Why WR Bryce Ford-Wheaton picked Giants over Eagles, Seahawks

West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton went undrafted last week but received attention from both the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks. 

Ford-Wheaton ultimately signed with the New York Giants as a free agent following the draft, and he told The Athletic's Dan Duggan how a predraft visit with Giants head coach Brian Daboll impacted that decision. 

"I talked to him for a long time," Ford-Wheaton said about the reigning NFL Coach of the Year. "My phone was blowing up while I was on the phone with him. I was sending everybody else to voicemail because in my head I was already like, 'This is where I want to go.'" 

Nick Sirianni recently guided the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance, and Pete Carroll realistically should be a two-time Super Bowl champion coach. Both called Ford-Wheaton shortly after the draft concluded, but he said a conversation with current Giants receiver and West Virginia product David Sills helped sell him on Big Blue. 

"The determining factor was I had David Sills, one of my old teammates, up there. He’s done what I’m trying to do right now," Ford-Wheaton noted. 

Sills has spent much of his time with the Giants on the practice squad but appeared in nine regular-season games this past campaign while earning playing time ahead of big-money acquisition and free-agency flop Kenny Golladay.

"(Daboll is) just a real honest, up-front dude. He’s just real blunt," Ford-Wheaton continued. "He’s not going to sit here and lie in your face. I was asking him what he saw my role being, and he just straight up said my role is going to be whatever I make it. I knew that he doesn’t care about where you get drafted or when. He cares more about what you’re about to do and how you’re going to produce. The best man is going to play. The proof is in the pudding." 

The Giants did well to acquire some weapons for quarterback Daniel Jones this offseason before the club spent a third-round pick on Tennessee Volunteers receiver Jalin Hyatt last week. Duggan mentioned that "the Giants view Ford-Wheaton as a player they want to develop on the practice squad," but Daboll's history suggests the rookie could receive some meaningful snaps this fall if others fail to produce positive results.