DT Christian Wilkins was a leader for Clemson. Coul

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d he do the same for the Giants’ defensive line?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections New York Giants NewsGiants Training Camp 2016Giants vs. Eagles 2015 , Week 172019 NFL DraftWhat would Clemson DT Christian Wilkins bring to the Giants?New,32commentsDT Christian Wilkins was a leader for Clemson. Could he do the same for the Giants’ defensive line?EDTShareTweetShareShareWhat would Clemson DT Christian Wilkins bring to the Giants?Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY SportsIt came as something of a surprise when defensive tackle Christian Wilkins elected to forego the 2018 NFL Draft and return to school. Wilkins was regarded as one of the top prospects in last year’s draft and was almost a lock to go in the first round, but still he decided to keep Clemson’s defensive line together. The group believed that their team still had work to do and could lead their team to a championship in 2018, and as the leader of that defensive line, Wilkins couldn’t go running off to chase NFL riches. They were right, and it was the Clemson defensive line, powered by Wilkins and Clelin Ferrell, who lead Clemson to a championship over an Alabama team which had steamrolled the SEC in the regular season.Now he is in the draft, and the New York Giants are in search of talented, disruptive players for every level of their defense. It’s safe to assume that the Giants have some level of interest in all of the Clemson defensive linemen, so what could Wilkins bring to New York?MeasurablesProsPrototypical frame for a 3-technique defensive tackle.Shows an impressive first step. Good quickness and agility in a short area.Usually plays with low hips and pad level. Good hand usage. Consistently tries to establish inside leverage. Shows a variety of pass rush moves. Routinely rushes with a plan. Good awareness of the ball. Versatile. Played all over the Clemson defensive line. Widely regarded as a team leader and a very high character young man.Great hustle. Never gives up on a play.ConsGood, but not great athlete for the position.Arms might be too short for some teams.Isn’t great against double-teams.Balance is occasionally a question.Prospect VideoWhat They’re Saying - Joe Marino (The Draft Network - Scouting Report) Does He Fit The Giants?Absolutely. Wilkins might be regarded as a natural 3-technique in a 4-3 front, but by no means is he limited to that role. Clemson played him all over their front, from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 nose tackle, and he played well wherever they lined him up. For the Giants he would be a 5-technique defensive end in their base defense and a 3-technique defensive tackle in their nickel packages, and should be disruptive whenever he is on the field. Wilkins has a very good (though not quite elite) first step to pair with polished hand usage and a chess player’s mentality. He has a solid repertoire of pass rushing moves and freely mixes them with his bull-rushes to set up offensive linemen later in the game. Wilkins also uses his agility well to attack unexpected gaps or execute TEX (Tackle/End Exchange) stunts. Wilkins isn’t an athletic phenom like some linemen in this class , but he is athletic enough to give most offensive linemen trouble in one-on-one situations. He probably shouldn’t be used as a two-gapping player in either a 4-3 or 3-4 front, but that shouldn’t be an issue in James Bettcher’s attacking 1-gap defense.Finally, Wilkins is widely, and highly, regarded for his character and work ethic off the field and should be great presence in the locker room from Day 1. If he is still available when the Giants are on the clock for the 17th overall pick, the only reason the Giants shouldn’t give him heavy consideration is if they took one of the elite interior defensive line prospects at sixth overall. The holidays are almost here! With that in mind, let’s open one last Big Blue View mailbag and see what New York Giants fans have on their minds.Hank Gardstein asks: My question is: how do we SUPPOSEDLY know the #17 is not the guy of the future? Surely not the 1 appearance in garbage time and surely not preseason games. Has he shown nothing in practice? The team has so many needs, it seems that we should be damn sure that this kid is not the answer to Q-back, rather than wasting picks and deals on someone who might not be any better. Let’s play him and find out.Ed says: Hank, let’s start with this. I know fans get all uppity because they haven’t seen Kyle Lauletta, expect for one really awful quarter of play. I know fans are still annoyed because Davis