Allstarjim

Nothing against you but PFT is about a month late on this story. It was pretty well-known in OTAs this is what they were doing:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/10-learned-giants-offseason-ota-program-article-1.3235182

Taylor had 7 sacks in a part time role in 2015. Yes, he had a bad year last year. But he is really long, the prototype the Giants like. 6'7" 266 lbs. Last year he was the starter. This year he won't be. If he doesn't perform, he'll be behind Okwara and Avery Moss. This is a good signing, at least to have that depth going into camp. Really low risk, big upside.

Hodges is not that great. He MAYBE would've been our 5th best linebacker on the team (big maybe). If he was that great, he would've been signed back near the start of free agency, not at the end of May.

Hes got a long way to go.As a passer he is maybe 6th rounder.

I'm not even sure he'll be a QB at the NFL level. To me, it's more likely he's the next Terrelle Pryor than he is the next Mike Vick.

There's a lot of people ridiculously high on Lamar Jackson... I am not one of them. I will be paying attention to Louisville this upcoming season, though, to see how he does next year.

Unbelievable. I guess the Giants kind of know what they are doing.

You have Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Luke Falk, and Josh Rosen as probable first rounders next year, and all of them are on the Trubisky level of talent or better. And then you have some other QBs that could sneak in the first round like Chase Litton, Nick Fitzgerald, and Riley Ferguson. Sure, a couple of those underclassmen may stay in school, but it's still going to be a fantastic draft for QB-needy teams, especially those drafting near the top of the draft. But even if you aren't drafting up at the top, you still have some guys that hold a lot of intrigue at the position. Personally, I wouldn't shy away from taking another QB next year if the value is there. Remember the 'Skins took RGIII and Cousins in the same draft and that worked out for them. Get some competition for whenever Eli is done in NY, and let the cream rise.

I mean for a pro football player (non-kicker)! Of course, it's a great height for kickers, actors, conquering Europe, people who like being underestimated, slow-dancing with women (head-placement advantage), and riding really fast horses!

When you think about it, you have it pretty good, Nas!

That low on the list is a snub!

He's a RB, though. And he's on the Bears. And he's so little! Will be interesting if he can succeed, guy weighted in at the combine at 179 lbs to go with his 5'6" frame... and get this... all that and 10 1/8" hands! Those are OT hands on a 5'6" shrimp!

This guy is a pretty special human being. I thought he was a third rounder, now I think the Giants have a steal. Enjoy:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/dalvin-tomlinson-alabama-renaissance-man/

 

Renaissance Man

JAN 5 2017

DALVIN TOMLINSON

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN / ALABAMA

Anyone who has ever wondered how football players get so big has clearly never tried my mom’s cooking.

Back when I was playing in high school, all of us defensive and offensive linemen would head back to my place after we finished up our morning workouts in the summer. These were some really big guys, and we’d all be completely exhausted and covered in grass stains and sweat — but by the time we got to my street there was always a little giddyup in our steps. That’s because of what was waiting for us: the biggest Southern-style breakfast you’ve ever seen.

Just about every day my mom would prepare this huge meal for us. I’m talking stacks on stacks of pancakes, huge piles of bacon (of course), mounds of eggs and my uncle’s homemade sausage. I wish I could bottle the smell.

Those were the best mornings. Me and my friends just sitting around laughing and stuffing our faces, while my mom looked on with a big smile. People who know me tell me I take a lot from her, including her smile.

This was back in McDonough, Georgia, which is about 30 minutes outside of Atlanta. McDonough has been home to my family for several generations. You could say that we’re pretty country. Me, my mom, my brother, my aunt and my grandma all lived in the house my grandparents had built. Up the street a bit, my cousin and his family also have a house. And a little further up is where my other cousin and his family live. We’re all next to each other on Tomlinson Street, which was named after my great grandfather.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DALVIN TOMLINSON

Most of my childhood involved playing sports somewhere along that street with my older brother and cousins. I was the youngest, so even though I had always been big for my age, whenever I was around them I was the runt. So, as a result, I was always just trying to keep up with them. They were my sports idols while I was growing up. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom taking me to watch them play football. Of course, watching them made me want to play too. So when I was four, my mom signed me up.

