The Football Grump
Appearances
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
That's just watching the quarterback's eyes and understanding and knowing what that is and then trusting your closing speed and just wiping it out. I think he is one of the more unique ones in which I didn't find him to be overly grabby. Physical, sure, along the route, but I wouldn't say grabby. A lot of like they're both playing the ball kind of situations. I really, really like Will Johnson.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I guess I have to ask you this, though. Forget where the Giants are picking. Is there – is his – does he want to play for the Giants after working with Wink Martindale? Like, is there some level of, like, tainted, I don't know, feeling?
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I definitely think so. And I think for a long time, you know, casuals at the work office, you know what I mean? Ask me my opinion of that Travis Hunter kid. I'm like, well, Johnson's really good, too. Like all all throughout, you know, the fall and winter. I. I certainly think he's more comfortable. He played not more comfortable, but he looks very, very comfortable. He's very patient.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Like you said, he doesn't really fall for a lot of foot jabs and things at the release is also not really impress that much to fall for that stuff. But he is very, very patient, very fluid in his back pedal in the transition, flipping his hips, et cetera. Very, very, very comfortable corner and played at a higher level of competition. I mean,
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Not taking anything away from Travis Hunter, but having to go against Ohio State every year is, you know what I mean? It's not nothing.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
He's a little bit older than some of the other guys, but not by much. He's still only 23 years old, so he's... Still plenty good there, but it stinks that he's coming off a torn ACL and lost experience because I think... I mean, there's for real man coverage skills there. That's for sure. I think anyone would see that right off the bat.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I think he can get lost or drift a little bit too much in zone coverage. I don't know if really lost is the right word, but...
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Yeah, I mean, this is a person that I'm not super familiar with. I haven't been following Siobhan Revel for more than a couple of weeks. So I don't really know a whole bunch about him, the guy, to really have an opinion on how he'll take to coaching or anything like that. I will say he's one of the more physical guys that we're going to cover today.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I think he's the only one that consistently was used in blitzes. Maybe I'm wrong about that. Morrison did a little bit, but yeah. Okay. But yeah, I mean, he's super athletic. So all the rawness, you have the athletic upside. I wouldn't use the athleticism to make up for the rawness.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
But, you know, he's going to have to I think he's going to have to do a little bit of learning and getting comfortable. I don't really know that he's a a starter week one. You know what I mean?
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Yeah, I mean, I understand what you're saying. So I don't... Personally, I think Rebel is an absolute recipe for a bust. Personally. There's a lot that needs to happen from the jump from college level to the NFL game. He's coming from a smaller school with smaller competition. He's already got the rawness in that game. You know, I mean... there's a lot.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
And I, I, you know, said at the top of this that I think it's one of the harder positions to transition from the college game to the pro game. And, and, Again, where I was saying I don't know enough about Revel the guy, where the comparison to Deontay Banks, I remember one of the reasons I really, really liked him is because of his pathway to where he was.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I'm actually usually very down on corners compared to consensus on a general scale. And it's because I think it's one of the hardest positions to transition from the college game to the NFL game. And I think that a lot of the times it's the under-the-radar guy or the guy who is projected in the second round or the third round. Those are the guys who usually...
