Russell Shepard. Jonathan Stewart. Kaelin Clay. Scott Simonson. Every single spent all or part of 2018 with the New York Giants, and all were being acquainted to GM Dave Gettleman as former Carolina Panthers.
There were being a amount of other players on the 2018 roster who had backgrounds with head mentor Pat Shurmur or defensive coordinator James Bettcher. John Greco, Kareem Martin and Josh Mauro arrive rapidly to head.
With the Giants very likely seeking to update their 3rd broad receiver location is Devin Funchess, a 2015 2nd-spherical choose by Gettleman in Carolina, a name to look at?
The fundamentals
Age: 25 in May perhaps
Height: 6-foot-4 | Excess weight: 225
2018 stats: 44 receptions | 549 yards | 12.5 yards for every catch | 4 TDs | 55.7 p.c catch rate
Professional Soccer Emphasis essential stats: Drops (6) | Yards after catch (1.8 for every reception)
Devin Funchess’ 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame bodes perfectly for his probable as an outside the house receiver in the NFL, but he’s failed to arrive near to it in his 4 many years with the Carolina Panthers. He earned a profession-substantial 74.7 overall quality as a rookie and topped 900 acquiring yards in 2017, but drops combined with overall inconsistency have limited his calendar year-to-calendar year success.
The skinny
We know that the Giants could use a 3rd broad receiver. Bennie Fowler, Cody Latimer, Russell Shepard and Corey Coleman — who shared that purpose in 2018 with limited success — are all free brokers. Gettleman enjoys size, and we know Funchess has that. Gettleman and Shurmur have demonstrated a proclivity for offering new opportunities to players they are acquainted with, and given that Gettleman drafted Funchess he is familiar with him perfectly.
There is a person other thing. There is an expectation that Eli Manning will return in 2019, and Manning has normally carried out perfectly with more substantial broad receivers who could make contested catches. Feel Plaxico Burress and Hakeem Nicks — not Ramses Barden. Funchess is not Burress or Nicks, but he is a large-bodied possession receiver. That is a little something the existing Giants roster does not definitely have.
The problem is, how excellent is Funchess?
His ideal year was 2017, when he had 63 catches for 840 yards and eight touchdowns.
Funchess is definitely not Odell Beckham Jr. or Saquon Barkley — he’s not dynamic once he gets the ball in his arms. Player Profiler lists him with an regular of a paltry .9 yards acquired after the catch, 113th in the league.
Separation and consistency weren’t Funchess’s thing in 2018, either.
Funchess averaged just 1.14 yards of separation, 91st among the receivers graded by Player Profiler. That web-site had him with 11 drops, most among the broad receivers, and a fall rate of 13.9 p.c, also worst in the league.
So, let us just say Funchess did not make a excellent circumstance for himself heading into free company. Nevertheless, the Giants have a need. Gettleman and Funchess have a link. The Giants really do not have a receiver with Funchess’s physique variety.
Could Funchess and the Giants conclude up being a match? At the very least, he probably wouldn’t be pricey.
