Merging past drafts of Dave Gettleman, Pat Shurmur

New coach and new general manager almost always mean new quarterback in the draft. The New York Giants situation is not your typical situation, however, as the owner continues to cling on to his fondness for the franchise’s best all-time quarterback.

They say the past is often the best indicator of the future. Operating under the assumption that the Giants will continue to try and merge philosophy of coach and general manager I thought it might be a worthwhile exercise to take a look at the first couple of drafts for both GM Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur when they received their first opportunities as men in charge.

The 2011 Browns finished 4-12. Obviously not a terrific season, but considering their quarterbacks were Seneca Wallace and Colt McCoy they were for the most part competitive. The following off-season was an interesting one for the Browns.

In the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft they ended up with two picks: they selected Trent Richardson third overall (after they traded up with Minnesota one spot — what a debacle that turned out to be for the Browns). They also ended up selecting QB Brandon Weeden, offensive linemen Mitchell Schwartz, DT John Hughes, and in the fourth round WR Travis Benjamin.

What can we learn from Shurmur’s first two drafts? It’s hard to know how much say he had exactly because he wasn’t making final decisions. But the Browns drafted drafted a lot of big bodies early. In 2011, their first two picks were defensive tackle Phil Taylor and defensive end Jabaal Sheard. In 2012, offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz was a second-round pick.

Dave Gettleman has a reputation as a hard-nosed negotiator and callous decision-maker who will cut bait with a player despite his popularity. When Gettleman took over the the Panthers they already had a young franchise QB in Cam Newton.

Gettleman entered the draft without a third-round pick (traded away the year before), or a seventh-round pick (traded for Louis Murphy).

The Panthers first two selections were defensive linemen Star Lotulelei and Kawaan Short. They followed those up with G Edmund Kugabilia, LB A.J. Klein, and RB Kenjon Barner.

The big selections, of course, were the two big bodies for the defensive line.

In the 2014 NFL Draft, the Panthers went with huge WR Kelvin Benjamin, DE Kony Ealy, and Guard Trai Turner, safety Tre Boston, DB Bene Benwikere, and RB Tyler Gaffney.

Again, early big bodies up front.

What the Giants do at No. 2 remains to be seen (it’s logical and probably most efficient uses of resources to draft a long-term starting QB), but after that, I am willing to bet that the Giants draft big bodies all over the place. Gettleman clearly describes to the dancing elephants theory and Shurmur in his limited decision making also favored big players. Big WR, big RB, and big linemen.