Rangers Trade for Adam Fox

The Rangers have acquired Harvard right shot D Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes for their own 2019 second round pick and a conditional third in the 2020 draft. This is a major pick up for the Rangers and he could QB the powerplay for years to come. Adam has had a weird journey since being drafted by the Flames. His rights were traded to the Canes and he refused to sign. It was long assumed that he wanted to be a Ranger, but he, as much as they, made it happen. The Rangers had 10 picks going into this draft, and unlike the Gianst their plethora was in the first 3 rounds, not the last 4.  So the Rangers were able to get this done without screwing up the larger plan. This is significant and Coach Quinn probably knows Adam, who has also played for Team USA, pretty well from the Boston hockey scene.  This could be a very big get for the Rangers.

In his just completed Junior Season at Harvard, Fox scored 48 points (9 goals and 39 assists)  in 33 games and was named Ivy League Player of the Year.

UPDATE: Rumors flying that the Rangers have signed him to a 3 year ELC.

UPDATE 2: Fox will be playing for Team USA again - this time with the grown-ups.

The OL

Back in March, when the Giants picked up plus RG Kevin Zeitler as part of the Beckham trade, it loooked like they were darn serious about fixing the line for the 2019 season. Here at the end of April, it's not so clear. Over draft weekend they went against all expectations and did not spend a premium pick on a much needed Offensive Tackle - instead they traded the #37 pick (which fell during a run on OT's) to get a corner.  And, as it turned out, they would draft 2 more corners to go with a third round pick from the 2019 draft they spent in last year's supplemental draft to get Sam Beal.  In the 7th they finally picked T George Asfaro-Adjei, who has some tools but needs some time.

Clearly they were more interested in cluster drafting CB's than finding a long term RT.

So why was that?  Apparently it's because they are bringing in Mike Remmers as soon as next Tuesday.  See, the sort of second or third tier of UFA's are free to sign without effecting the compensation formula on the second Tuesday after the draft. So the Giants probably do have Remmers in their pocket, and will look for a developmental or young tackle in the trademarket, the 2019 Supplemental draft, the cap casualty markets or around cutdown time .

Remmers buys them more time, but they have to get it done.

Meanwhile, it would be a great thing if C Evan Brown is ready to roll this year.  Brown was a priority UDFA last April who made the team but never played, nor was he exposed to waivers to get him to the P-Squad at any time. Gettleman was with the Giants when they singned UDFA Rich Seubert, and ran the Panthers when they made Norwell a priority UDFA.  So let's home Evan Brown is the Center version of those guys,

And speaking if UDFA's, the Rookie Mini-Camp starts Thursday, and has it's first practice Friday.  It's hard to tell at this point, which players are signed and which are just trying out, but there are some interesting OL's on the way, and the Giants might find a gem there.

Giants Draft Review: A Cluster of Corners

Going into the draft, the Giants had Janoris Jenkins and a rehabbing Sam Beal at corner. And that's it.  Not any more. Once the draft started they traded up for Georgia CB Deandre Baker, who is a great football player.  Btw, the way, as we saw last year, the Giants have reverted to looking for football players over combine stars. And also, as we'll see in a minute they've gone back to scouting small schools.

Having secured Baker, the Giants turned around an grabbed Notre Dame CB Julian Love.  Another great football player who most believed would be drafted in the second round. This is what happens when you have a vast red chip area in a draft. There are "second rounders" available into round 4!  It's really true and we saw it yesterday.

What was interesting about this year was the two best players coming into the draft Alabama's Quinnen Williams and Ohio States Nick Bosa went 3 and 2 respectively. And as far as I am concerned, they were the 2 blue chip players. Everyone else was red chip.  To wit, Kyler Murray is short, and Josh Allen lacks secondary pass rush moves and can get wired to blockers. They could both turn out to be stars - and any of these red chip players can - but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't. I will be surprised if the two blue chippers fails.

Finally, the Giants wrapped up their cluster of corners by taking Washburn CB Corey Ballentine.  Corey was tragically shot last night and lost a friend in the incident.  So my sympathies go out to the families and the Washburn Community.  Corey is supposed recover fully.  And that's great news.  He's the best athlete of the CB's the Giants took, but also a big time player who did everything, including returning kicks for Washburn.

So the Giants went back to cluster drafting a troubled area - this time CB. This is exactly what George Young would do when he was at his pre-cap peak. Now, between last year's Supplemental Draft and this year's NFL Draft the Giants have added 4 young corners, Beal, Baker, Love and Ballentine. This could set them up for years.  Let's see if it does.

This Week on the Blog

Well, this past week, as the Giants were picking new Giants, the Knicks and Rangers were getting ready to find new Knicks and Rangers, and the badly injured Yankees started kicking ass with replacement names. Go Yanks!  So let's take a look at this coming week.

Yankees: The Yanks need to keep on keeping on. Today they got a huge start from JA Happ, his third quality start in a row, by the way, and Gary Sanchez hit his first career Grand Slam.  Fun times, till the Bullpen almost blew another one.  So the Yanks just have to keep doing what they're doing until Judge, Stanton, Hicks, Frazier, Andujar, Betances Severino and the rest get back. And so far they seems like they're up to the challenge. And most night's they're not just getting great starts and timely hitting, they're also getting great defense.  Go Yanks!

Giants: The Giants just chose ten new players in this year's draft, and I'm sure, right now and through the week they'll be signing this year's class of UDFA's. The Rookie Mini-Camp starts this coming Thursday and will run through the weekend.  We'll also have draft reviews and other stuff here. One thing that is curious, regardless of whomever they did or didn't draft, the Giants made a bunch of additional cap room, just before the draft and we still don't know why.  At their post draft presser both  Gettleman and Shurmur intimated that Remmers will be in as soon as he can pass a physical, but they already had enough dough to sign Mike and the rookies, so what's the cash for? Perhaps their looking at more trades or even additional free agents. We'll see.  It should be a busy week over at the complex with the offseason program in full swing and the kids rolling it.

