After the New York Giants selected a wide receiver in the first round, defense became a priority in the second and third round. General manager Dave 'the Gettle' Gettleman owned the 42nd pick in the second round and-- no he didn't, yes he did-- trade the Giants pick back!
🗣 Welcome to NY, Azeez Ojulari!
📰: https://t.co/Rrb0GJ7dKL pic.twitter.com/qHKqjl1HFq
— New York Giants (@Giants) May 1, 2021
Early in the second round, steam started coming out of the ears of Dave Gettleman at the Giants draft table and the Giants draft team could not stop him from calling the Miami Dolphins' general manager. The Gettle asked Chris Grier, "Can we trade you 50 for 42?" Grier said, "YEAH!" and the Gettle traded back for the second time at this year's draft, giving Miami the 42nd pick at the 2021 NFL Draft in exchange for the 50th pick and a third-rounder in 2022.
At 50th, the Giants stole Azeez Ojulari, the edge rusher who was second-team ALL-SEC in 2020 at Georgia. Ojaluri could have been picked by another team in the first round, but he was still available for Big Blue and they took this stand-out defensive player.
The Gettle Got a Pass Rusher!
The giants took Azeez Ojulari, the Edge Rusher from the Georgia Bulldogs, at 50th overall in the second round. The athletic edge rusher had a knee injury that ended his high school career and forced him to "red-shirt" his sophomore season. Then the six-foot-three edge rusher was able to put together stellar Junior and Senior years with the Bulldogs. In 27 total college games, Ojaluri had 19.5 tackles that ended in a loss, 14 sacks and 30 Quarterback-pressures "11 more than the next" player on the QB pressures stat sheet.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler penned a recap of the NFL Draft's second round and offered these insights into the Giants 50th-overall pick.
The Giants considered Azeez Ojulari in the first round, but went a different direction and were still able to get him in the second. He is explosive, long and instinctive and wouldn’t have fallen this far, but a few teams flagged him for medical reasons. If he stays healthy, this will be a steal.
Ojaluri tore his ACL during his senior year of high school that ended his career. He "red-shirted in 2018" which means did not play but practiced during his sophomore year at Georgia University. Overall he seems like a great pick, because he's a powerful and athletic pass rusher who is just 21 years old and the Giants can develop into a solid NFL player.
The Gettle Trades Back, Again!
The other experts at the Giants draft table tried to keep "the Gettle" still, Gettleman called up Denver's GM George Paton and made a trade. The Giants traded the 71st-pick in the second round to the Denver Broncos for the 76th-overall pick. The Giants picked Aaron Robinson a cornerback from the University of Central Florida.
Hello, Aaron Robinson 👋
📰: https://t.co/xRN1ydOYpo pic.twitter.com/O5nAvExodp
— New York Giants (@Giants) May 1, 2021
Robinson is a very fast corner because he ran a 4.38 forty-yard-dash at the Combine. However, 'A Rob' is 24 years old and the Athletic's Sheil Kapadia described him as "older." The statistic that shows what the pugnacious corner's excellence is this: in his college career, he had 22 passes-defended and three interceptions.
Despite Kapadia's initial ageism, he offered this nugget in his closing statement. "The Giants could view Robinson as a versatile starter, who's capable of lining up outside or in the slot. This is a fine pick."
From a bird's eye view, the Giants were able to snag Azeez Ojaluri, a first-round-level pass rusher with a late-2nd round pick and a cornerback in Aaron Robinson to help their secondary. The second day, Friday night, was a good night for GM Dave Gettleman and the Giants.
Hey, you know, I'm starting to like 'The Gettle,' hey mom, can we have the Gettle over every Friday for Tea? My mom replied: "Oh, no we can't honey, he'll trade my plates and teapots." All kidding aside, the New York media has not given Gettleman enough credit during the last couple of years, for drafting Pro-bowl tailback Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones, who have played well the last two seasons and hopefully have many more good seasons in their futures. With the first three draft picks the Giants made in 2021, 'Big Blue' may be playing in the playoffs sooner than many of you fans think.
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