Floyd was Apple of Giants’ eye
THE GIANTS have Eli Apple, and through some ups and downs — heck, he wa s benched for poor play against the Eagles — the rookie is now a starting cornerback, coming off a nice comeback performance in the victory over the Bengals. The Bears, slogging through a lost season, arrive Sunday with Leonard Floyd, a player the Giants coveted in the draft — a long, lean pass-rushing linebacker doing big things in Chicago. Every year, there is a what-might-havebeen scenario coming out of the draft, but this one feels different, given how much the Giants almost could not hide their zeal for Floyd, and how Apple felt like a consolation prize. “I know they had people out at his Pro Day and spent time talking to him t here. I know Leonard felt a good connection there during the process,’’ Todd France, Floyd’s agent, told The Post on Wednesday of the Giants’ interest in his client. “I think the final straw that proves the theory right is the fact the Bears felt that way too, so much so that they actually traded in front of them to take the kid.’’ Oh yes, the Giants wanted Floyd. They had Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin, Floyd and Apple ranked in that order in a cluster. They held the No. 10 pick in the draft and figured Floyd or Conklin would be there for them. As it turned out, they we r e wrong. The Titans made a bold move, trading up from No. 15, wheeling and dealing with the Browns, rising all the way to No. 8 to secure Conklin. The Titans had a conviction and made it work.
Next, the Bears did something they had not done in 20 years — traded up in the first round — to land Floyd, knowing the Giants were on to the scent.
“We were concerned he would go a couple of picks ahead of us,’’ Bears general manager Ryan Pace said after making the draft-day deal with the Buccaneers, shipping the No. 11 pick and one of his two fourth-round picks to Tampa Bay for No. 9.
“You do when you see something you like, and in this case I think we’ve been rewarded,’’ Bears coach John Fox said Wednesday, explaining the reasoning for the trade.
The Giants either were not sold enough on Floyd or had little appetite for a bold move and the loss of a mid-round draft pick. They stood pat and took the next player on their board, the cornerback from Ohio State. Cornerbacks are in such demand — like starting pitchers, you never can have enough — that taking one in the top 10 rarely can be questioned, but the hot-take analysis is the Giants got the thirdbest player of the three.
Conklin has been great. He has not allowed a sack of Marcus Mariota, and Pro Football Focus has him rated as the best right tackle in the NFL.
Floyd got off to a slow start in Chicago, laboring with calf and hamstring strains, but the past three games have illustrated what the Giants saw in him: 4. 5 sacks, one forced fumble he returned for a touchdown, 10 tackles and two holding penalties drawn. These are dark days for the Bears, but Floyd is a shining light.
“I see great potential,’’ Fox said. “Of late, over the last month, he’s had a very productive run there in that stretch of time. I see a bright, bright future in Leonard Floyd.’’
Fox is a former Giants defensive coordinator under Jim Fassel, but he did not need that connection to realize the Giants were hot for Floyd. Asked about the Bears moving ahead of the Giants, Fox said, “I kind of thought this might come up,” then added no one really knows who likes whom amid the lies and deception of the draft process.
“You try to maneuver in the draft to get the players you want, and he was a guy we wanted,’’ Fox said.
The Bears did some maneuvering to get their guy. So did the Titans. The Giants stayed right where they were and took Eli Apple. How this pans out remains to be seen.