Rangers: The Rangers still have the #2 pick, a number 18-21 pick and possible another pick around 18 in the upcoming NHL draft. And that rocks. But what might happen before that draft finally rolls around is thay they will officially sign the Russians and hire a new President. Carp and others are beating the drum for John Davidson, and I would be okay with that as long as it was just ceremonial.  We'll see.

Knicks: The Knicks are keeping their head down as rumors of big stars like KD and Kyrie keep circulating. That's wise, and let's hope they don't try selling season tickets off of anyone they only "think" they'll get.  I don't think they are, but they do have a date with destiny or disaster come May 15.  Go Knicks!

So, the Yanks need to keep kicking ass, the Giants need to keep building up, the Rangers need to take care of business and the Knicks need to start collecting lottery Karma. Hope all of you have a great week.

Giants Finish Up With a Pair of Monsters

With their two 7th round picks, the Giants grabbed two Hog Mollies. Kentucky T George Asfaro-Adjei, a Right Tackle type who went up against Josh Allen in most practices and then added another DT in Syracuse's Chris Singleton (top picture).  These are big men, one of whom may be a ringer.  Now the Giants have to start working the phones and creating some undrafted magic!

Giants Take DB Corey Ballentine

This guy's testing makes him look like another corner, but they named him as a DB when they made the pick.  He's from Washburn and it's great to see the Giants getting back to their small school gem picks. Wasn't happen during the Marc Ross years. I wonder what's cooking with with the Jackrabbit and whether or not they have the OL's stashed in the 7th or something else.  Wheeler will not be the right tackle again.

Giants Take a Burner!

Darius Slayton can flat out fly.  Auburn's O is a mess right now, but this guy is explosive and can unpack the box for Saquon every Sunday.

GIants Take LB Ryan Connelley

With the first of their 5th rounders the Giants have selected ILB Ryan Connelley out of Wisconsin.  Memories of the Pete Monty pick and when "Best MLB in the Big 10" was a Giant Default Setting.  I think he'll play more.  Because he ain't no Pete Monty. And he should also help on specials.  Only one offensive player taken so far.

By the way, this guy is a lot more instinctive and explosive than I expected.

Giants Take CB Julian Love

Ooh, the Giants just grabbed CB Julian Love from Notre Dame.  He's a bit of a ballhawk and a great value in the 4th. He now gives the Giants 3 exciting young CB's and has to make you wonder if Janoris Jenkins is about to get traded.  Or if he's gonna be a mentor for a year.  Between Beal, Baker and Love, I don't remember the Giants having three young CB's like this.

Giants Take Oshane Ximenes

Oshane Ximenes is 6'3" 253 and will play LT's old position in the Giants current 3-4.  He's had 32 sacks in college and can also run with TE's though he's not as fast as Lorenzo Carter.  He's a good player and will help the passrush. Sort of crazy that they didn't trade up while waiting for pick 95 to come along.  They pick again early tomorrow and they still don't have a Right Tackle.

Day 2 Stuff

Remember, my demand of this draft was that we have a new RT (or C) by pick 37 and since 37 was traded to move up for Baker, that's not going to happen.  There are a bunch of acceptable OT's available, but I don't think they will last to pick 95, so the Giants may have to use future picks to start hitting their OL and pass rush targets.  I'd like to come out of today with one of each, but that won't happen unless they can make a trade.

By the way, the Miami Dolphins, who passed on Dwayne Haskins, are now rumored to be trading pick 48 to the Cardinals for Josh Rosen. This pours more water on the idea that Haskins was the #2 QB on everybody's board, and wil be a windfall for the Cardinals who have will now have throw 3 picks on 2 QB's over the last two draft, and are getting one back in a deeper draft.

Let's hope the Giants can add another 2 or 3 or both today.

More Daniel Jones

Okay, if you have an hour or chunks of one, this is how the Giants fell in love with Daniel Jones.  Sure, he has some things to work on, but he's got time and his approach is already sophisticated.  To wit, do the Giants have a QB coach yet? This is worth watching and very detailed.

Giants Draft Day 1 Review

What seemed like silly speculation turned out to be true. The Giants stood pat at #6 and with DE Josh Allen still on the board instead selected Duke QB Daniel Jones. This created shock and constrenation all around the Giant Universe.  But if you had been glued to draft talk all week, you knew the Redskins were trying to trade up. The NFL Media assumed it was to jump the Giants for OSU QB Dwayne Haskins, but their actions tell us that was not the case, in fact they stopped trying to trade up right after the Giants drafted Jones, and Denver then also traded down as soon as Jones came off the board. Haskins ended up falling to the Redskins at 15.  Now, if he were viewed as being better than Jones or even as good, then the Redskins would have traded up after the Giants were out of the way, and Denver might have held onto their pick knowing they could still get Haskins.  Anyway, the behavior of the market augers well for the Giants selection.

Jones was particularly hard to scout because he was diamon in the rough of garbage at Duke. He could launch a 45 yard bomb only to - time after time - have it dropped.  Also his OL was a bunch of weak pylons and we realize, from watching the bad OL segment of Eli's prime - that that can bury a QB's value.  But, at the Senior Bowl, like Webb and Lauletta before him, Daniel won the MVP.  Further, at his Duke Pro Day, he improved on all of his Combine numbers including busting out a 4.68 40, which explains why he made so many good runs in college - and was driving the ball down the field.

People can say, well everybody looks good at their pro day, and while that's true, since everyone has them you can then compare pro days to pro days. And suddenly, freed from bad teammates, Jones looked like a Franchise QB.  We'll see if he is, but there are alll sorts of issues over how hard it was to fix his value. The league finally did tonight.

