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James Bettcher is excited about the talent pool

By Michael Stewart

Introduction: The 2018 NFL draft has been deemed by many as the best draft by the Giants in over a decade. Most of the attention has been given to the Giants first 2 picks in the draft and rightfully so; Saquon Barkley and Will Hernandez. Many believe that both will enjoy great success in their rookie season; which should include being named to the all-rookie team. However; the Giants had two picks in the 3rd round that could make this draft arguably the best in more than 50 years with the selection of Lorenzo Carter and B. J Hill.

Carter is an athletic and fierce linebacker that utilizes his speed on the edge to disrupt the passing game of opposing teams. The 6’6 and 245 pound linebacker was also exceptional against the run while playing for the Georgia Bulldogs last season. Thus far, he has shown all the attributes that the Giants lacked at the linebacker position and new Defensive Coordinator James Bettcher will find a way to utilize his skill set and make Carter a lethal weapon for the Giants. Carter has already been compared to linebacker Chandler Jones of the Arizona Cardinals by NFL Draft Report; which is a tall order that Carter fully embraces.

 NFL Draft Report on Carter:

• Excellent pursue; sideline to sideline
• Excellent explosiveness off the edge
• Complete package with great agility, balance and flexibility.
• Excellent tackler and rarely misses either in traffic or open field.

The other 3rd round selection, B.J Hill played in the shadows of Defensive End standout Bradley Chubb.  Hill was basically an unknown to the masses, but amassed 23.5 tackles for losses along and 8 sacks during his college career.  Thus far, the 6’4 and 315 pound Hill is definitely not an unknown any longer as he has risen up the charts with his performance in training camp. Defensive Coordinator James Bettcher is impressed with how quickly Hill has embraced the defensive system and has shown the ability to rush the passer to go along with his run stopping ability.

Hill’s early performance has not gone unnoticed by the players; especially fellow defensive linemen Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson noted “Hill is going to surprise a lot of people around the league once the season starts initially” Harrison stated. “Hill can do it all along the line in terms on stopping the run and rushing the passer”. Hill can be used at either the defensive tackle position or at defensive end. Perfect for game day. “The goal here is to have all of our players contributing along the defensive line; whether that’s in a rotational system or in certain defensive packages” said Defensive Coordinator James Bettcher.

Final Thoughts:

As mentioned earlier, it’s expected that both Barkley and Hernandez will live up to the early hype.   Carter and Hill will follow and continued to improve as well.  The Giants could have two rookies on the “all rookie team” on defense as well. If that scenario does play out, this will be arguably the best Giants draft of all time.