CBS Regrades Giants’ 2021 Draft Class as a Bust

When it comes to the NFL draft, the New York Giants haven’t exactly been the gold standard in the league for getting optimal production from their selections despite drafting in the top half of the order in several prior selection processes. 

Typically, one can tell if a class is a boom or a bust by watching its progress over three years. Well, with three years having passed on the Giants’ Class of 2021, the grading has begun, and it’s not good.

CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco recently regraded the 2021 NFL Draft for every team in the National Football League. He compared the draft grades he gave each team shortly after that draft to the grade he’d give to those players now that they’ve been in the league for a few seasons. 

Prisco, who initially graded the Giants’ Class of 2021 a B+, has vastly downgraded his grade to a D.

“They had six picks in the draft, including three in the first 71, and not one will go into the 2024 season as a starter,” Prisco said, pointing out a glaring issue with former general manager Dave Gettleman’s final draft class. 

“They whiffed on first-round receiver Kadarius Toney, who was traded to the Chiefs after just 30 catches for the Giants in five starts over two seasons.”

The silver lining for the Giants, who now famously passed on outside linebacker Micah Parsons, is that they picked up an extra first-round pick in 2022. And when they traded Toney, they received a third and a sixth from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Still, that doesn’t do anything to help the class’s grade.

“Second-round pass rusher Azeez Ojulari has 25 starts in three seasons with 16 sacks, but he will be a rotational player with Brian Burns coming over in a trade,” Prisco continued. 

“The other backups on the roster are third-round corner Aaron Robinson and sixth-round running back Gary Brightwell. Robinson has played 11 games — none last season — as injuries have limited him.”

Prisco admitted to being a fan of the Giants’ Ojulari selection in the second round, which many people thought was a steal at the time. 

“I loved the pick of Ojulari, who I said could be a major steal,” Prisco said. “He hasn’t been that, but he’s been solid.”

Aaron Robinson, whom the team likely envisioned as a starting cornerback, has been a victim of bad luck with his medicals. He remains on the roster, but having missed so much time, it’s fair to wonder if the door has closed on his chance to become a starter.

The bottom line is that the Giants Class of 2021, which at the time brimmed with such promise, has morphed into one of their worst in recent years. 

Add to that other draft classes in which the picks either didn’t finish their rookie deals or didn’t pan out during their time in New York, and it’s no wonder why the Giants’ quality of play has deteriorated in recent years.