North Carolina offensive guard Joshua Ezeudu was emotional on Friday night recounting the Giants’ phone call at pick No. 67 of the third round.
“It was very surreal,” Ezeudu, 22, said on a conference call. “You think about it so much, but [when] it actually happens, it kind of socks you. I was speechless. I didn’t know what type of emotions I had. And as soon as I heard my name being called, I just let it all out.
“It took a lot of hard work to get here,” he said. “But the hard work is still not done.”
Ezeudu, 22, is a 6-4, 308-pound left guard who played 20 college games on the interior and eight games at tackle (six on the left, two on the right).
Schoen said he saw him play in person twice last fall. Ezeudu has even switched positions on the line during the same drive.
“I want to play anything the team needs me to play,” he said of his Giants’ role. “I can’t wait to get there and get to work.”
Picks like Ezeudu are just as important for the Giants offensive line’s sustainability as first–rounders like No. 7 overall pick, Alabama tackle Evan Neal.
Blue-chip players are important, but so is the development of mid-round selections and undrafted free agents.
Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson did that with Buffalo undrafted guard Ryan Bates, for example. And he met Ezeudu during the Giants’ recruitment at his pro day.
Bates played in eight games as a rookie in 2019 and 16 in 2020, all as a backup. Then he started four regular season games and two playoff games for the Bills last year while appearing in all 19.
Giants GM Joe Schoen signed a bunch of veteran O-linemen to one-year deals this offseason: center Jon Feliciano, tackle Matt Gono, guard Jamil Douglas and guard Max Garcia.
But when those deals expire, the Giants need young draft picks and developmental players to grow and take those spots.
The Giants followed that pick up with LSU nickel corner Cordale Flott at No. 81 overall in the third round. Schoen said he thinks the 6-foot, 175-pound Flott can play both inside and outside.
Flott, 20, is “still developing,” Schoen said, and has “really good movement skills.”
That pick doesn’t seem to project as a replacement for veteran James Bradberry if the Giants trade their incumbent starter.
Schoen said he had conversations with teams about Bradberry before the draft but hasn’t received more interest during the draft.
This is the third straight year the organization has drafted a corner who profiles more in the slot, following 2021 third-rounder Aaron Robinson and 2020 fourth-rounder Darnay Holmes.
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