Making the Case for LB Darron Lee as New York Giants’ 1st-Round Pick

In just a few short days, all the mystique surrounding the identity of the New York Giants’ first-round draft pick will disappear, the identity of the player we finally be revealed.

As NFL draft analysts, sportswriters and fans continue to speculate on which way the Giants are leaning, let’s take another look at a prospect ESPN’s Todd McShay and CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco have the Giants taking in their latest mock drafts.

Share Tweet

The Pick: OLB Darron Lee, 6’1”, 232 lbs, Ohio State

Pros

One of the knocks against the Giants’ linebackers in recent years has been the lack of speed and athleticism across the board. 

Ohio State’s Darron Lee’s presence in the Giants linebacker corps could go a long way toward upgrading that position.

According to the NFL Scouting Combine results, Lee was a top performer in both the vertical jump and the broad jump, which would suggest he has explosiveness that could give the Giants linebackers a charge.

Despite relatively limited experience, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein notes Lee’s ability to diagnose plays is solid, and once the prospect diagnoses the play, he’s quick to flow to the ball, while finding “the most efficient routes.”

Zierlein, who notes Lee has the “loose hips, quick feet and desired agility of an NFL weak-side linebacker,” also praises the young man for his ability to shoot through gaps on a blitz. That blitzing ability would probably make him an intriguing option as an extra pass-rusher.

Another knock against the Giants linebackers? Durability.

In Lee, they’d be getting a player who never missed a start in his last two seasons, even though early last season against Western Michigan, he suffered an in-game leg injury that, per Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com, required Lee being carted off the field.

That injury, per Ari Wasserman of Cleveland.com. turned out to be a calf issue, one that Lee shook off to return to the game, while not missing a beat.

While there’s always a first time for an injury to strike a player who was otherwise durable in college, the fact Lee has no major health issues that need to be monitored down the line is certainly appealing to a team whose linebackers have been the poster children for injury-prone players these last few seasons. 

…

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com