When I first started playing football, I was worried. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to get hit or anything like that. In fact, it was the complete opposite. Like I said, I was big for my age, so when I first put on pads, whenever I tackled the other four-year-olds they’d start crying. I didn’t want to make anybody feel sad, so I tried not to hit anybody — not necessarily the best quality in a football player, but fortunately I grew out of that.

Eventually, I found that I had a pretty natural talent for the sport, and I kept up with it.

But while football has always been an important thing in my life, it’s never been the only thing. Not even close, really.

In high school, my nickname was “the Renaissance Man” because I ran track, played soccer, drew pictures and was pretty good at playing a few instruments. All that time, my mom was my biggest cheerleader, always trying to motivate me and making sure I never got complacent. She understood that you don’t become a better person by only practicing the things you’re really good at. Instead, what’s important is learning how to push yourself to be your best at whatever you’re doing.

For me, that was especially true when it came to wrestling. I’m in my fifth year at Alabama. That’s five years of Nick Saban practices. Those are brutal, but honestly, I’ve never been part of a football practice that could compare to “42 minutes of hell” in Henry County High’s wrestling room.

If you’ve ever been in a high school wrestling room, you can probably kinda picture it. The ceiling is around seven feet tall. The school’s colors wrap around the walls. For some reason the heat is always on. The air is heavy. Straight up, it stinks.

Early on in high school, I didn’t have much confidence in my abilities as a wrestler. My relatives had left a pretty big legacy at that program, so I had a whole lot to live up to. And even though I was dominating my opponents on the mat, I didn’t think I was any good, mostly because some people had gotten into my head. I once overheard somebody saying I was a fluke even though I had made the state championship tournament as a sophomore, which hurt me probably more than it should’ve.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DALVIN TOMLINSON

My coach was pretty perceptive and knew my mental makeup needed some help. One day, he came up to me and said, “Dalvin, we’re gonna push you to the next level. We’re gonna make you believe you’re good. You’re gonna wrestle for 42 straight minutes.”

Huh? Forty-two minutes of wrestling in our small, hot, sweaty room?

Each match was six minutes long. Once one ended, another teammate would rotate in and the next six minutes started.

Two opponents and 12 minutes in, I was dead tired. Like I could barely breathe. But that didn’t matter. I still had 30 minutes left. And I didn’t want my teammates to think I was a quitter. So I kept going.

And I got stronger. Mentally stronger.

No lie, that was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But I know being pushed to my limits as a wrestler in high school paid off in the long run. See, wrestling did a lot to prep me for football — it taught me how to use my weight as leverage and the value of proper technique to control my opponent’s body. Most importantly, though, wrestling taught me how to push myself when all I wanted to do was give up.

Say it’s the fourth quarter of a brutal SEC battle and everyone’s absolutely gassed. Well, I know that I’m mentally stronger than anyone I line up across from because I’ve trained myself to succeed at times when others fail. When it’s your will against mine, that’s when I know I can push harder than anyone else.

By the time I graduated from high school, I had won three state wrestling titles. But what I also had was the confidence in myself to pursue whatever I was passionate about.

It’s funny, my mom was the president of the booster club when I was on the team (of course). She was always working at the concession stand in the hallway outside the gym during my matches, but I still knew she was there because I could hear her. Everybody could. As soon as they announced my name over the intercom, she’d just start screaming and cheering for me, no matter where she was.

“GOOOO DALVIN!”

“THAT’S MY BABY!”

I’ll admit, it was embarrassing at first. It was like, Moooom, my friends are here. But when I look back on it, I always smile. I could have been out there playing solitaire and she would have been cheering just as loudly.

Before I got to my senior year of high school, my mom got sick.

