Big Blue Huddle

Another example is the trade the Panthers made for Brice Young


Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
Updated look at last year's Panthers-Bears trade:

Bears receive:
🏈 WR DJ Moore
🏈 2023 first-round pick (OT Darnell Wright)
🏈 2023 second-round pick (CB Tyrique Stevenson)
🏈 2024 first-round pick (QB Caleb Williams)
🏈 2025 second-round pick

Panthers receive:
🏈 2023 No. 1 pick (Bryce Young)

Quote from: TONKA56 on Today at 09:34:13 AMI agree with that, but I also think he was still the focal point of defenses. 

As a DC, why would I focus on an RB with one 100-yard plus rushing game?  Even that game was more volume than production, as he only averaged 3.6 yards a carry.

Quote from: sjones71 on Today at 07:49:13 AMAn effort made to get Maye. Clearly they did not have a high enough opinion on McCarthy or other options such as Nix, Penix. Given that, you get yourself what appears to be an incredibly talented WR who can turn routine plays into big gains. Sets us up for when we are able to address QB and gives Jones another no-excuses season.

That's it in a nutshell: the Giants needed an elite receiver on their offense, and now they have one.  The QB issue is a separate issue

https://x.com/BobbySkinner_/status/1784573103021937023

Quote from: Bob In PA on Today at 07:50:13 AMInjuries aside, it depends who is shown to have been correct. Two issues:

(A) Did we need a better QB than Jones? - If the "we need a new QB" people are correct, the Giants will continue to stink. If the "we need an elite weapon" people are correct, the Giants will make enough progress to get maybe nine wins. The schedule this year will be a bit easier and the offense will be able to either to keep the ball away from the opponent or attempt to outscore them (depending on which team we're playing).

(B) Is running back really a lot less important than it has been historically? - If the "yes" people are correct then the Giants have a good-enough answer to the absence of Saquon and we'll be ok because the offensive line has clearly been upgraded.  If the "no" people are correct, we will miss Saquon and teams won't have to game-plan to stop him, leaving them free to game-plan to stop either the upgraded receiving corps or spy Jones and keep him from running the ball.

Bob

PS. Defense will be about the same as last year, but don't forget we must have (a) someone step up as a viable replacement for Leonard Williams (IMO he was an unsung hero on defense and a good running partner for Dexter); and (b) we need a young veteran to become a "star" (maybe number five, maybe Burns, maybe Okereke) plus no 2nd-year player fall into a sophomore-year slump.  That may seem to be a lot to hope for, but IMO it's not only do-able.

To point B, there are also those who feel that Saquan has more reputation than production last season.  To those people, losing Barkley was not an issue.

I noticed two themes in the players taken


On the offensive side of the ball they looked for speed

On the defensive side of the ball they looked for smart players

Quote from: katkavage on Today at 08:31:19 AMI have no doubt that if Nabers was chosen before the Giants, they would have taken Odunze. They were never going to take McCarthy at 6.

I liked Odunze but he was more the safe pick (high floor/lower ceiling).  I think Odunze's ceiling is occasional Pro Bowls, while Naber's ceiling is perennial All Pro

Quote from: sjones71 on Today at 07:54:36 AMI'm as frustrated with the o line over the last decade as anybody, but I feel like they did do their best to address this in free agency. I was hoping for an IOL at some point and we could have grabbed Beebe instead of Nubin. We'll see how that turns out 2 times a year since the Cowboys got Beebe. I'm tired too of trying to feel hopeful about an o line that continually blows, but there's a long list of mistakes made over the past decade that got us here. At some point, we simply have to hit on the o line coach and the pieces we've brought in. No injuries would be nice too.

The Giants have not shown an ability to draft and develop rookie O-linemen so it makes sense to try and veteran free agent route

https://x.com/Tonyrazz03/status/1784555381802287153

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on Today at 07:52:14 AMHow would putting that smoke screen out there increase their chances of getting Nabers exactly?

Assuming 3 QBs go off 1-2-3, and the Cards took MHJ, that left a pick between Nabers and NYG.  As Gettleman how being a pick away from getting your desired WR (Devanta Smith) works out, when teams know you want him.