Webb never played. Thing is, the decision isn’t up to the fan base and whether or not the fans get to see more of Lauletta isn’t important. Not even a little bit.What is important is what the Giants’ decision-makers — Pat Shurmur, Dave Gettleman and even co-owner John Mara — think of Lauletta. They see him in practice every day. They see him in meetings every day. They see him in the locker room every day. They know his ability level, his readiness to play, his personality, his work ethic. All of that matters , and it’s different than last year with Webb. Shurmur and Gettleman will be back next season and they know what they have — or don’t have — in Lauletta.If you are actually paying attention to what Shurmur has been saying, he has been telling us that he doesn’t think Lauletta is ready to play winning football at the NFL level yet. He may be after a full NFL offseason, but he’s a fourth-round pick out of an FCS school. He’s not a first-round pick from a Power 5 school. The Giants NOT going out of the way to play him should be telling you something.David Gray asks: While watching the Saints/Panthers game, I was thinking that Drew Brees is clearly a better quarterback (than Eli Manning) and a Hall of Famer; a record-setting quarterback who has his team competing for a playoff spot every year.But I was wondering who would I rather have at quarterback if Brees never wins another championship: the surefire record-setting Hall of Famer who would bring only one championship or a solid quarterback who would bring two championships?Ed says: Well, David you didn’t really ask me a question there. You kind of asked yourself one. I’m going to give you my answer, anyway.Everybody who has followed Big Blue View for a while knows I have always believed in Eli, and always thought he got more heat for the Giants’ failings than he has deserved. If you think for a second, though, that Manning is or has been close to the quarterback Brees has been throughout his career I’m not sure what you’ve been watching. I’m taking Brees all day, every day.Ed says: Player value in NFL trades is something fans always have a hard time understanding. Why could the Giants only get a fifth-round pick for Damon Harrison? Age and contract are the answers. A fourth-round pick for Eli Apple? The baggage from 2017 and the reality that he was very inconsistent for the Giants are the answers. All things considered, GM Dave Gettleman did well to get a third-round pick for Jason Pierre-Paul last offseason.Point is, there are a lot more deals where the return seems under-whelming than deals like the Amari Cooper one where a team gets a first-round pick in exchange for the player.I think Gettleman will float Olivier Vernon, Janoris Jenkins and maybe a couple of other veteran players in trade discussions and see what the return might be. They might even float Evan Engram’s name, but I doubt they would move him. Nor do I think they should. I think the Giants would love to recoup the third-round pick they forfeited by taking cornerback Sam Beal in the supplemental draft. I’m just not sure they can get that kind of return for anyone they might be willing to move.Ed says: First, you always consider trading players for more picks. Thing is, the Giants already have nine picks and could get two more compensatory picks if Over The Cap’s projection proves accurate. That’s 11 picks. Sorry , but 11 drafted rookies aren’t making the roster next season. With that many picks, it might be more likely the Giants would use some of them to target specific players and move around the board to get a couple of them.As for what the Giants should target, if you watch games you know the areas of need — offensive line, all across the defense, quarterback of the future. This draft has a a couple of offensive tackles who will probably be Day 1 picks, but not a lot. The quarterback class is considered “meh” by most evaluators. Defensively, though, this draft is considered to be flush with talent. So, follow the talent and stock up on defense. Find an offensive tackle to compete on the right side somewhere in the first two days of the draft. Don’t force a quarterback pick, but if a guy you really love is their and you believe he can be your guy, make the move.Ed says: Kevin, quite honestly I don’t know. I had never heard of Bo Levi Mitchell until his name was mentioned to me a couple of weeks ago, and I have never seen him play. I know that Mitchell has NFL teams intrigued and that he is working out for several of them. Sounds like teams think he might be a capable backup option. I would have to believe he is in the NFL somewhere next season.

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