The Giants believe he is a Franchise QB.  If he turns out to be - and the Giants get to win SB's again, then not have to look for another starting QB for 10-15 years - then is an incredible value.  We'll have to see what happens.

With their next two first rounders, the huge NT Dexter Lawrence and CB DeAnfdre Baker, the Giants added two more crucial pieces for their D. Lawrence super fortifies the middle of the DL, and Baker comebines with Sam Beal (picked with a 3rd from this draft) to give the Giants their first exciting pair of CB's since Will Allen and Will Peterson.  Good stuff, and much needed.  Jackrabbit isn't getting any younger.

And since they had 3 first for the first time ever, the pressure on 6 is reduced.  Like a free throw rather than a trey attempt to beat the buzzer which it might have seemed like had they not had the extra picks.  

As of now, they don't have a pick until 95, which they might try to address tomorrow.  We'll see.

Giants Trade Up for Deandre Baker

So the Giants just traded back into the first round of the NFL Draft to take Georgia CB Deandre Baker.  I don't think I talked him up, because I was more interested in getting hybrids, but teams with Sam Beal, this gives the Giants another really good CB prospect, who should start at some point.  He's a 4.5 corner and not a 4.4, but we've seen that Georgia D and he's pretty great.  Nice pick, and a great way to end the night.

Dexter Lawrence is a Giant

Giants just picked a more athletic Snacks. This behemoth was part of the National Champion Clemson defense and the 3rd player picked for it so far.  So the Giants have now made both of their picks and the OL still needs a Right Tackle and a Center.

Daniel Jones is a Giant

We'll have to see about this one.  Spiritually, I believe we keep making the same mistakes until we make different choices. Having wasted years on Duke's generically named  Dave Brown, this could be a brutal lesson. But maybe not. He dragged a crappy team to a winning record and a bowl game.  And thus, now begins the Daniel Jones era or error.  We'll see. I am now rooting for him, and we get to stop hearing the pundits call for the Giants to take a QB. More later.

Giants Tonight

As I've been saying for months about this draft and for years before this: they've got to fix the OL.  I have no doubt, with their 12 picks, they will get their pass rush, as well as more coverage and run stoppage for their D.  But, no matter what they do tonight - whether it is taking a QB they love or two passrushers, or a passrusher and a Nose - I won't be happy because they haven't grabbed an OT or C.  I don't really see them grabbing one at 6, but I'd be thrilled if they did at 17, and failing that 37 when the picks start flying tomorrow. So, while I won't go crazy about what they do tonight, I won't be pleased until they finish fixing the OL. Btw, would love to go DL at 6 and OL at 17.

Yanks Acquire Cameron Maybin for Cash

After adding Clint Frazier to the IL with his ankle injury, the Yanks sent cash to Cleveland for Cameron Maybin, who was actually in their minors.  Maybin can play all three OF positions.  Wonder if they'lll call him up, and if so, what the 40 man roster move is.

Giants Draft: DB's

Alright, the Giants have already replenished safeties, by adding Peppers and Bethea, and have Sam Beal debuting at corner and Janori Jenkins still able to cover, but they are in a bit of trouble depth wise and might have to spend 2 or even 3 of their 12 picks to get this straightened out.

First, with corners, Beal is virtually a rookie and they'll probably bring in a veteran or trade for one in the next few weeks.  That said, there are some good corners at the top of the draft like Washington Byron Murphy (6'1" 185) and LSU's Greedy Williams (6'1" 185), but the Giants might not use 6 or 17 on one.  In fact, the Giants have indicated that the DB's are deep, and have been associated with Temple's  Rock Ya Sin (5'11" 192) , which, cool name and all, I can't see happening beccause of an abysmal 3-cone and a pedestrian 40, he could be in the mix at 37 if they don't care about quickness anymore.

There's another group of DB's I want to talk about and those are the CB/S types who are sort of hybrids between the two positions.  And, perhaps played more than one at college like Florida's Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (5'10" 210 and pictured above).  He ran a sub 4.5 and did the cones right around 7, but he's a playmaker and the Giants with their 3-4 might want to have guys who can play ZONE like they used to when Belichick was running the D.  Kentucky's Lonnie Johnson (6'2" 213) might be another target. One more is Isaiah Johnsone (6'2" 208 ) from Houston.  Michigan's David Long (5'11" 196) blew the doors off the combine, surprising those who thought he came out a year too early, but he too could be in the mix with his speed, thump and quicks.

Safety is a pretty average class and we might a draft where no safeties go in the first round.  They should start coming off the board in 2 or three, but I'd prefer the Giants take hybrids like those listed and teach them zone.

Giants Draft: Tall Receivers

First thing's first, the Giants converted a bunch of Kevin Zeitler's salary into bonus and now how 14.5M in cap room. That's more than they need to sign the draft class and the UDFA's. So mayber Remmers and a trade, maybe just a trade or maybe another extension. We'll see.

As is the case every year, this draft is loaded with receivers.  I happen to believe the Giants are looking for a big receiver, who's 6'3" or more and can be the kind of target Plax was in his heyday, it might also be a TE, like Iowa's pair of  T..J. Hochenstein (6'4" 251) and Noah Fant (6'4" 249).  Hochenstein is considered an all around TE who can stay in and block. He's got a first round value even though he ran a 4.7 at the combine.  Teams like him and at 6 he might be an overdraft, while at 17 he might offer some value.  Fant isn't much of a blocker, and ran a 4.5 at the combine.  So he's not as fast as Engram and we alread have Engram.

Speaking of EE, one way to solve the big reciever issue is to convert Engram into a wideout.  This way they could take inline blocking off his plate and let him be the mismatch that he is.  Then just grab another TE , like Stanford's Kaden Smith (6'5" 255) somewhere in the draft and you have TE covered.

