It has become a bit comical now — the idea of Dave Gettleman lying in bed, counting Hog Mollies until he snored. But for all his cliches and homespun terminology, Gettleman realizes that NFL games are won today — just as they were 50 years ago — at the line of scrimmage.
With all the chalk plucked in order through three picks of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Giants materialized at No. 4 with a fine quartet of tackles at their disposal, and Big Blue certainly took a big man. Just not the one most of us predicted.
The Giants picked Georgia's Andrew Thomas — a 6-foot-5, 315-pound tackle who started 41 games in the ornery Southeastern Conference. He's a high character guy, though perhaps not the one with the highest ceiling. Jedrick Wills Jr. had a higher grade and Mekhi Becton, who had a flagged drug test at the combine, was considered a transcendent talent. Others thought Iowa's Tristan Wirfs was the no-brainer for Big Blue.
But Thomas is certainly no stiff.
He has the size and skills to protect QB Daniel Jones's blindside for years. He had a 30.5-inch vertical leap at the combine, did 21 reps at the standard bench press and ran the 40 in 5.22 seconds. Still, NFL.com had Thomas ranked 18th out of all the college prospects (6.49), and well behind Becton and Wills.
But this wasn't a scalp-scratching pick, particularly when you consider how stuffy and sterile the Giants brass can be, playing things close to the sternum. Indeed, Gettleman has never traded a first-round pick as GM of the Panthers or the Giants.
After getting his game-breaker, Saquon Barkley, in the 2018 NFL Draft, and his future franchise quarterback, Daniel Jones, in 2019, Gettleman had just one hard choice to take before he picked Thomas.
Isaiah Simmons, Clemson's all-world linebacker whom many consider the best pure player on the board after Chase Young, was there to be had at pick No. 4. The Giants signed former Packers LB Blake Martinez and beefed-up a bit at the position. But it's tough to pass on a Matrix-style player like Simmons, who's 6-foot-4, 238 pounds, jumps out the building, had a Pro Bowl grade on NFL.com (7.03) and ran the 40-yard-dash in an absurd 4.39-seconds.
But word is Giants rookie head coach, Joe Judge, didn't think Simmons fit his precise style of defense. One could say that kind of talent fits any defense, but the Giants desperately needed a left tackle to keep Daniel Jones clean in the pocket. If you consider need and talent, the Giants grade is a B+, which could look worse if the Jets' pick (Becton) turns into the All-Pro pillar many expect. But that's all for later.
What the NFL Draft lacked in location it had in homogeny. What it didn't have in sizzle it had in bonding solitude. While the NFL Draft had become a yearly, movable feast, with six-figure fans spraying the event with the smells and sounds of its native culture, none of that was needed tonight. No pandemic, no coronavirus, can infect the frothing fun of pro football.
The draft was orchestrated from Bristol, the hub of cable TV behemoth ESPN. But the beauty of this draft was that it was truly virtual. It didn't have a home, a headquarters, or command center. Data shot across cables and clouds and we all watched. That was the singular beauty of it. No performers caked in makeup. No musicians plugging their nth 99-cent song.
Just a draft held in simplicity, the way it used to be, and the way it needed to be tonight.
Twitter: @JasonKeide