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
The only offer he got was from Maryland, his home state, and he worked his way into being a first-round pick. And he had first-round buzz. It's not just the Giants reached on him. He was picked pretty much where he belonged, and I think that's him betting on himself and putting in the work and whatever. And I'm not saying Siobhan Ravel isn't that guy. I'm just saying I don't know that about him.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
So it looks to me like a recipe for a bust. This is a guy that me personally, I would stay away, but I understand why people like him.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I don't say usually, but a lot of times those are the guys that stick around and the guys that are picked in the first round, you know, they end up busting out. I mean, it happens all the time with first round corners. And so I'm usually very, very weary about taking them in the first round. But I like taking them in like the day two of the draft. I really like going for corners.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I don't, I don't think we're going to differ that much. I mean, I do have like one note that we're not talking about. That is a negative, but I also, I agree. I think that this is a first round talent with him.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Um, again, weary about taking guys in the first round, but just talking about talent, I would say first round talent also young, but he's going to, well, he's not going to go in the first though.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I don't know. I, I, You know, a lot changes even between now and draft day. And, you know, there's always surprises on draft day. So I wouldn't be shocked to see him go in.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Yeah. Um, and you know, I don't know the severity of the hip injury and I, I'm also not a doctor Mantis toboggan, but, um, you know, he's also 21 years old. He's, he's on the younger side for these guys. Uh, and I also, I don't think he's small. He's six feet, 193 pounds is not that. That's a pretty stocky, but that's, that's, that's solid, you know, height and weight ratio there. Um,
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I think that he's one of the better guys at the line of scrimmage, and I think that he is really, really patient at the release, too. He really doesn't overreact to too much at the release. I think he can get grabby a little bit, but for the most part, you're right. I think he's just physical and disruptive all along the route tree. Really, really good at the catch point.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
My biggest negative against him is... For whatever reason, like I said, it's not like he's light or small or anything like that, but there is a strength issue that shows up. I think he struggles to separate from wide receiver blocks, and sometimes he gets completely just flipped around. he's not a super active part of the run game. You're right. He is a blitzer.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I have the note here, but when he comes in, he's always got his hands up to block, which is good. He just doesn't really close. Well, you don't just see him like pin his ears back and just fly at the quarterback and just drill him. You know, he, I don't really even know that I even saw him get a hit on the quarterback, just coming in, hands up, whatever. Yeah.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
That's – and again, this is like a personal thing for me because I think that in general when it gets to draft season and we're talking about all these traits and we're comparing corners across the board, one thing that I don't think is talked about enough is – is the corners and how they are in the run game. How willing they are to move up to line scrimmage.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
And nobody seems to care when you bring it up. And I'm not talking about you and me here, but just in general. I bring this up with other people, brought on other shows, and talk about... You know, corners just not being an active part in the run game, not being a willing hitter and things like that. Nobody cares until they're on your team in an NFL game and they're just dogging it.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
And they they they shy away from hitting. They kind of, you know, throw a shoulder and not really try. And the NFL game is not forgiving. And that clip of you getting trucked.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
And I think that this is a group of guys this year where there's a lot of value to be had on day two.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
gets played all the time and and when i see him just completely struggle to get away from wide receiver blocks and you know maybe it's the limited film i was able to watch i don't know but it is definitely a negative i have on him so i have a this is a take is because like you said there those plays do show up where a wide receiver gets on his ass as a blocker
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
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Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I, for sure. I think that, um, He enjoys being physical. You can see it in him. He likes throwing guys around. He's strong press man at line of scrimmage. Maybe a little too grabby down the field for the NFL game, but an absolutely willing, strong tackler. Probably needs some better form, but he likes to lay the wood. It's just a trait that I really, really like to watch.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
But I also question a little bit of the... I mean, you said the burst out of the backpedal. I don't know if the burst even to close, I think, at times can be just... Adequate at best? I don't know. Yeah, it's not there. He's also a physical specimen. I mean, I think if you're going to build the perfect corner, he's probably going to be 6'1", 197 pounds and 32-inch arms. You know what I mean?
