New York Giants taking a shot on a troubled former first-round pick
The New York Giants are desperate for an influx of talent on the offensive line. They have signed former first-round pick Isaiah Wilson.
The New York Giants are desperate for talent on the offensive line, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Although it seems impossible, former first-round pick Isaiah Wilson is getting another shot in the NFL, and it’s with Joe Judge’s Giants.
Judge and the Giants are now the third team coached by a former Bill Belichick disciple (Mike Vrabel, Brian Flores) to take a chance on Wilson. The Titans and Vrabel drafted Wilson in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and basically never got to see him play for the team.
He appeared in one game his rookie season and played just three offensive snaps.
New York Giants taking a shot on a talented, troubled player in Isaiah Wilson
Talent has never been the question for Wilson.
In fact, he probably got picked in the first round out of Georgia based almost purely off of potential, because consistency was certainly not there in his college tape.
Wilson’s flashes of big-time potential with the Bulldogs led to a first-round draft status and huge expectations, but it didn’t seem like the Titans or anyone else, for that matter, could get the kid interested in playing football and doing what it takes to stick in the NFL.
As a result, the Titans dumped him after one season, trading him to the Miami Dolphins in an attempt to hopefully revive his interest in football, if nothing else.
Just 22 years of age, the future could still be very bright for Wilson, who will join his former Georgia teammate Andrew Thomas on the New York Giants offensive line.
The New York Giants entered the season with some significant question marks at the tackle position, including with the former top-five pick Andrew Thomas. They got Nate Solder back after he opted out of the 2020 season, but neither he nor Matt Peart has been able to be a good option at that right tackle spot.
It’s going to take Isaiah Wilson plenty of time to get up to speed, but in terms of the long-term impact of this move and again that scary word “potential”?
This is a really low-risk move for the Giants, it’s a little surprising that other teams haven’t already made it.
If Wilson is trying to get back into football, he was obviously picked in the first round for a reason. He has tremendous talent at one of the game’s most important positions. He’s super athletic for his massive 6-foot-7, 350-pound frame, and he has length you simply cannot coach at the position.
The talent and physical skills are there, but is the desire?
Good for the Giants being willing to take this kind of risk. It’s not going to hurt them financially, and in a best-case scenario, this decision will help Isaiah Wilson turn his life and NFL career around.
He made plenty of decisions last year that put himself before the team, and even after being traded to the Dolphins, his head wasn’t in it. Time will tell if he’s made changes for the better.