The New York Giants and general manager Jerry Reese have not given any indications on who they would like to draft at 23 in tonight’s draft.
While they’ve been tight-lipped on who they’ll take, there have been reports over the last few days that they will not take Wisconsin left tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
Ramczyk, who is viewed by many as the best tackle in this year’s draft, was viewed as being an option for the Giants since offensive line and especially left tackle is in need of an upgrade. But there are a few red flags surrounding Ramczyk which makes him a risk to take in the first round.
For one, there’s a concern about how committed he is to playing football. In 2012, he declined a scholarship from the University of Pittsburgh, and then after graduating high school, he took a year off from football. After attending two technical schools for a semester each, Ramczyk transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a division where he resumed his football career.
He then transferred to the University of Wisconsin and after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, then started in all of the Badgers 14 games in 2016 where he was named First-Team All-American and First Team All-Big 10.
There’s no denying his talent, but some feel he plays football for the benefits it provides rather than for a true love for the game. Obviously, this would be on the Giants mind, whether they’re willing to invest in a player who may not be 100 percent committed to football.
The other concern surrounding Ramczyk is that he had arthroscopic surgery on torn labrum in his hip which limited to only being able to compete in the bench press at the NFL combine.
He should be good to go by the time the Giants have mandatory minicamp from Jun. 13 to 15, but it is an added concern.
If the Giants selected an offensive tackle tonight, it will be either Utah’s Garrett Bolles or Alabama’s Cam Robinson, both of whom made first-team in their respected conferences.
There’s not much of a gap in the grades of all three linemen, so expect the Giants to make the safer pick and take Bolles or Robinson.