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Two is better than one?
That is how the Giants looked at their offensive tackle position. After taking Andrew Thomas in the first round, they doubled up Friday night, taking Matt Peart of UConn near the end of the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The 99th pick was a compensatory selection based on the Giants losing safety Landon Collins in free agency.
Peart was a four-year starter in college after not playing at all in high school. He grew up in The Bronx after his family emigrated from Kingston, Jamaica. This is a down-the-road move by the Giants, as Peart — all 6-foot-7 of him — is not considered to be ready to play right away in the NFL. Perhaps in a 2021, Peart will be able to move in at right tackle as a building block, with Thomas at left tackle if veteran Nate Solder is not back with the team.
“Definitely got a lot of upside,’’ head coach Joe Judge said. “I don’t want to say developmental. He’s developing.’’
This was quite a wait for the Giants to get to Peart. They had to sit out from pick 36, when they took safety Xavier McKinney, all the way to 99. Lest we forget (no one does), they traded away pick No. 68 to the Jets in the deal for defensive tackle Leonard Williams. The Jets at 68 took defensive back Ashtyn Davis.
• Giants’ NFL Draft tracker: Live round-by-round picks and analysis
Gettleman said he was adamant that he would not “dip into next year’s draft class,’’ hence he was unwilling to trade up to get a player before No. 99.
The far more immediate need for the Giants is at center, but the Giants did not select Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz, who was on the board when they took Peart.
“We had [Peart] rated well above the centers on our board,’’ Gettleman said.
Peart has the ideal body type for offensive tackle, and Judge said it is rare to say a 315-pound player is skinny, but that is how he describes Peart. Judge also said his coaching staff is especially excited to work with him.
“I always like the athletic players who you don’t feel are tapped out,’’ Judge said. “This guy’s got tremendous upside.’’
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