If the Giants don't want to convert, Evan Engram, the first place they might look is at D.K. Metcalf (6'3" 228) from Ole Miss.  He ran a 4.33 at the combine and can really take the top off the defense.  What he can't do, though, is run the entire route, because his 7.38 3-cone won't let him.  He does have a 40.5" vertical leap, so he will win all jump balls, or draw interference and holding penalties.  The Giants would be lucky to grab him at 17, but he might not make it to them.

Next up is Hakeem Butler (6'5" 227) of Iowa State.  He ran a 4.48 and has 10 inch hands. The Giants have had geat luck with Hakeems, and this is a guy tht could be flying up their draft board.  Don't know where he is now, but would probably have to use 17 or the second round pick to get him.

Notre Dame's Miles Boykin (6'3"220) ran a 4.43 at the combine and also posted a 6.77 3-cone so he probably can run the full route tree.  He could be available in the third or fourth round unless his workouts have boosted him.

David Sills (6'3" 211) from West Virginia is tall but slight compared to the other guys being discussed.   He did run a 4.57 and and a sub 7 3-cone, which are fine.  He'd probably be available in the 4th or 5th.

Don't think Baylor's Jalen Hurd is fast enough, but South Alabama's Jamarius Way (6'3" 215) might be.  He was in the 4.6's at the combine but has run 4.5's since and that should get the job done. He should be available in the 4th or 5th.

There are more big wides who could be available late, like Temple's Ventell Bryant (6'4" 200), but if the Giants are going to grab one, it will be to play this year, and that's unlikely for some late rounder.

PS: I'll probably do a final post about DB's, but probably won't have time for running backs, though I think the Giants should upgrade Gallman.  So, I'll just mention a couple right here.  Slippery Rock's Wes Hills (6" 209) he transferred around a bit, but was very productive and runs 4.5  He has smallish hans and ball security could be a thing. Another one is Justice Hill (5'9" 198) from Oklahoma State.  He runs a 4.4 and has much bigger hands.  Anyway, they could do something like that, or look for a thumper back for short yardage to save Saquon a  bit.

Rangers Stuff

The Winnipeg Jets were eliminated today and the Rangers have their first round pick from the Hayes trade. That pick will fall between 18-22, which is great in this deep draft. This promises to be a very interesting Summer for the Blueshirts.  First, they'll have the posssibility of adding a third first rounder if the Stars make it to the 3rd round of the playoffs. Otheriwise it becomes another second, but that would still be cool since it's such a deep group, and the Ranger rebuild requires all the picks they can collect.

That said, drafting second overall and selecting Hughes or Kakko totally changes the organizational trajectory.  At that point, it might become wise to see if they can't move Kreider and Georgiev for more top ten picks, or moves them for a young first pair defenseman. Georgiev has shined in international play, but since Igor is coming over, he should be available.

Another thing that could happen by the draft or during the draft is the whole D Adam Fox isssue.  Fox is a Hobie Baker finalist for Harvard and is from Jericho, New York. His rights have already been traded from the Flames to Carolina, but he won't sign with Carolina.  He wants to be a Ranger. He's already 21 and thus older than many of the Rangers top prospects, and is an offensive defenseman with a right shot, who can run the heck out of a power play. If he hangs on to his guns - he's already told Carolina he's going back for his senior year - he should be a Ranger in the next month or two.

Adding the #2, plus the rest of picks, and Fox would really elevate the Rangers prospect rankings even higher.

Big Summer on the way!

Yanks Win!

Austin Romine just got his first career walk-off hit. In his previous AB he had tied the game up with a hit. Neither ever should have been necessary because James Paxton was once again super dominate pitching 6 shutout innings with another 1K, just 3 hits and 1 walk, one of the hits was was shift created. The Yanks were up 5-0 had come in and cleaned up a 2 on and no out for JP.  But in the 8th Green loaded the bases then Ottavino gave up 2 jacks and the Yanks were down 6-5.  Ridiculous, but they really couldn't have sustained this kind of loss when they are so undermanned.  And they didn't.  Romine came through with 2 big hits and now they have to fly to Cali. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a new reliever or two and maybe a new bat by tomorrow.

UPDATE: Stanton is going on the flight, so he could be activated on the trip.  Andujar and some others are headed down to Tampa to rehab, and Sanchez could rejoin during the trip,  maybe Wednesday.

Giants Draft: Inside Guys

Okay, we've looked at the edge guy and 3-4 DE's.  Now let's take a look at some inside backers and Snacksy thick guys to stop the run.  By the way, as we look at this draft pool, it realy does represent a sort of unstackable buy vast area of red chip values. There are a few different pockets of OT's and Edge guys, a suspicious group of QB's, a pocket of Big Receivers,  TE's were thought to be a strenght, but they're not.  There's one.  Anyway, onto these inside guys.

The ILB group is  really a Tale of 2 Devins. LSU's Devin White (6' 237, 4.41 at the Combine) is a heat seeking missile. He hasn't been used as a passrusher, but he'd be a natural for blitzes and zone blitzes. He's also got surprising coverage skills, a la  Lorenzo Carter.  The Giants would probably have to get him at 6.  That said, the other Devin, Michigan's Devine White (5'11" 234, 4.43) could be there at 17, but I even like him a little more than White. Here's why while White is slightly bigger and fast than Bush, Bush is quicker and skillisier.  To wit, White posted a just okay 7.07 while Bush got it done in 6.93.  Sub 7 is one of the significant separators in football.  It favors Bush and so do I.  They both have the ability to cover the whole ability, but Bush gets interceptions and makes big plays.  They both - and really all college players these days - neet to learn how to shed and tackle, but that's teachable. Bush might be available at 17 or with a trade up. I'd rather take him at 6 than White, but we'll see what happens.

Other inside LB's can be had later, like Clemson's Tre Lamar, Notre Dame's Te'von Coney, and Alabama's Mack Wilson as well as a host of others, but it's really all about the 2 Devins with either pick 6 or 17.


