While New York Giants GM Jerry Reese is known for taking the best player available in the NFL draft regardless of position, there seems to be a growing chorus of voices pointing to the Giants and Reese targeting offensive line and, more specifically, Stanford offensive tackle Andrus Peat in the first-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
"League insiders tell me right now it looks as though the first round selection for the New York Giants will be Andrus Peat of Stanford. The game plan would be to line up Peat at right tackle then push 2013 first-round pick Justin Pugh into guard," Tony Pauline of Draft Insider reports.
Peat, 6-foot-7, 313-pounds, plays with a wide base, good leverage and some serious power.
"Big and powerful with a right tackle's play strength and demeanor, but enough foot quickness to protect on the left side," writes NFL.com's Lance Zierlein. "Peat has the physical tools to be an upper-echelon run blocker with pass-protection ability, but he needs to improve his technique in order to protect with consistency. Peat has been well-coached and is one of the most game-ready offensive linemen in this year's draft."
Reese, probably one of the best team-builders in the NFL, clearly sees in Peat an opportunity to upgrade two spots along his recently under-achieving offensive line. While adding a receiver like Kevin White or Amari Cooper should they fall to No. 9 would be understandable, Pugh struggled toward the end of last season playing tackle despite a strong showing during his rookie year.
Kicking him inside to guard and slotting Peat in at right tackle - with the potential to move to the left side in the future should he develop well - would immediately make the entire Giants offensive unit as whole stronger.
According to a recent report, Peats draft stock hassky-rocketed to the point where he's being discussed as the best offensive lineman in the entirety of the 2015 NFL Draft.
"There has been a lot of recent buzz regarding Stanford offensive tackle Andrus Peat," writes Charlie Campbell of Walter Football. "We spoke with a team picking in the top five that has Peat as their No. 1-rated offensive lineman. They say that they won't take Peat unless they were to trade down and he was the best player available, but they still rate Peat ahead of Iowa's Brandon Scherff. Scherff has been the consensus top offensive lineman in the draft and viewed as the favorite to be the first one selected. That could still be the case, but there is a lot of buzz about Peat going in the top half of the first round, and he could easily go in the top 10 to the Giants or Rams at picks nine and 10, respectively."
While Pugh seemed to rebound from a tough stretch in the middle of the 2014 season - according to Pro Football Focus he finished +3.8 vs. pass, -3.1 vs. run and -3.3 penalty - and has been clear in his desire to remain at tackle, his skillset seems to translate better to the interior of the line.
The potential addition of Peat would allow Tom Coughlin to move Peat inside, upgrade right tackle and, presumably, extend the career of aging franchise quarterback Eli Manning.
