Big Blue Huddle

I know absolutely nothing about him.

Quote from: Brooklyn Dave on April 09, 2024, 08:52:46 PMI know absolutely nothing about him.

There's a reason for that. He's not very good.

He has great size, but limited twitch.  He was a 3rd round pick for Buff in 2019 and showed some promise as a red-zone threat; however, his inability to gain separation and/or release from the LOS made him a non-factor over the last 3 years.  At best, he's a situational player; however, his inability to play special teams suggest it's unlikely he'll make the final roster; he's a camp body, nothing more. 

He's a ST gunner on coverage teams and a very good one. That is why he is still in NFL.

DRAFTED BY- BALTIMORE
RAVENS
Baltimore Ravens
Round 3 ‧ Pick 30

Overview
Lingering on his tape can cause excessive focus on his inconsistencies and areas of improvement, but projecting his traits with additional coaching makes more sense. Boykin's size, length and athleticism offers exciting potential as an outside receiver with mismatch potential, but he will have to learn how to counter press, improve his routes and become more competitive when the ball is in the air. His size won't matter if he doesn't learn to impose it on others. If that happens, he'll become an eventual starter with a high ceiling.

Strengths
Rare size and length. Loose hips with long, strides to get on top of cornerbacks quickly. Athleticism and body control to pivot and twist for back shoulder catches. Adequate sink to drop, anchor and present. Meets throws with good arm extension away from his body. Size causes cornerbacks to panic and interfere downfield. High-point will be highest on the field. Tape full of leaping grabs. Traits to become more efficient as intermediate route-runner. Could become very good blocker with more play strength.

Weaknesses
Hasn't learned to counter press jabs with his hands. Allows press corners to grind on him. Stride length limits burst out of the top of his route. Needs to finish his in-breaking routes. Below-average downfield adjustments. Cornerbacks are allowed to crowd his chest. Needs more aggressiveness and play strength. Catch focus runs hot and cold. Limited yardage after the catch on levels 1 and 2.

DOB
1996-01-04 (28.2)

HEIGHT
6'4"

WEIGHT
220

Everything that I've read about the guy is that he is a special teams ace. Basically the same role as David Tyree had with the Giants. I'm glad the Giants are shoring up ST play

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 10, 2024, 08:08:07 AMEverything that I've read about the guy is that he is a special teams ace. Basically the same role as David Tyree had with the Giants. I'm glad the Giants are shoring up ST play

The new kickoff rules increased the importance of special teams

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 10, 2024, 08:08:07 AMEverything that I've read about the guy is that he is a special teams ace. Basically the same role as David Tyree had with the Giants. I'm glad the Giants are shoring up ST play

He had a solid ST performance in 2022; however, he failed to reprise his 2022 effort in '23, only accumulating 4 tackles. Comparing him to Tyree and describing him as an ACE seems like a stretch. Tyree averaged 4x more ST tackles/yr than Boykin.

The Giants literally gave up 1 more return yards than Pitt, despite punting the ball 6 more times. If he's an ACE, why would a team who gave up just as many return yards as our Giants, cut him?   

The reason he's still in the NFL is because he's big; at 6,4/220 lbs, he offers a solid red zone target, which accounted for most of his 8% of aggregate offensive snaps last season.

If you're going to retain Boykin, what WR are you cutting?  If the Giants draft WR #1 (2 or 3), there's only one spot available.  The Giants aren't cutting Slayton, Robinson, Hyatt, or any 2024 draft pick. 

Not Cutting
1st round pick?
Darius Slayton
Wan'Dale Robinson 
Jalin Hyatt

Bubble
Isaiah McKenzie
Gunner Olszewski
Isaiah Hodgins

Likely Camp Fodder
Dennis Houston
Chase Cota
Bryce Ford-Wheaton
Miles Boykin

Here is his ST grade from PFF

When was the last time we had a good return team on special teams ???

Jones always has to go 75 or 80 yards....You can count on one hand how many times we get the ball to the 40 or god forbid a short field the past few years...And if we do, there's probably gonna be a block to the back

Seems like a concerted effort to improve special teams this offseason.

Quote from: uconnjack8 on April 10, 2024, 07:40:00 PMSeems like a concerted effort to improve special teams this offseason.

I sure hope so. Our two big Achilles heels for the past half decade have been the OL and ST 

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 11, 2024, 10:37:37 AMI sure hope so. Our two big Achilles heels for the past half decade have been the OL and ST 

"Achilles heel" kind of implies these were the teams only problems and everything else was fine.

We wish that were the case!

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on April 11, 2024, 05:09:19 PM"Achilles heel" kind of implies these were the teams only problems and everything else was fine.

We wish that were the case!

I could be wrong, but out of all the different groups on the Giants, I believe the offensive line and Special Teams ranked nearly last in the league. The other groups weren't as bad 

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on April 11, 2024, 08:44:56 PMI could be wrong, but out of all the different groups on the Giants, I believe the offensive line and Special Teams ranked nearly last in the league. The other groups weren't as bad 

As it relates to ST, a lot fans have confirmation bias.  The reality is, the Giants averaged 42.3 (net) on punt returns (top 50%).

Thanks to an anemic offence (the real problem), the Giants ranked 3rd in punts (95); the high volume of punts created more opportunity for bigger plays, which is the impetus of the confirmation bias.  Fans remember big plays and assume ST coverage is a real trouble area.  However, on average, they were just slightly above the 50% line.  In short, punt return coverage hasn't been a major problem.

Again, I don't believe Boykin will make the roster; he does provide some size on a very small WR unit.