After the Giants traded Snacks Harrison, their run defense declined.  There are some Nose Tackles availabe this week that could plug that back up for the Giants.  First is probably, Clemson's Christian Wilkins (6'3" 315) is a dancining elephant, who led a national championship defense. The Giants might have to pop him at 6 and he'd be a great piece for their rotaion. Notre Dame's Jerry Tillery (6'6" 295) is another beast, but there have been reports of character concerns, and thus, he may not be on the Giants' Draft Board.

Wilkin's might be the only guy worth a Giant first, round pick, but other guys, available later like Western Illinois' Khalen Saunders and Chris Slayton from the Cuse - as well as some others , like Arizona's massive P.J. Johnson, could add to the Giants DL rotation.

Giants Draft: The Pass Rush

The greatest passrusher in Giants history was ROLB Lawrence Taylor, who played DE in UNC's 4-3, then OLB in the Giants 3-4. Their second greatest passrusher was Michael Strahan, who played strong side end when the Giants switched to a 4-3. The Giants' greatest pass rushing 3-4 end was Leonard Marshall, who should probably be in the Hall of Fame but isn't. So everyone thinks the Giants will take a pass rusher at 6 or 17, let's take a look.

Ohio State's Nick Bosa is the top pass rusher on most boards and will probably be off the board no lower than 2nd or 3rd, so probably not an option for the Giants without a trade up.

Next up is either Kentucky's Josh Allen or Mississippi State's Montez Sweat.  Allen is 6-4, 262 and ran a 4.62 at the Combine.  Some people think he needs to develop more passrush moves, but those can be learned. Sweat destroyed the Combine, running a 4.41 at 6'6" and 260.  But, and to me, this is a huge but, he has a heart condition. It seems that whenever the Giants take a kid with a pre-existing condition - it acts up. See David Wilson for a recent, yet almost forgotten, example.  Cedric Jones was blind in one eye and thus Strahan had to switch to the strong side.  To get either Allen or Sweat the Giants would have to take them at 6, and I don't think they can afford to take a guy with a pre-existing condition there.

The next group of passrushers are Clemson's Clelin Ferrell, who is 6-4 and 262.  He ran a 4.77 at the Combine, but could be a great value at 17.   Florida State's Brian Burns has also been climbing the charts and could have legitimate helium come Thursday. He's lighter than the other guys at 249 but ran a 4.53 and has big hands and quickness.  Intriguing guy, we'll see how high he rises.

The next pair, that could be available in round 2 are Georgia's D'Andre Walker who is a runty 6'2' and 251 and ran a 4.6. There's also, Louisiana Tech's Jaylon Ferguson who is 6'4 and 256 and ran a 4.72 at the combine.

Other guys who could be in the OLB pass rush role for the Giants are Florida's Jachal Polite, Michigan's Chase Winovich, who I really like and could be a bargain in the third, if the Giants kpee that pick and don't use it in a trade up.

Guys like TCU's Ben Bonogu and Alabama's Christian Miller could also be interesting.  But will they take one or 2.

On the other hand could the Giants want a 3-4 rush end, like Leonard Marshall once was?  They could.

Alabama's Quinnen Williams might be the best player in the Draft, though he could even fall to 6, if there's a QB rush or something.  He's 6'3" and 303 and just really knows how the play the game.  Great football player.

The other guys, like Michigan's Rashaan Gary (6'4" 277 and a tweener in the 3-4), Clemson's Christian Wilkins (6'3" 315) and Dexter Lawrence (6'4" 342) , seem like better values at 17 or even in the second round, than at 6.

The draft is pretty deep in big bodies for to rotate on the DL, so they could find some great values in 4 and 5, if they don't hit it early.

This Week on the Blog

Okay, big week coming right up! The NFL draft will run from Thursday night through Saturday afternoon and the Gmen will have the opportunity to get much better.  The Yanks, last night were able to limi their latest losing streak to one game. Which is good. The Knicks and Rangers kept on keeping on.  Alright, so let's take a look at what's coming up.

Yankees: Okay, the Yanks, frought with injuries as they are, are starting to get it together.  And through all of our frustrations with the pen and manager, they're 9-10, and this is nowhere near the nightmare it could have been. Something that's kind of weird, is we're seeing, guys have big games, but not get on big hot streaks. That's odd. By the way, today is the day that Gio Gonzalez can opt out if he's not promoted or otherwise satisfied.  I don't see them promoting him.  They also signed Logan Morrison to a minor league deal. Ah, karma.

Giants: the Giants will draft some new players this week. There's a lot of consternation over Duke QB around the Giantverse.  Yeah, he's a little boring, but the Giants have taken the deep dive into this QB class, including talking to all of them. If this is who they want, I'm fine with it, and I hope they don't wait till 17 if they love him. The other team that is super hot on him is the Patriots, and I'm not sure they can move up enough to grab him. The Giants are supposedly worried about the Redskins. If the Redskins don't trade for Rosen and, instead, jump the Giants for Jones, it will be interesting to see what the Giants do about QB. I'll try to highlight more position groups before the picking starts.

Rangers: The Rangers are currently looking for a new Team President. Steve Yzerman, who was thought to be interested, signed with Detroit on Friday. The twitterverse was troubled by the idea that John Davidson might be the new guy. I'm not sure it matters much. The Rangers have good scouts, and have a structure. People might not like it, but the Team President should be sort of ceremonial at this point, and I don't think Davidson would want to change GM's as someone like Yzerman might have demanded.  We'll see what happens.

Knicks: The Knicks are just chiling till May 15.  And that's fine.

So there we are.  It's a huge week for the Giants, where they may or may not, fix the OL, fix the passrush, grab a corner, grab a big receiver and find their QB of the future.  The Yanks need to get some momentum, and hopefully start getting some guys back,  The Rangers could find a Prez or lock up more prospects and the Knicks can just chill.  Have a great one, and Happy Passover and or Easter.

