When LSU receiver Rueben Randle sat in the green room through the final pick of the second round at the NFL draft, it would have been easy to suggest that the NFL screwed up by inviting Randle to the draft at all: Why was the 63rd player taken one of the 26 players brought to Radio City Music Hall?
But the Giants, who finally drafted Randle, don’t see it that way. They say they had a first-round grade on Randle and considered taking him with the 32nd overall pick.
“I really didn’t think there was a chance we were going to get him,” Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross said. “He was one of those where, at the end of the night [Thursday], you said, ‘He’s going to be one of the first few guys taken at the top of the [second] round.’ It’s very surprising that he was still there.”
Ross labeled Randle “an NFL-ready receiver” and expects Randle to contribute to the Giants’ offense as a rookie. Combined with first-round running back David Wilson, the Giants drafted two guys who will make plays with the ball in their hands as rookies.
And the Giants’ draft looks solid from top to bottom: After Wilson and Randle, the picks of Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley, Cincinnati tight end Adrien Robinson, Auburn tackle Brandon Mosley, Alabama-Birmingham tackle Matt McCants and North Carolina State defensive lineman Markus Kuhn all appear to be good value where they were selected. The best team in the NFL got better over the last three days.
