PFF Offers Better Choice for NY Giants 2016 First-round Pick in Re-draft Exercise

After hitting a home run with their first-round pick in 2014 (receiver Odell Bekcham Jr), the New York Giants went on a two-year stretch in which their first round picks in 2015 (tackle Ereck Flowers) and 2016 (cornerback Eli Apple) were not only colossal busts, but who arguably contributed to the franchise being set back at two of the most critical positions on the team.

Apple, chosen tenth overall after the Giants’ reported targets of edge Leonard Floyd and offensive lineman Jack Conklin were snatched off the board by the Browns and Bucs respectively, lasted two and a half rocky seasons for the Giants, his lack of maturity in the locker room turning off several of his teammates, including safety Landon Collins, who during a 2017 radio interview called him a cancer. 

While the past can’t be undone, Pro Football Focus went back and conducted a re-draft of the 2016 first round, and their pick for the Giants was defensive lineman DeForest Buckner from Oregon, who in the real draft went No. 7 overall to the 49ers.

“New York opts for Buckner, who has made three Pro Bowls and been one of the five most valuable defensive tackles in the NFL since he was drafted, according to PFF WAR,” the PFF analyst team of Max Chadwick, Dalton Wasserman, and Trevor Sukkema noted.

At the time Apple was selected, it was widely believed that he was a “panic” pick by then general manager Jerry Reese, who for weeks leading up to that draft, was thought to have first round grades on Floyd and Conklin, but not so much Apple, who per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, had a 6.20 prospect grade (will eventually be average starter) on Apple. 

That’s not exactly the prognosis one wants to read about a top-ten draft pick, and yet Apple, who did start 23 games as a Giant, didn’t even make it that far in his development for the Giants. 

Not only did Apple struggle on the field, but in what would be his final season with the team, he reportedly took offense to a film session in which he was called out. He also drew discipline from the team for tweeting during a game, which is a direct violation of the rules. 

He was benched for four games and drew a one-game suspension in 2017 for a pattern of behavior deemed detrimental to the team. The Giants ended up trading Apple to the Saints in exchange for a 2019 fourth-round pick and a 2020 seventh round pick.

After the Saints, Apple made stops in Carolina, Cincinnati, Miami, and Los Angeles (Chargers).

Buckner, meanwhile, went on to earn three Pro Bowls and was named a second-team All-Pro in 2019 and a first-team All-Pro in 2020. He moved on from the 49ers to the Colts, where he’s been since. 

The Giants would eventually get Dexter Lawrence in the first round of the 2019 draft, but imagine how much better the defense might have been before Lawrence’s arrival had the Giants pursued the path laid out by PFF in their re-draft.

More New York Giants Coverage