It happened pretty quickly. She had complications related to her diabetes that led to issues with her heart and kidneys. Suddenly, it became clear that I didn’t have much time left with her.

Part of what made her illness so difficult was that it happened during a time when I really needed her. A lot of colleges were contacting me and I was torn trying to decide between schools all over the country — from Georgia to Bama, even to Harvard. (I know she was proud that I had the opportunity to attend Harvard.) I had a lot of questions, and she had always been the person with the answers.

Near the end, I got to spend an entire day with her at the hospital, just talking, laughing and trying to soak in every minute. We went through all of my options, and that was when I decided I was going to attend Alabama and promised her that I’d earn my degree. It was important to me to let her know that I was going to do her proud.

The next day, she was gone.

That was five years ago, and I’m proud to say that, I’ve not only earned a degree in finance, but I’m also well on my way to earning a second bachelor’s in financial planning. It hasn’t always been easy. There have been so many times when I wished I had her to talk through something I’m going through. But at the same time, I’m extremely grateful for what she left me with.

She gave me a big, loving family that cheers for me just as loudly as she did. She gave me a friendly disposition that allows me to meet new people and to make meaningful connections with them. And finally, she gave me an incredible belief in myself, a belief that has allowed me to reach for my wildest dreams.

I had a knee injury when I first enrolled at Bama (from playing soccer — like I said, Renaissance Man) and that was scary. The very best players in the country come here, and I was worried if I could even compete. But what I realized shortly after I got here was that the work ethic my mom instilled in me was what made me good enough. She had spent my whole life training me to excel at a place like this.

I wish she could have come to a game while I was in college. I know how much she would have loved game day in Tuscaloosa. But even if she wasn’t in the crowd, I could always feel her presence. Whenever I run out of the tunnel to take the field, and I hear all those people screaming, it’s easy to imagine her watching over me with a big smile, making all sorts of noise up in heaven.

DALVIN TOMLINSON / CONTRIBUTOR

 

 

Ellison is the blocking TE. Adams can block pretty well, too. They also got a FB in UDFA... that's where you should get fullbacks.

So you'd be ok rolling into the season with Jay Bromley and Robert Thomas as your starter? Tomlinson can play 1-Tech, he can play 3-Tech. He's not just a regular nose.

How do you think that LB was a bigger need. We have a need there in 2018, sure, but we have the same linebackers as last year minus Kelvin Sheppard who barely did anything last year. Casillas, Robinson, and Kennard played well last year, and they are still on the team this year, so how was it a need?

I'm not arguing that we could use players at those spots, but you're claiming that those positions were bigger needs than DT, the position where we lost our starter to free agency and don't have backups with much upside. By definition, if you lose a starter and have a significant drop off in talent, that's a definite need. At tight end, we just drafted Adams last year, who flashed when given opportunities, and signed Rhett Ellison. So that wasn't a need at all... we definitely could've rolled into the season with those guys. OL is debatable. LT needs to improve, but they signed a RT/RG in Fluker, and Flowers was going to be given every chance to hold on to his spot at LT anyway. But DT... we run a 4-3, Seph. That means we need two good DT's, especially when we play in a division with Ezekiel Elliott.

Seph, DT was the biggest need on this team. We had, ABSOLUTELY HAD, to draft a DT, or else overpay for some other team's cast off in the second round of free agency. The Giants don't have the benefit of hindsight to wait and see if a good DT is going to be available in the 5th round. Caleb Brantley may have Mixon'ed a girl. You can't have that on your team, especially after the Josh Brown thing... that was a circus and there was no real evidence the abuse with Brown was even physically violent. Even the Browns have said they may still cut him. Finally, the Giants just don't get guys with really bad character flags. We aren't the Cowboys. That's why the Cowboys have to live with an early 2nd round pick and his 1 career sack and 14 games played in 2 seasons with zero starts potentially never playing another down in the NFL again. You can't take a chance like Brantley with the biggest need on the team. The Giants aren't going into the season with Jay Bromley as the starting DT. Couldn't happen.