Giants Draft: OL

I've gone on about the Giants OL issues for years and years. Last year, they made some headway by signing Solder and drafting Will Hernandez in the first round.  That gives them a really strong left side of the OL, and they've already added Zeitler as the new LG, which also really helps.  But they still need to upgrade Right Tackle and Center.  So let's focus on those for right now.  The Giants are lucky that they only need a Right Tackle and don't need a blue goose, though they might end up with one.  That is a guy who can come in and play RT until Solder moves on - and then can flip to LT.  Like Pettigout did.

Jonah Williams of Alabama is the top tackle in the class - or is stacked as such in most mocks.  He is pretty much everything you want, but has short arms and will be more likely to flip to Guard in the NFL than to be a Left Tackle.  Really good player, though and if he's there at 17, wouldn't mind taking him at all.

Florida's Jawaan Taylor is probably next, or will go first among T's. He's the complete package at 6'5"  340 and plus movement. I do think he can probably play LT and might thus go higher than JW. He has played both side before and would be a plug and play starter for the Giants.  He probably should be the first tackle taken.

Andre Dillard from Washington State is 6'4" 315 or so, and seems more like the Mouse McNally type than what Gettleman has been attracted to as a GM.  He could start right away at RTm, but is he the right guy to really upgrade the spot if he's more finesse and less a "powa' brokah."  Because what I'm hoping they favor at RT is a Right Tackle version of Will Hernandez.

Oklahoma's Cody Ford might be that guy. Cody's 6'3" and 329, but is both surprisingly nimble and mean. His height might have some teams projecting him to Guard, but he can more than do the job - long term - at RT for the Giants.  He could be there at 17.

The Giants have had 3 meetings with Mississippi's Greg Little.  He's 6'5" but only 310. His effort has been questioned at times and he's been seen as a career underachiever, who had a solid final season. Perhaps the three meetings have been to really see if he's worth taking or if he even loves football.  We'll see.

Dalton Risner from Kansas State has huge hands, is 6'4" and 314. He's a good run blocker who has also played Center.  Don't know if he has enough sand in his pants for the Giants.  Or he might just be a Center, to them, who can kick out when needed.


Another guy the Giants like meeting with is Tytus Howard from Alabama State. He's 6'5" and  322 with some room to grow.  He strggled at times at the combine, but, man, does he seem projectable.  I think he might take some time, but if he's got the head for it, it can be a starting T somewhere.

So, I'd vastly prefer the Giants take someone from this "top group" at tackle than to wake up after the long wait between the 37th and 95th picks and take someone like West Virginia's Yodny Cajuste or someone like that. That would mean more Remmers and less upside.

Now the Draft also features a number of C's who would improve the Giants fortunes there.  Though, again, we come back to the Eric Brown question.  He's the undrafted C they signed after the draft last Spring and who managed to stay on the 53 man roster all year long. If they see him as the fuure starter.  But since they reupped the uninspiring duo of Pio and Pullley, we have to imagine Brown is still not pencilled in, so we must look.

Garrett Bradbury, from NC State,  might be the top guy.  He's 6'2" and 306, and a nifty athlete. He's quick and can get out to the second level, like O'Hara used to. His technique is also solid which allows him to anchor better than some bigger players.

Erik McCoy from Texas is another guy who might be the top C. He's 6'3 and 303, but crushed the combine.  He ran a 4.89 40, which is insane for an OL.  He repped out 29 on the bench.  His 3 cone was over 8, so he can't run the who route tree, but he has strong hands and some room to grow. He's played C, G and T over his Texas career.  Interesting guy if they decide to grab a C at 17 or 37.

Elgton Jenkins is a really athletic, big handed C from Mississippi State. He's 6'4" and 310 and really gets to the second level.  He could be a great value at 37, but will almost certainly be gone by 95.

Ohio State's Michael Jordan, might not be a pug and play C, but he can back up G, too, if he takes some time to take the job.

C-G Ross Piershbacher from Alabama can also back up C and G while he learns, unless he can beat out the flotsam we already have during camp.

C-G Connor McGovern from PSU has blocked for Saquon before and we'll see if that matters.  He might be able to get any of these last 3 at 95 where, if they can become starters, would represent nice value.

Anyway, there are more C's and certainly G's who will be made into C's in this draft.  I'd prefer the Giants pick from this list, unless Eric Brown is the guy, or they can find some other gem.

Btw, the Giants have also spent some time with the Wisconsin guys, but they seem sort of generic, and will either become regulars where they land of be backups.

Let's hope they find their Right Tackle and their C, and let's hope they hit one of them on Day 1.

Giants Draft: The Quarterbacks

For the second year in a row, the pundits generally have the Giants using a first round pick on a QB next week.  So let's take a look at them.  I

It looks like Kyler Murray is set to go first overall, so the Giants will have no reasonable shot at getting him. Even though they have 12 picks, they have about 15 areas they need to address, and if your remember what it cost to go from 4-1 to get Eli, you'll realize they can't afford the bigger move.

Next, in the view of most is Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins.  Dwayne is amazingly accurate all over the field, but the excitement over him has died down recently. It might be because he only started 14 games, or have something to do with a lack on escapabiity. I still like him because I view accuracy at the very top of what a QB must have.  I'm not sure the Giants  have any interest in him.  Though, they don't leak like they used to and his going undercover could mean smoke instead of disinterest.

Next on most boards is Missouri's Drew Lock. He was innacurate in college, and I think he's a bit of a phony personality-wise, though I've only seen a few interviews. He does have the strongest arm in the top group and is a good athlete. Seems like the kind of guy Elway would love, but not so sure about Shurmur and Gettleman.  So Lock may or may not be a guy they like and believe they can fix.

