On the night of November 16, 2013, Ahmad Gardner was eating dinner with his family at a restaurant in New York. A week later he received an offer from programs across the country and decided to attend Columbia University on scholarship.
The “ahmad gardner draft projection” is a prospect that has been projected to be drafted by the New York Giants. The prospect, Ahmad Gardner, was selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Even before the Giants’ abysmal 2021 season, it looked that the team would spend the first of two first-round selections on an offensive lineman. New head coach Brian Daboll is presently committed to fourth-year quarterback Daniel Jones, so it’s understandable that the four-time Super Bowl winners would want to choose an outstanding tackle like Mississippi State’s Charles Cross or North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu in the first round.
Although the Giants haven’t ruled out picking a lineman five overall, all indicators lean to the team using that choice to choose Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Which, in the case of the All-AAC defender, might prove to be a disastrously dumb choice.
After Cincinnati’s pro day, the Giants allegedly had dinner with top cornerback prospect Ahmad Gardner.
Clearly, @JeffRubys was the place to be in Cincy last night. Expected first-round CB Sauce Gardner went there last night: w/ the #Saints for appetizers and the #Giants for the main course.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) March 24, 2022
On Thursday, March 24, the University of Cincinnati welcomed almost 100 NFL executives, including Giants general manager Joe Schoen. Gardner, a consensus All-American last season, sat on the sidelines for the most of the event and spoke with a number of clubs.
Several hours later, the top cornerback prospect dined with the Giants at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse.
Gardner went to Jeff Ruby’s to meet with the Giants and the Saints on a technical level. According to NFL Media’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, the 21-year-old just had appetizers with the Saints before joining Big Blue for the main dish.
What exactly does all of this imply? It might, after all, imply nothing. Gardner is largely expected to be taken inside the top 10 choices, thus the Giants’ interest in him might indicate that they are planning to take him fifth overall.
We believe that, as great as Gardner is, such a transfer would be a huge mistake.
If the Giants skip on an offensive lineman in favor of Gardner at No. 5, they will be playing with fire.
Should the Cincinnati Bengals choose cornerback Ahmad Gardner fifth overall in the 2022 NFL Draft? | Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
To be clear, our reservations about the Giants picking Gardner fifth overall have nothing to do with him as a player or a person. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound cornerback has received praise for his confidence, talent, and ability to break up plays after running a 4.41 40-yard sprint speed. He’ll almost probably start on Day 1 and has a promising career in the NFL.
Everything is fantastic. But with the fifth overall selection, the Giants don’t need that.
As of now, it looks the Giants will not use either of their two first-round selections to draft a quarterback, which is the correct decision. Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll must spend in an offensive lineman, particularly if Liberty quarterback Malik Willis is selected with the second overall choice by the Detroit Lions. The Giants would almost surely have a chance to get one of Cross, Ekwonu, or Alabama’s Evan Neal in that circumstance, while the Houston Texans (No. 3) and New York Jets (No. 4) are anticipated to seek either an offensive lineman or a pass-rusher.
The Giants currently have simply too many gaps on their roster to choose a defensive back at No. 5, even if he is incredibly gifted. If they’re still doubtful, they can ask the Jets how Dee Milliner (No. 9, 2013) and safety/linebacker Jamal Adams (No. 6, 2017) fared in the early stages of the rebuilding process. Because of the team’s terrible offense and a dearth of solid linemen throughout Adams’ three seasons, Gang Green never won a game.
There’s a case to be made that the Giants can afford to choose Gardner fifth overall and hope that one of those offensive lineman slips to No. 7; the Carolina Panthers, who pick sixth overall, have shown interest in Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett on many occasions.
Is the danger, however, really worth it?
Ekwonu and Neal have long been projected first-round picks, and Cross is no slouch either. Instead of targeting a cornerback so early, the Giants should give Jones (and his prospective successor) a franchise left tackle — or, maybe, a right tackle who would line up opposite Andrew Thomas — who can keep him on his feet.
Kyle Hamilton, the top safety for Notre Dame, should not be an exception.
For months, mock drafts predicted that the Giants would choose an offensive lineman in the first round, as well as Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Although Hamilton’s draft value has surged to the point where he may be in play at No. 2 pick, that might still happen in theory.
Sticking to the idea of selecting an offensive lineman with the fifth overall selection will benefit the Giants the most. Schoen can then work with Jones to find him a replacement offensive tackle. There will be plenty of significant defensive backs available later in the first round or early on Day 2; the Giants have the 36th overall pick, which could put them in the mix for Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam or Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon if both fall that far.
Could the Giants just draft an offensive lineman in the second round? Sure. Is that the best course of action? Unlikely, particularly if Ekwonu or Neal fall to Big Blue at No. 5.
However, it’s possible that all of this is for nothing, and Schoen is intending to surprise everyone by picking Oregon pass-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux with the fifth overall selection. The NFL draft is notorious for its volatility, which is fantastic.
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RELATED: NFL Draft: The New York Giants’ Meeting With An Outlandish Prospect Shows That No Option Is Off Limits
The “ahmad gardner scouting report” is a story about how Ahmad Gardner, the top CB prospect for this year’s draft, decided to join the New York Giants. The story discusses what led him to make that decision and what life might be like with the Giants.
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