Andru Phillips is a quiet talent in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Kentucky Cornerback is not a common name on mock drafts and likely won't hear his name called until Day 2 or Day 3 but when I saw him move at the combine I knew I needed to investigate the tape. The CB has impressive movement skills instincts and technical savvy. I think this kid has good odds of being a pro for a long time. In this video we watch up with Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers and grade his performance against the Georgia Bulldogs offense! #nfl #nfldraft #nfldraft

Quote from: sjones71 on Today at 07:46:46 AMThey played the board the best they could and seem to have gone with need/value. The Devito wins put us in a spot where getting a franchise-changing QB wasn't possible. Given that, they seem to have grabbed the best players available who also met a need. Truth is that there is need at just about every spot even if just for depth. A solid draft with no overthinking. Calmly took what was there and it at least feels like the scouting, pre draft process is run by grownups.

That's a fair point; there were more needs than picks.   Adding talent is the highest priority in a draft, and it seems the Giants did that

I have been thinking.  Perhaps all the public QB shopping and the heavily leaked interest in Maye and QBs in general and the trade with the Pats were all just a smoke screen.  In Schoen's first year all the insiders had reported Thibs was off the NYG's board over character concerns.

The Giants may have really coveted Nabers.  There were reports that Nabers was the number one WR for many teams and that WR, not QB, topped the talent for this year's draft.   So here was Schoen sitting way down at 6 hoping to land the best player of the draft at a position of need.  What better way to pull that off than to make everyone believe the Giants were heavily pursuing a QB, even going so far as to leak it to Rich Eissen, who isn't even an insider?

30. CASEY ROGERS | Oregon 6043 | 294 lbs. | 6SR Syracuse, N.Y. (Westhill) 12/18/1998 (age 25.35) #98
YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT NOTES
2017: Avon Old Farms (Conn.) School Played football and lacrosse
2018: Redshirted Nebraska; Enrolled in May 2018
2019: (4/0) 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 Nebraska
2020: (8/1) 22 3.0 1.0 0 2 0 Nebraska; Pandemic-shortened season
2021: (7/0) 17 3.0 0.5 0 0 0 Nebraska; Missed first five games (knee)
2022: (13/12) 34 3.5 0.0 0 2 0 Oregon; Graduated with degree from Nebraska (May 2022)
2023: (14/2) 22 2.5 1.5 1 0 0 Oregon; Converted a fake punt vs. Colorado
Total: (46/15) 95 12.0 3.0 1 4 0
HT WT HAND ARM WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
COMBINE N/A (not invited)
PRO DAY 6043 294 9 32 78 1/2 4.84 2.84 1.75 35 9'8" 4.51 7.45 25
SUMMARY: Iorry "Casey" Rogers grew up playing football and lacrosse — his father (Lelan) was the lacrosse defensive coordinator at Syracuse (2008-21). After
initially committing to Syracuse for lacrosse, he switched his focus back to football (as a defensive end and tight end). After a prep year out of high school, he
committed to Nebraska and was due for a breakout season in 2021, but a preseason knee injury derailed those plans. He earned his degree, then transferred to
Oregon (over USC and Auburn). Rogers displays above-average athleticism to play in gaps or work up/down the line chasing the run. He showed flashes as a pass
rusher (see 2023 Cal tape) but not consistency. The main concern is his ability to stay stout and leverage blocks to be a force in the run game. Overall, Rogers is light
on his feet (his lacrosse background shows) with disruptive potential, but he might have a tough time holding his ground versus NFL blockers.
GRADE: Priority Free Agent

WR Ayir Asante, Wyoming: A Franklin Township, NJ native, Asante scored six touchdowns on 21 receptions for the Cowboys this season after transferring from Holy Cross (Bobby Skinner)

DB Alex Johnson, UCLA: Johnson will reunite with his former teammate and sixth-round pick Darius Muasau after earning five interceptions in the last of five seasons in Westwood. (James H. Williams)

WR Jon Jiles, West Florida: Jiles put up 1,081 yards and 13 scores in a single season at Division II UWF. (Matt Lombardo)

OL Marcellus Johnson, Missouri: Johnson was a four-year starter at Eastern Michigan and primarily appeared on Columbia's special teams units. (Dan Duggan)

OG Jake Kubas, North Dakota State: Kubas was a part of two FCS national championship runs with the Bison. (Dom Izzo)

EDGE Ovie Oghoufo, LSU: Working through three schools in six years, Oghoufo spent last year in Baton Rouge with Malik Nabers, where he had 34 tackles (4 for a loss) and 2.5 sacks. (The Kneaux)

DL Casey Rogers, Oregon: Rogers earned 56 tackles at Oregon and also served as a personal protector on punts, where he notably rumbled to an 18-yard gain on a fake deep in Duck territory during the highly-publicized blowout win over Colorado. (Don Smalley)

https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/2024-undrafted-free-agent-tracker