Grading the 2019 NFL Draft: NFC East
By Bryan Perez
The NFC East featured some of the best storylines from the 2019 NFL draft, with none bigger than the New York Giants’ controversial selection of Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall.
The 2019 NFL draft is in finally in the rear-view mirror, and after months of studying tape, mock drafts and predictions that ranged from reasonable to borderline insane, all of our questions have been answered.
And while it’s wholly unfair to grade a draft class before they’ve played a single snap in the NFL, it’s a necessary evil of the process. It’s also a lot of fun.
Here’s our breakdown of how the NFC East performed in this year’s NFL draft.
New York Giants
For a draft class that included 10 players, three of which were selected in the first round, the Giants came away with one of the more disappointing draft hauls in the league.
It got started at No. 6 overall and the selection of Duke QB Daniel Jones, a prospect who certainly has starter’s upside in the NFL but who could’ve been had at No. 17 (or later). It was a reach, no matter how GM Dave Gettleman wants to spin it.
At the 17th pick, New York selected Dexter Lawrence, a space-eating defensive lineman from Clemson who, again, could’ve been had later in the draft. If he was Big Blue’s target, they should’ve tried trading down several spots in Round 1. He was picked at least 10 spots too high.
The Giants traded back into the first round (No. 30 overall) and selected Georgia CB DeAndre Baker, who arguably was their best selection of the day. But it doesn’t make it a great pick; there were other cornerbacks still available who I would’ve preferred, like Washington’s Byron Murphy or LSU’s Greedy Williams.
The rest of New York’s class includes Oshane Ximines (Edge, Old Dominion), Julian Love (CB, Notre Dame), Ryan Connelly (LB, Wisconsin), Darius Slayton (WR, Auburn), Corey Ballentine (CB, Washburn), George Asafo-Adjei (OL, Kentucky), and Chris Slayton (DL, Syracuse).