This morning, Gettleman called it a good QB class,  though the media thinks last year's was better, so maybe the Giants have a different way of looking at it.  The next guy up is Duke's  Daniel Jones.  Okay, Giants fans have brutal memories of the last generically named Duke QB the Giants picked: Dave Brown. But is that enough to scare the organization off of Jones? I'm not sure it is.  Jones has been maligned for being sort of vanilla and boring, but the fact is, he's been surrounded by bad players and has lead them to wins. He's done this by not making mistakes with the football. And it has been a product of the lack of talent around him that has dampened his deep numbers - they couldn't catch. I was the only person I knew who wanted the Giants to take Tom Brady  to develop behind Kerry Collins, and Jones reminds me a lot more of Tom Brady than he does of Dave Brown.  Shurmur is known as a quarterback whisperer, and I wouldn't be surprised if he covets his player.  We'll find out next week.

The rest of the class, including WVU's Will Grier,  Northwestern's Clayton Thorson, Vandy's Kyle Shurmur and Auburn's Jarret Stidham don't seem like much and none, at this point has "QB of the future" written loud.

One guy the Giants seem to have spent extra time with is Buffalo's Tyree Jackson.  He's a very good athlete with a big arm, but big accuracy issues. Not sure if the Giants see an easy fix, of it they're willing to take 2 QB's among their 12 picks, but they do seem interested.  Also, since he's local, I think they are allowed to meet with him more.

There are other QB's, but if they're shopping for next year, they're probably looking at the ones here.  Or maybe they'll just trade for Rosen.

Probably won't write up every position, but will try to hit OL's tomorrow.

Big Maple Goes Big Time

Now this was more like it. James Paxton just threw 8 innings of shutout ball against Boston.  He only gave up 2 hits and a walk while striking out 12. If you see Carlos Beltran, thank him. This is exactly the guy they thought they were trading for, and as it often seems, it was someone other than the pitching coach that got him back on the beam.  He was as high as 99 on the gun, and obviously wasn't tipping his curveball anymore.  Pure dominance.

Joe Harvey gave up an infield hit and nothing else in a scoreless 9th to complete the game.

For their part, the Yankee O scored 8 runs, featuring homers from Frazier, Gleyber and Tauchman, who had a bit of a breakout game.  And Urshela, made a phenomenal mid-air throw from foul territitory to nail Betts when the game was still competitive. First great night in the Bronx all season.

Bird to the IL, Ford Up

So Greg Bird is down again, this time he has plantar fasciitis. I've had this one and it sucks.  Anyway when are they going to start looking at his shoe. Rather than calling up McBroom, the Yanks are finally giving a chance to Mike Ford. They signed Mike as an undrafted free agent out Princeton, several years ago. He's a lefty who can hit, and has good pop. He once hit 4 homeruns in a High A game. He's also been lost in the Rule 5 before. So, after his long strange trip, he's finally become a Yankee at 26.  Good luck, Mike.

Rangers Sign Kravstov and Shesterkin

Hot off their lottery luck, the Rangers come to terms with their two top prospects, Vitali Kravstov and Igor Shesterkin on entry level deals. The deals can't be signed till the KHL season ends, which will be in May, but they are both on the way. They also fired Keith McCambridge and let go one of his assistants down in Hartford. While Kravstov was expected, Shesterkin signing was a bit of a suprise. A lot of people thought he wouldn't come over while Hank was still under contract. Guess that was wrong.  Meanwhile, they can now move Georgiev if the proper deal comes along. He showed good value this year, but Shesterkin is the future, and Hank won't agree to a trade, so Shesterkin needs the back up starts. I wonder what the plan is for Rykov...

UPDATE: Tampa Bay tragically got swept in the first round, so the Rangers will get their second round pick, instead of their first round pick this year.  They still have a chance to add a third first rounder if Dallas can make it into the 3rd round of the playoffs.

This Week on the Blog

It was a great week for the Rangers and Sterling Shepard, and a crappy week for the Yanks and everybody else.  The Rangers finally got some lottery luck and moved from pick 6 to pick 2, where they're absolutely going to get a great player.  They Yanks added more guys to the IL and didn't show much resilience on the field. The Knicks finished their brutal tank season, and the Giants extended Sterling and kept getting ready for the draft. Let's take a look at what might happen this week.

Yankees: the Yankees are a tire fire. Happ and Paxton have been ghastly, and the bullpen hasn't offered any help. On the bright side, if there is one, the Yanks do have 12 of 25 guys on the IL, with CC coming back just today. We'll see if he has anything left. Hicks is supposed to be back next week, then I don't know what the schedule is for everyone else. Although there is a temptation to start blasting the offseason, the plethora of injuries makes it a little dishonest. Yes, some players they passed on are doing well here at the start, but they'll all have to do it for a ton of years before the Yanks' atittude can be evaluated. I think the Yankeees really do have to look at their pitching and bullpen coaches. Why do guys like Grey, Paxton and Happ show up and underachieve?   It's a mess.

Giants: The Giants wisely extended Sterling Shepard at a team friendly number, and, other than that, they keep preparing for the draft. It's less than 2 weeks away and I have yet to see a "Mock Draft" that I liked. Most of them have the Giants trading up for someone or using the #17 on Daniel Jones or trading the #37 for Josh Rosen.  ENOUGH.  As I've said, my ony standard for this draft after it's done is "did they fix the OL?"And that remains to be seen, but I can't stand seeing mock drafts that don't find a plug and play OT for the Giants among their first 3 picks. Maybe we'll take a look at some of the prospects groups over the next 12 days.

