Giants may have found a diamond in the rough: Late-round lineman impressing coaching staff

Updated 9:30 AM; Today 5:14 AM

Giants draft pick George Asafo-Adjei survived hardships early in life and hopes he can now put his family in a better life.

By Matt Lombardo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Solidifying the interior of the offensive line and adding quality depth was a top priority for the Giants this offseason.

However, the organization didn’t take one of general manager Dave Gettleman’s “Hog Mollies” until Round 7.

The Giants chose George Asafo-Adjei in the seventh-round out of Kentucky with the hopes that he could provide depth at tackle or guard. Asafo-Adjei, 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds, is already impressing his position coach this spring.

“He picked up the offense much quicker than I thought he was going to,” Giants offensive line coach Hal Hunter said last month. “When you compare our offense to their offense, we have a lot more volume to it with a lot of the things that we were doing.”

Expectations are obviously tempered for Asafo-Adjei’s role as a rookie, after he was chosen No. 232 overall back in April. But, Hunter believes that the former Wildcat, who had offers out of high school from Alabama and other top Power 5 schools, benefited tremendously from practice battles each day against No. 7 overall pick EDGE rusher Josh Allen.

“You watch him on tape and see that he has a lot of athleticism and power,” Hunter said. “He has a lot of toughness and played in the best football conference in the country.”

As much as the SEC can prepare any player for the NFL, there are still improvements that need to be made for any rookie. Asafo-Adjei is no different.

However, Hunter thinks there’s a strong foundation to build on and that Asafo-Adjei is a quick study, which is critical for any rookie to get on the field.

“We have some technical work to do,” Hunter admitted. “He is a rookie and you have to tell him to do something once and he goes on and does it right the next time. We need to continue to work with him technically to get him up to speed but you have to like everything about him.”

Iowa football: James Ferentz vying for third Super Bowl ring

by Andrew Wade | June 17, 2019

Despite a journeymen career, former Iowa football player James Ferentz has managed to play five seasons in the NFL and win two Super Bowl titles.

NFL players can spend their entire careers trying to win Super Bowl titles. Meanwhile, there are guys like former Iowa football player James Ferentz who just happens to be with the right team at the right time. In just five years, Kirk Ferentz’s second oldest son has won not one but two Super Bowl titles, and he has good odds of claiming a few more along the way as long as he can remain with the New England Patriots and as long as Tom Brady remains healthy.

Ferentz may not be more talented than some of the guys currently searching for roster spots, but he has stuck around due to an insatiable work ethic and a fantastic technical understanding of how to play the position. Furthermore, playing the center position is one of the more difficult positions in the NFL, and it requires a player who understands the cerebral approach to the game.

Ferentz was born into football royalty as he learned offensive line under one of the best offensive line gurus in all of football, his Dad Kirk. Additionally, as the second oldest, he has the opportunity to learn and watch his brother Brian play for the Iowa football team and eventually become a coach in the NFL.

That bloodline is strong, and the strongest connection to the NFL is through New England where Kirk Ferentz has a great relationship with head coach Bill Belichick so the future is bright for James Ferentz.

He may never be a star, and he certainly isn’t in line to start this upcoming year, but if he continues to work hard, he could be a mainstay on the second string offensive line for the New England Patriots. First, though, he has to make the active roster and stay there. Over the past two seasons, he has bounced up and down from the full 53-man roster to the practice squad and back.

Heading into his sixth season in the NFL, it’s make or break time for the 30-year old career backup. The practice squad isn’t really an option anymore, so he needs to make the team coming out of summer camp. If not, James could be a hot name to watch in the coaching ranks quickly after his playing career is done.

My projection for James is that he makes the 53-man roster this season, but I don’t believe the Patriots will take home the championship. I also believe this very well could be his last season in the NFL. At the age of 30, there isn’t much more room for growth, and his salary will only continue to increase.

Damon Harrison and Trey Flowers land on PFF Top-50 list

By: Erik Schlitt | June 14, 2019

Pro Football Focus’ released their Top-50 players entering the 2019 season and the Detroit Lions’ defensive linemen Damon Harrison and Trey Flowers were featured on the list.

“Snacks (Harrison) continued his reign over the NFL as the league’s top run defender across what was a 17-game season for the seven-year veteran having played seven games with the New York Giants and another 10 with the Lions post-trade,” The PFF analysis team wrote. “He earned a 92.0 overall grade and a 93.8 run-defense grade across his 606 defensive snaps split between the two teams, ranking third and first, respectively, among qualifiers at his position. He’s now earned an 89.9-plus overall grade and a 91.6-plus run-defense grade in four of his last five seasons in the league – utter dominance, if you will.”

Harrison was the catalyst that took an average defense and elevated them into a top group. His PFF numbers are impressive on their own but his impact had a ripple impact through the Lions defense and others around him saw their efficiency improve with his presence.

“Trading for Harrison before the in-season deadline proved a brilliant move for the Lions this year,” said PFF’s Josh Liskiewitz, “and considering his consistent track record of complete dominance against the run; the move should continue to pay dividends in 2019 and beyond.”

“Even though Bill Belichick & Co. were reluctant to pay him his due to stay in New England, Flowers is still a premier talent in this league and should very well live up to the expectations tied to his new five-year, $90 million deal with the Lions,” the PFF analysis team said. “Improving steadily every year of his career, Flowers earned career-high marks in overall grade (89.7), run-defense grade (84.9) and pass-rush grade (79.9) a year ago. He also finished the 2018 season ranked tied for eighth in pass-rush win percentage (17.4%) and sixth in pressure percentage among the 61 NFL edge defenders with 300 or more pass-rush snaps played.”

With the amount of money the Lions are paying Flowers, it’s safe to assume they are expecting a Harrison-type impact on the Lions defense in 2019. Flowers familiarity with the Lions scheme will shorten his learning curve and with his track record showing yearly improvement, we have likely yet to see his ceiling.

“Flowers eats away at his good-not-great pass-rushing ability with his run defense and versatility, specifically his ability to rush the passer from ranging pre-snap alignments as mentioned above,” said PFF’s Austin Gayle on Flowers pre-free agency. “He’s a movable chess piece with consistent, high-end play in several areas over the years, a piece that teams should and will jump to move into their system if given the opportunity this offseason.”

Flowers has the skill set to take this defense to another level beyond where Harrison took them last year. Lions fans should be excited to see how things unfold in the upcoming season.