On the second day of the NFL Draft, the New York Giants took Alabama defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson in Round 2 (55th overall) and California quarterback Davis Webb in Round 3 (87th overall).
Both selections address a need for the Giants as Tomlinson will compete with Jay Bromley to start at defensive tackle and replace Johnathan Hankins, and Davis Webb might be the successor to Eli Manning.
In his senior season at Alabama, Tomlinson recorded 62 tackles and three sacks and was one of the reasons the Crimson Tide once again had the best defense in the country.
Last season at California, Webb completed 61.6% of his passes while throwing for 4, 295 yards and 37 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions. He also ran for six touchdowns and named the Senior Bowl MVP.
While both players and first round draft pick Evan Engram should have promising careers with Big Blue. Drafting them did not address the Giants biggest weakness which is the offensive line.
Including last year’s draft, out of the Giants last nine draft picks, none of them have been offensive linemen. The last lineman the Giants drafted was Bobby Hart in the seventh round of the 2015 draft.
Although the Giants did address the offensive line in free agency by acquiring D.J. Fluker who Reese says can play guard or tackle, not taking a lineman in the first three rounds is a head-scratching decision especially when two of the top three offensive tackles were available when the Giants drafted Engram at 23. Reese decision to not draft a lineman in the first two days of the draft could have serious ramifications especially if the line struggles the way it did last season.
There’s still talented offensive linemen still available such as Texas A&M tackle Jermaine Eluemunor and Pittsburgh guard Dorian Johnson, but typically the best players in the draft and in the league are taking early in the draft.
Maybe Reese knows something we don’t know like a lineman he likes that was projected to go late in the draft, or maybe he’s confident that the addition of Fluker will solve the offensive line woes. Either way, it will be interesting to see who the Giants take on the third and final day of the draft.