Dave Gettleman is a national treasure. I can say this because I am not an invested Giants fan. Recently, I wrote about how he holds the key to how the draft will proceed, and no one knows what he is going to do. I would like to believe he is being crazy like a fox and giving off a persona to throw everyone off during draft season, except his history says that is not the case.
On Thursday, Gettleman held a press conference ahead of the draft and delivered as always.
Dave Gettleman on the “KC model” of grooming QBs: “How about the Green Bay model of Aaron Rodgers falling to them when they have Brett Favre and he sits for three years?”
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) April 18, 2019
I take this to mean that he would like to draft a quarterback but let Eli Manning continue to play for three more years, and then only leave when he retires but then decides to come back in June. Of course, Favre and the Packers had missed the postseason zero times in a row when Aaron Rodgers fell into their laps as the presumptive first overall pick in a free fall back in 2005. They were just a year removed from a playoff victory. The Giants have gone eight years, and continue to bend over to justify Eli continuing his celebration tour to infinity.
Dave Gettleman: “We went into last year thinking that Eli had plenty left, and he proved it.”#Giants #NFL
— Matt Lombardo (@MattLombardoNFL) April 18, 2019
Manning did bounce back a year ago statistically, posting his highest yards per attempt figure since 2011, though anyone who watched him saw a guy who could not consistently make the necessary throws in the red zone and was more skittish under pressure. That improvement was due to Saquon Barkley and the return of Odell Beckham, who is now in Cleveland.
Enjoy the next three years, Giants fans. May Eli Manning start forever.