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
So I do think that if the Giants were in a Wink-Martindale scheme, this is a perfect fit. He likes to hit. He could come in on a blitz, blast somebody. But... he's going to need blitzes and things like that to kind of make up for gaps in coverage, especially if he's dropping back into zone instead of man, but you know, usually a man scheme.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
This is a guy who... I like him. Um, I, he's not like super high on my thing, but if, if we were going to pick an eighth guy to do, I think we did eight guys, right? This is the guy I would pick. He's, he's on the older side. He's 24 years old. He's on the shorter side. He's five, 10, but 194 pounds and 31 inch arms. He's fast. Uh, I think fast is a four, four 40.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
It's not the fastest, but it's fast as hell. Um, I think it was a 1.6, 10 yard split. So he's quick as well. Um, He has a desirable length. He might be inside outside versatile. I think on the inside, the quickness may not be all the way there. So I'm not really sure where he fits. And that might be his doom. You know what I mean? Where he's just a good athlete, a good. I don't know.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
He just may not be starter caliber. But I think he matches speed pretty well. I think he mirrors wide receivers pretty well. One thing I noticed about him is that he's really not tugging on jerseys all that much. Of all the guys we watched, I have... Uh, the note that he's rarely tugging at jerseys or fouling.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Maybe that's not, I didn't have a ton of film to watch, but I did have a couple of games to watch and I didn't really see a whole lot of that. I would like to see more disruption within five yards. I don't love that. He's completely hands off, but, um, I mean, at least I know he's not going to get flags all over the place, and I liked J.C. Horn a lot, but that was a huge concern I had about J.C.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Horn coming. I was like, is this guy even going to survive in the NFL? Look at this. I think he looked best in man coverage, both press and off. I think in zone he could get a little bit lost. I'm not really sure the reason for it. I don't know if it's not understanding or just giving up too much space or just not knowing where the boundaries of where he's supposed to be responsible are.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Um, but definitely somebody that looked better in, in, uh, man situations, a willing tackler, um, good position, some poor form, a lack of general physicality and strength, not physicality. Um, and I don't know if that has to do with size or just willingness, not really sure. Um, but I do think that he has some good instincts and he's willing to trust them too.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
So you can see him kind of jump and undercut at times. Um, I think in the, the 2023 Miami game, he had two things that could have easily been picked. He just wasn't able to pull them in. And then for me, really, at the Senior Bowl, for the one team he was on, the national team, he was the clear best DB. It wasn't even close. He rarely allowed any catches.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
So that's where he really stood out to me was less so the film and where he looked with NFL coaches. And that's a place where Azaria Thomas was. I think Maxwell Hairston was there, too. Right. Yeah, he was. Yeah. So he stood out to me in Mobile. And that's where he I wouldn't say I fell in love with him or whatever, but it was certainly underlining his name kind of a lot.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
And he had a lot of really good ball skills and timing in the one-on-one drills, which we spent the whole day kind of zeroing in on. Quincy Riley may be one of those like early day three guys that is, I don't know, qualified as like a glue guy where it's just like, you know, he's the next man up. He's got to cover a game and he doesn't embarrass himself. He's solid depth. Yeah.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Yeah, I mean, it's the same thing that I said about Mikey Saner still last year. Being able to play both sides of the ball, we'll leave the fact that you have to consider Travis Hunter as a potential wide receiver anyway off the table for now. But the fact is that even if he wasn't currently playing both sides of the ball,
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
And there's nothing wrong with that. You know, I mean, every team needs that. Corners are routinely some of the most injured people in the NFL, right?
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Ooh, that's, I mean, that's more than I use and I stream stuff all the time. You won't be disappointed, I can tell you that. I better not be.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Yeah, I mean, your whole job exists on the internet, so I don't think it's stupid. It is pretty wild. But now that I'm thinking about it more, looking back, we were talking yesterday about how one of the first times I had jumped on Talking Giants, just completely out of the blue, was during the draft because I had actual notes on Aaron Robinson and I... I thought you were joking.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
You're like, Grump, seriously, get in here. If you know something about this guy, tell me now. And so I jumped on there and we're talking. And meanwhile, you have a game pulled up and you're trying to watch it and like stream it. And things were, you said it got really close to crashing everything, the whole stream. My computer was like,
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
It's an old, crappy computer, but... If there's been one consistent in all the times you've been doing the draft, it's that the Giants are going to take someone that you might not have done any work on, and it might be... Blasher would be awesome. Yeah, that's true. But I mean... Blasher would fly for five until Mawasso. I don't think that...
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
The switchover, the knowledge switchover helps so much on the defensive side of the ball. Just understanding concepts as they're breaking down because you run them. Because you understand how it's supposed to beat defenses and in what ways. Then you flip to the other side of the ball. You know exactly how to combat that and you're able to recognize it a lot faster.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I don't think there's anything wrong with you having to pull up an Aaron Robinson film and what the hell not? Why, why not break it down while the other teams are picking?