Cunningham? I read he had an AWFUL interview and really moved down the Giants board, and Tomlinson had one of the best interviews in years... and the Alabama coaching staff RAVED about him and said he should've gotten a lot more attention than he was getting. Charles Davis said Tomlinson was the best player on the field for Alabama in the National Championship Game against Clemson. Think about that... a defense with Reuben Foster, Jonathan Allen, Tim Williams, Ryan Anderson, Marlon Humphrey, and Eddie Jackson... all drafted players this year. Tomlinson was accepted to Harvard... he's smart, has already overcome tremendous adversity in his life, and a very accomplished and clean football player that plugs a major hole. Despite what you may think, there is no hole at LB THIS YEAR. We have plenty of good linebackers under contract... Casillas, Keenan Robinson, Goodson, and Kennard... and yes, they are good linebackers. We'll have to do something about the position before the 2018 season, but this year we can go to battle with the guys already in the room. We couldn't go to battle with Jay Bromley or Robert Thomas next to Snacks.

I'm a fan of Perine and I think he would've been the pick if he made it to us in the 4th... but he didn't, and Gallman is a great fallback option. I'm telling you, he's a real player, NFL ready right now, much like Perine.

I'm happy with Engram but for me in the first I probably would've taken Ramczyk. In the 2nd I was thinking Wormley would be the pick but I'm happy with Tomlinson. In the third Jourdan Lewis and Samaje Perine were really sticking out to me.

He's a good route runner with really good hands. He is slight of frame and not very fast, though. He's a nice back up slot receiver. I don't see him other than a slot guy. Will be a tough competition for him to make the team with the big 3 receivers plus King, Lewis, and Dwayne Harris.

BiC, on early downs, you aren't going to see Shepard over Brandon Marshall, I don't care what kind of season Shep had last year. He's not Brandon Marshall and he isn't going to play outside much, he's a slot.

What you will see is Ellison inline, with Engram as the slot (or next to Ellison or the tackle) with Marshall and OBJ out wide and a single back. That's a good formation to run from and a GREAT formation to do play-action.

Don't necessarily feel like we got better this wknd. Maybe we held serve which means it was a C+ draft at best.

I think Engram makes them significantly better because he changes what defenses can get away with against the Giants offense. They threw cover 2 at the Giants all year to contain OBJ last year, and they can no longer do that because Engram will hurt them deep and severely. Gallman also strengthens the effectiveness of the run game, which we all knew needed youth and talent. Gallman gives them both. So I think we got a good deal better on offense.

 

Sorry Jim, I should of said it wasnt directed at anyone here.

 

Just on the old GMB there was a thread that had a lot of talk about using our third and fourh along with the first to trade up into the top 15 type of deal to get a guy, and nearly everyone in there was saying the same thing about JR and his lack of success in the later rounds.

 

But after picking Webb now everyone over there suddenly thinks we just passed on a hall of fame player in the third round.

 

I'm not a fan of the pick like most here, I feel like the Gints are all in this year and next to try and get another playoff run, could of been spent on someone who can contribute on special teams atleast.

 

However like I said I don't feel like it was a waste, more of an investment down the road that we dont have to spend later.

It's all good. I hope he's what the Giants think of him. If the Giants took him in next year's draft, I'm cool with it. I just felt the opportunity cost was a little high with this one. I hope he lights it up for us.

Rudolph has great hands, really good route runner. Doesn't have great speed, and kind of a wiry frame. I like him as a guy who can back up Shepard in the slot. I think he's a good complementary receiver, a possession guy, and he'll make the plays he's supposed to make. He's a good pickup because his strengths will play in the NFL. I wonder if he'll be able to shed bigger press corners.

