players.
That really isn’t all that surprising. Giants’ GM Jerry Reese has said in the past there are usually only 20-25 first-round players and that the bottom of the first round, where the Giants pick, is really the beginning of the second round.
ND’s Brian Kelly: DeShone Kizer Not Ready
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly apparently does not believe quarterback DeShone Kizer is NFL ready, as a player or as a person.
Notre Dame HC @CoachBrianKelly: DeShone Kizer should still be in college. Needs more time to grow on & off field. He isn't complete yet.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) April 3, 2017
SB Nation’s Richard Johnson thinks Kelly was out of bounds.
It is not uncommon for NFL teams to reach out to coaches to talk about former players. Kelly’s about as close as you’ll get to an authority on Kizer beyond family and friends. But satellite radio probably isn’t the best way to bring up Kizer’s maturity.
Whether the comments are honest or not isn’t the issue. The comments are counterproductive. That’s not to say Kelly should lie; the question is why even bring it up in the first place? What does Kelly gain by saying Kizer needs to grow up off the field?
Where Does Jabrill Peppers Fit In The NFL?
Chris profiled Michigan Jabrill Peppers recently, and many fans wonder how or if the multi-talented Peppers fits with the Giants.
Bleacher Report’s Doug Farrar did a film study of Peppers, and here is what he concluded about where Peppers fits as an NFL player:
Peppers' optimal NFL future is as a slot defender and strong safety in the short term with a more expansive coverage role over time. A team can peg him as a hybrid linebacker if it wants based on his 2016 tape, but it'd be selling him short. He's less a thumper and more a Honey Badger.
More Headlines
- Draft’s stud running backs can give Giants a tough choice | New York Post
- NFL draft 2017: One position that each team needs to address | SBNation.com