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I mean, yeah, is it important that other teams are picking, but I'm sure giants fans are gonna be just as happy looking at film being broken down right in front of them and pointing out the guy they just got live while it's happening. So if you are going to be able to do that, I don't think it's stupid at all.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
On top of that, Travis Hunter is just an absolute... animal for the passion of the game. I honest to God think that he is going to be the kind of guy that's going to spend all the hours watching film on his own without anyone telling him to do it on his opponent week after week after week, the same way that Dion did when he was a player. So he wants to absorb as much as possible.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
He wants to be involved as much as possible. I think that Travis Hunter is going to be invaluable at the next level.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Yeah, I think the man coverage is where you see his athleticism kind of keep him in things. And, you know, he has the speed and the ability to mirror and match guys really, really well. But the zone coverage is where he really, really shines. You said that diving pick against UCF is one of my favorite plays of his. The closing point at the catch point is incredibly sharp.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
And I also think that, you know, we talk about his speed. The other thing, it's not just straightaway speed. He's got the ability to tempo that speed alongside the receiver and also on zone coverage, bait quarterbacks. So, I mean, I think the zone coverage is where he really, really shines.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I know everyone, you know, we're all kind of trained to look for the guys that can hang in man coverage, and we value that a lot. But zone coverage is really where Travis Hunter shines and is exceptional.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
100% agree. I don't think this is the same kind of situation as Sauce Gardner, but I'm not really worried about anything with him because I think from what I've gathered from him, and again, I've never met the guy, probably never will meet the guy, but I get the impression that he's the kind of guy who's going to take to coaching really, really well.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
So if there's an area of his game that needs improvement and a coach points it out to him, I think that he's the kind of person that will take it upon himself to improve and work hard
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
at that like woodshed all of the finer details to make that a better part of his game one thing I did notice and again I'm not I'm not super worried about this but it's something I saw time and time again he's not I wouldn't consider him grabby along the route but there's a consistent time when he gets a receiver gets across his face specifically outside step to inside he always reaches with the left hand and at times it's beyond five yards and at times it looks worse than it really is you get a little bit of a jersey tug and
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
It's Crump to you. Ready to talk corners. This is actually one of my favorite positions to break down. I think it's a lot of fun, and I'm ready to go.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I don't know. Is it going to be holding in the NFL? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. But it's something I consistently see. He just stretches out with that left hand and grabs on for just a second. And it could be enough. That's all.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Oh, it's so tough. It's so tough. I think you'd be happy with either. I think from a philosophical standpoint, I think Travis Hunter is I think you use the draft to get the best players that you can. And in that case, I would say Travis Hunter. But I mean, that's I don't know. Is that really realistic? All of the time is the difference between Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter. Massive.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I don't think so. I like both of them. I'm very scared about taking corners in the first round. But Travis Hunter is an extreme exception. And I think a lot of it has to do with what goes on between the ears with him and the character makeup of him as a worker. He's got a fail safe.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
Yeah, I mean, you do have that added benefit right there. But, I mean, again, if you... If he fails, I don't think he will. But if he fails as a corner and you have to resort to him as like, I don't think he's really like an alpha wide receiver one. Immediately the conversation becomes, well, yeah, he's a wide receiver. That's a starter. But at three, you know what I mean?
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
I think Will Johnson's a corner one. There's a significant increase in risk with him over Travis Hunter, I think. His shoulder injury ended his season early. Shoulder injury, missed a game, then had turf toe, so he missed, you know, the remainder of the season, missed the combine, then missed his own pro day with a hamstring thing. You know, All of these things are red flags for sure.
Giants Nation Show (Giants Podcast)
CB Draft Preview | 5
But just looking at the tape stuff, not a lot of red flags. And he's a lot of fun to watch too. He's a gambler. He likes to use his closing speed and watch the underneath stuff and jump it. You look at the pick six against USC, the other one against Fresno State. I mean, those are...