New York Giants 2016 NFL Draft Grades

Morgan Epstein grades the New York Giants 2016 NFL Draft. Does New York have a bright future after drafting Eli Apple with the tenth pick in the 2016 NFL Draft?

10. Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State B Grade

The Giants spent the tenth pick on a nickel cornerback. Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will be the teams two starting cornerbacks. Eli Apple is raw people forget he left Ohio State after his sophomore redshirt season. Apple will do well in the nickel as his press coverage may limit a lot of undersized slot receivers. I think its a pick worthy of a B grade even though Chris gave it an F grade.

40. Sterling Shephard, WR, Oklahoma A Grade

Sterling Shephard will start out in the slot with Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz on the outside. Shephard could become the #2 target if Cruz gets injured despite his size. This was a great pick by the Giants at 40.

71. Darian Thompson, SS, Boise State A Grade

Darian Thompson has the versatility to play both strong safety and free safety. I think drafting Thompson was a smart move as he can start across from Landon Collins.

109. B.J. Goodson, ROLB, Clemson C Grade

The 6-1 240 lb B.J. Goodson is versatile enough to play any of the three 4-3 linebacker roles at 4-3 right outside linebacker, 4-3 middle linebacker, and 4-3 left outside linebacker. Goodson is listed as a third stringer which is why I gave this pick a C grade.

149. Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA A Grade

The Giants have five running backs competing for a starting job. Those running backs include Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Shane Vereen, Bobby Rainey, and Paul Perkins. The Giants get another A grade here.

184. Jerrell Adams, TE, South Carolina A Grade

The Giants will have a 3 way competition between Larry Donnell, Will Tye, and Jerrell Adams for the starting tight end job in training camp. The fact that Adams has an outside shot at starting makes this an A grade.

New York Giants Team Grade: A- Grade

The Giants had only six draft picks. They landed five possible starters with those six picks despite reaching for Eli Apple at 10. Apple would start at nickel cornerback and that's a position the Giants needed to upgrade after seeing Washington pick apart their nickel corners on tape last year.

The one thing the Giants failed to do was finding a starting left tackle. The Giants need to draft a new left tackle and move Ereck Flowers over to right tackle.