Rangers: the Rangers finally lucked out and got the #2 pick in the June draft. Now that is a long way off, and the prospects all have to keep proving it through the World Juniors and, I guess, a few of them might even be playing in the World Cup, as well as at the pre-draft Combine. The Rangers scouts have always put a lot of weight on the combine, and that's how they fell in love with McDonagh (whom they they then acquired), Kreider and K'Andre Miller. So it's useful. They also have at least 1 more first round pick in the 20's and possibly 2 more depending on how Tampa and Dallas finish. They need and wll have another monster draft. Btw, the Frozen Four is endind or has ended, so they might sign a college player or two, there.

PS: Since the Rangers will either be taking Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kako, they will henceforth be referred to as The Accuser and The Finnisher.  Note well.

Knicks: the Knicks just announced that Patrick Ewing will represent them and the May 14 NBA Lottery. I guess that's cool. Wish he had ring or two. So that's where they are now. Chilling till the lottery. Let's hope they hold their position.

So there it is.  The Yanks need to get some people back, the Giants need a great plan and cooperative draft board, the Rangers need to keep working hard and producing luck and the Knicks have to find luck for the first time in 34 years.  Have a great one and make some luck of your own.

The Knicks Season Ends

The Knicks, who took care of their tanking biz all year long, played the last game of their franchise worst season ever tonight.  Responsibly, they lost. Now they must wait for the NBA lottery which will take place on May 14th.  They have the worst record and the best odds, but the Rangers had the best odds in the Sidney Crosby draft, too. Weirdness can happen. Let's hope it doesn't happen, though the Knicks can fall now farther than #5, this is looking like a 2 players and a bunch of guys draft. Of course, it may not be, but I didn't see any NBA bodies in the National Championship game on Monday, and I don't know of anyone who is super comfortable calling Barrett a great option at #3.  So May 14th is the biggest night in years - not that they haven't been in the lottery most years, but they've neve been this well placed, and the penalty for falling is looking pretty extreme.  I'm sure it will be a wild offseason, so buckle up.

Rangers Move Up to 2 In NHL Draft Lottery

The Rangers just got some lottery luck and moved up to #2, where they're likely to have a choice between Finnish Wing Kaapo Kakko and American C Jack Hughes.  The Devils will pick first, but both Huges and Kaapo are #1 type picks.  Now watch the Rangers take the Russian, Podkozin, who may never want to come to America. We'll see, but this is a really great night for the Rangers who have 10 picks in the first 3 rounds of a DEEP draft, along now, with the #2 overall pick!  Let's Go, Rangers?

The Sanchino!

The Yanks just completed a 15-3 boot stomping of the O's that pushed them one game over .500.  Gary Sanchez hit 3 two run homers, to give him 6 in 8 games this year and to remind us of what a huge part of the team he remains. He looks healthy and this could be really fun.  In other great news,  Domingo German looks like a new man with his changeup.  Last year he teased us with upside, and now he seems to be hitting it.  So needed. And speaking of such, Clint Frazier is finally siezing an opportunity: after launching the 3 run go ahead blast last night, he started in left today and went 4 for 5 with 2 more jacks. And the Yanks NEED him. Gardy has given his heart, soul and body to the team, but playing him every day overexposes him.  Sticking Clint to the bench, under exposes him. Let's hope they figure it out and Clint is finally breaking out.  Big series against the Astros starts tomorrw.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, the Yanks kept underachieving, the Giants kept working on the draft, the Ranger kept collecting loser points, and the Knicks took care of business and locked up the league's worst record. Interesting things are afoot, and let's take a look at the coming week.

Yankees: The Yanks have been hurt by injuries and underachievement. Fortunately, Gleyber Torres woke up and started looking like a future start, and Voit had a big homer in their last game.  The starting pitching has been mostly okay, but the pen has been giving up too many jacks. Down on the farm, Trey Amburgey is off to a hot start, and perhaps he can help. As mentioned elswhere, Clarke Schmidt pitched the openener of Tampa and shouldn't be there long. Btw, and this is a few months off, but the Yanks should absolutely draft more college pitchers, and keep seeking pitching gold IFA. They're prep pitching program hasn't produced much since Hughes, while their young, international pitchers like Deivi Garcia, continue to find their ways.  Mike Ford just homered for Scranton. Anyway, the Yanks need to get it going - the sooner the better.

Giants: the Giants are continuing to host players they might be interesting in. The draft is now less than 3 weeks away, and they still have all 12 picks.  This is still just a one issue draft for me and that issue is OL. If they can get a plug and play RT and C, it will be a success, if they don't it won't. They owe it to the fans and they owe it to Saquon Barkley. It would be nice to add passrush, and a WR who can take a top off a D, as well as some pass defenders and a better rotational running back than Gallman. We'll see what they can do.

Rangers: Picture at the top of the post is C Jack Hughes, the presumptive first overall pick in this year's draft. The NHL Draft Lottery is Tuesday, so we'll know this week if our guys have a shot.  The Rangers are still loaded with picks for a trade up if they want one, so there's that to consider, too.  And would they trade up for a player who is just 5'9"?  We'll see. In what may be even a bigger deal, it looks like Glen Sather is stepping down as club president this summer and Steve Yzerman reportedly wants the job. I'll be believe that when I see as I already don't trust Yzerman.  It is amazing that under Sather, the Rangers won exactly as many titles as the Knicks did under their constant stream of team prexy's. Yet he never even seemed close to losing his job.  Odd, that. Let's hope the new guy is better.

Knicks: the Knicks took care of business by not taking care of business all season long.  Like the Rangers, they are way overdue some lottery. Because of their horrible record, the Knicks can fall no lower than 5th in the lottery (which proves it is at least managed to some degree). Unlike the Rangers, the Knicks aren't rife with picks, for trade ups. The NBA draft looks like a two or three player deal, so extra picks would have helped. The Knicks need lottery luck, and I still don't buy all of this Duran talk.

So there it is, the Yanks need to shape up, the Giants and Rangers are set up for big drafts and the Knicks have given themselves the best chance for lottery luck. Have a great one!