Giants’ John Harbaugh justifies keeping two huge draft busts: ‘They’re motivated’
· Yahoo Sports
Why did John Harbaugh want big-time draft busts Evan Neal and Josh Ezeudu back in East Rutherford for his first season?
He offered a lengthy answer Monday while speaking with reporters at the NFL’s Annual Meeting in Phoenix.
Visit freshyourfeel.com for more information.
First, some context: Back when Joe Schoen called personnel shots, the Giants used premium draft picks on Neal (a right tackle) and Ezeudu (an offensive guard/tackle) in 2022.
Schoen picked Neal seventh overall and Ezeudu 60 spots later, in Round 3. Both spent the next four seasons mostly failing, while also dealing with durability issues.
So surely, Harbaugh would let both players walk in free agency this offseason, right? Nope.
The Harbaugh-led Giants re-signed Neal and Ezeudu to extremely cheap one-year contracts. (So these are low-risk moves that don’t guarantee a Week 1 roster spot for either player.) Ezeudu’s salary cap number is $1.25 million. Neal’s is just $1.075 million. Again, nothing to lose for the Giants.
Harbaugh on Monday claimed that he really liked Neal and Ezeudu during the 2022 pre-draft process, back when he coached the Ravens.
“We had them highly graded,” Harbaugh said. “They haven’t broken through yet. But why can’t they?”
Then Harbaugh got all professorial, as he sometimes does.
“George Bernard Shaw said: Some men see things as they are, and they ask, ‘Why?’ We see things as they aren’t and ask, ‘Why not?’" Harbaugh said. “That’s what I say with those two guys: Why not? Why not give them an opportunity?”
Of course, it’s easy to say “why not?” when a player is getting a bare-minimum contract and can easily be tossed aside before September if he struggles during training camp.
If you care, this is the actual expression from Shaw: “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’”
Anyway, back to Harbaugh on these two struggling offensive linemen.
“They’re motivated,” Harbaugh said. “They came in the office, they sat down, and they laid out a plan and a vision for what they what to accomplish and the type of players they want to be. And they showed us what they’re doing to make that happen right now.
“So let’s give them a shot. They’re talented. They’re tough. They want to be great. They have big dreams. So if they’re going to dream big, I’d like them to do it right here in our building and try to realize those dreams with us. And we’ll give them a shot to do that.”
MORE GIANTS COVERAGE
- Giants’ John Harbaugh raves about ‘playmaking’ newcomer: ‘He’s going to be big’
- Giants are open to reunion with franchise great: ‘We’ll be looking at him for sure’
- NFL owners meeting: Status of embattled Giants’ owner revealed
- Giants make roster decision on key player
Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.