Gallman was one of the guys I was really hoping for the Giants to get. I think he's going to be a perfect fit in the offense. I've seen a lot of him as well. He has decent size, but runs with the violence of a bigger man. What I love about him is he'll run through you. As a Florida State fan, I can tell you he was frustrating for them to tackle, and that FSU defense was really good the last two years up front. He falls forward when he gets hit, always getting that extra yard or two. When he sniffs the endzone, watch out. A lot of production. Ran the ball over 500 times the last two seasons and was physically up to the task. 5.1 career ypc, over 3400 rushing yards and 34 rushing TDs, and he can catch the ball, too. Just a well-rounded RB. He'll remind some of Ahmad Bradshaw with the power he runs with, although he doesn't have the top-end speed that Bradshaw had when he came out. They gave the comp of Devontae Freeman on NFL Network, that is a good comp for him. He's also one of the best pass-protecting backs in the draft. He's very well-rounded, he'll get plenty of chunk plays, very fluid hips with easy agility and acceleration. He is really a great fit for the Giants and will form a fantastic duo with Perkins in the run game. This is not a role player. He can come in and be a workhorse RB if that's what the Giants need from him, and play all three downs. You can give him the ball 25 times a game and he'll produce, and you can trust him to punch it in down on the goal line. This is an outstanding pick in the 4th, and I love that he's a Giant. Everybody loved Kareem Hunt and I think he's just as good as Hunt. He's a major silver lining because the Giants needed a good RB to complement Perkins and Vereen, and they definitely got him with Gallman.

You have Engram, and he's going to really be a mismatch. You get Dalvin Tomlinson to start alongside of Snacks, and that front four is very stout. Dave Te' Thomas said that the Alabama coaches all raved about Tomlinson, moreso even than Allen. With Dalvin Tomlinson, the OL assigned to him better bring a sack lunch and dinner too, because it's going to be a long day. The Giants will get the same effort from him on the first snap as they do with the last snap. He is just relentless and powerful. I'm glad I don't have to block him.

Hopefully Avery Moss will give the Giants what they need as a rotational pass rusher. I watched his game against West Virginia and I didn't see a lot that made me think he will be an impact player in the NFL. It is one game, but I'll start with the bad: I don't see much explosion or quickness off the snap. I didn't see speed or bend around the edge, and I didn't see much of a bull rush. I don't think he'll be a help in the run game as a physical presence. But here's what he does well... he uses his hands very well to shed blocks. I didn't see much from him that I think will translate, but we'll see how he develops under the Giants tutelage.

Bisnowaty, all I know is what I've read on him, big and strong and slow feet, but it seems some of that was due to playing through injury. A lot of guys think he has LT upside. If he can be a long-term fixture at RT or even at a OG spot I'm happy. I do know he was very highly regarded coming into last season and talked about as being one of the best OL in this draft class prior to the year. It sounds like we also got a lot of competition for OL with the UDFA's, so I'm cautiously optimistic. Dave Te' Thomas loves Bisnowaty and I trust his evaluations.

If you get 3 major contributors out of the draft it's a great draft. I think the Giants got at least three with Engram, Tomlinson, and Gallman. So to me, overall, it's going to be fun watching these new players slide in and help the Giants next season.

So the major criticism I keep hearing is that he's basically a big slot wr who will push Shepard off the field. I don't think 230 pounds makes it impossible to line up on the line. Plus he can always put on 10 pounds and maintain his speed right? Can he also lineup on the outside if Marshall is hurt or needs a break?

I think Reese said he will play inline at times. I think Shepard will be pushed off the field at times, and that's not a bad thing. Makes the offense more flexible with different packages. But there will be plenty of snaps with Shep and Engram on the field, so I don't see this as a concern.

And yeah, Herc, I really believe he'll go outside and play Marshall's spot if he were to get hurt. I think he profiles really well out there. But they want him to be the seam buster I believe and kill the cover 2.

Avery Moss. I haven't seen anything on him so don't know much, but seems to fit the Giants physical profile for DE.

Watch for Conor McDermott here.

Wayne Gallman was my guy

I really liked him too. Runs with a lot of power, well-balanced RB. He's a guy that has a nose for the endzone when you get down there inside the 5.

Keep an eye on Samson Ebukam. I really like him and he would fit nicely with us.