The tight stuff
Options abound in deep TE draft class
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL Draft never is easy, other than when it is.
If the Giants get a few breaks April 27, they could make a selection in the first round that qualifies as easy. If O.J. Howard is on the board when the 23rd-overall pick is set to be made, the Giants will write the name of the tight end from Alabama on the card and run, not walk, up to the podium to secure him. Easy. Alas, Howard is a “riser” in that he not only is the top-rated tight end in the draft but also he is seen as one of the best athletes as well, a combination that could vault him into the top 15. So Howard coming to the Giants might be wishful thinking, unless they are ready to take a bold step to move up to get him.
It comes as no surprise the Giants spoke with Howard at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“It was great,” Howard said Friday about the meeting. “We went over my film and talked about plays and went over formations and talked about my assignment on that particular play. Coach [Ben] McAdoo is a great guy. Great personality.”
As far as on-the-field prowess, there are no secrets with a player who got in 13 games as a true freshman at Alabama. Howard’s college production (114 receptions for 1,726 yards and seven touchdowns) is nothing special, but the Crimson Tide spread the ball around. In two National Championship games against Clemson, Howard had nine catches for 314 yards and three touchdowns.
Howard is the chalk tight-end pick, but not the only pick. The draft is often an eye-of-the-beholder deal, and some of those eyes are likely fixed on David Njoku, a stud from Miami by way of Cedar Grove, N.J. This past season, Njoku had 43 catches for 698 yards and eight TDs. He has long arms and peak acceleration and possibly the most upside of any tight end coming out of college.
It will surprise no one if Njoku does not make it out of the first round. The Giants were one of 13 teams scheduled to meet with him Friday night. Scouts from the Giants also spoke with Michigan’s Jake Butt, who has a knee injury that is expected to drop him into the middle of the draft.
Njoku said it’s “crazy” to think he could interest the Giants and Jets, two teams that play in New Jersey.
“It feels like yesterday that I was a little kid and I was the biggest fan watching them on TV, hoping one day I would go to a game, and now I’m here and could possibly be on that team next season,” Njoku said Friday. “It’s a great blessing. To go home? That would mean a lot. I mean, anywhere I go honestly is a bless- ing, but being raised in Jersey and watching the Giants and the Jets and having them both as my top two favorite teams when I was younger, it would be awesome.”
Asked what he could bring to the Giants, Njoku said: “I think wherever I go, I can definitely bring speed. I’m willing to block anywhere, attached or detached. Speed. And a lot of fun.”
The Giants have Will Tye and Jerell Adams (last year’s sixthround pick) on the roster at tight end and youngster Matt LaCosse coming back off injured reserve. All can be complementary pieces, but the Giants need a No. 1 tight end. In free agency, the Giants could make a run at Jack Doyle, coming off a big season with the Colts and, at 26, an ascending player.