Open Rants by kkunert327

2021 NFL Draft Grades

New York Giants 

1 (20) - Kadarius Toney WR Florida - A

2 (18) - Azeeze Ojulari OLB Georgia - A+

3 (7) - Aaron Robinson CB UCF - A

4 (11) - Elerson Smith OLB Northern Iowa - B

6 (12) - Gary Brightwell RB Arizona - C

6 (17) - Rodarius Williams CB Oklahoma St - A+

Overall: A+

- Now as a Bears’ fan I have to say thank you to the Giants for trading down with them to allow them to get Justin Fields. With that said not only did Dave Gettleman finally trade down in the draft, but he does it twice and comes away with great players each time. Now I think they could have gotten more from the Bears for their first round pick, but they still come away with an extra 1st round pick next year. I loved Toney as a prospect, but I am not sure why they feel the need to go so heavy on offense. They just got Kenny Golladay to go along with Evan Engram, Saquon Barkley, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton on offense. I think they have enough weapons, but I think Shepard’s lack of reliable health might have him on the chopping block. Toney could easily be an upgrade over him at the slot and he does provide a little more unique ability to move all over the field. I just want someone to sit down with him to tell him it’s okay to run out of bounds. Despite his smaller stature he continues to try to plow through defenders often hurting himself in the process. If he can stay healthy he should be a nice weapon for Daniel Jones to use. 

- Their next few picks focused all on defense and I loved everyone of them. Azeez Ojulari could have easily been their pick at 20 and people would have been fine with it. Not only did they get him in the 2nd round, but they moved down to get him. He could easily be one of the biggest steals in the draft here. If his knee checks out the potential is sky high here for one of the best pass rushers last year out of the SEC. He is still ultra young as a redshirt sophomore coming into the draft. Pairing him with Elerson Smith could give them a dynamic duo in a few years or so. I like Smith, but they tried the small school thing before with Oshane Ximines which has been a bit of a bust thus far. Maybe this new staff could do better than the previous one. 

- I love their two corner picks that should help round out a pretty solid secondary. Now I know they paid Adoree’ Jackson a ton of money. I am still not sure he can be relied on as a true starting corner. Even when healthy with Tennessee he was just okay. Which is why I love the Aaron Robinson selection since he could be an immediate Day 1 starter at the slot. His size is a bit of an issue and limits him from being a true outside corner. However, he is a great playmaker with sticky coverage skills. Meanwhile, they grabbed another steal in Rodarius Williams who was a corner who could have gone as high as the 3rd round. Like Robinson he is another sticky corner in coverage with great technique and a very high floor. Williams lacks the ball skills that Robinson possesses, but he comes with a lot more experience as a four year starter in the Big 12. Brightwell seems like a throwaway pick, but he could turn into a nice change of pace back who can contribute on special teams. 

- Overall, this roster is all set up to see if Daniel Jones can succeed or not. If not they have two first round picks to package to trade up to land his replacement. If Jones cannot play at a higher level with a bevy of weapons like Golladay, Barkley, Engram, Shepard, Slayton, and Toney then I am not sure he is the guy to get it done. Then they killed it by repairing their two biggest issues on defense with their pass rush and their secondary. They landed guys who should contribute right away even in the 6th round. I used to think Gettleman was one of the worst GMs in the league, but this new wheeling and dealing Gettleman is a GM I can get behind and support.