NFL Draft expert details why New York Giants and Jets landed pair of steals in later rounds.
While the players that teams select in Round 1 of the annual event get a lot of attention, athletes picked on days two and three of the draft can also end up as future Pro Bowlers and Hall of Famers. Identifying overlooked talent is a skill, and the Giants and Jets are hoping their scouts did that this year. Earlier this week, ESPN NFL Draft expert Field Yates suggested the two NY teams may have done that with a pair of specific selections.
“[Cam] Skattebo was on the very short list of most enjoyable players to watch in this class,” Yates wrote about the Giants’ fourth-round pick. “He has excellent contact balance and tenacity. Which was on display every time he touched the ball last season at Arizona State.
“He became the first FBS player since Christian McCaffrey (2015) to register at least 1,500 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the same season. Skattebo will pair nicely with 2025 fifth-rounder Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the Giants’ backfield.”
Skattebo has a similar frame and style to the San Francisco 49ers star. The G-Men will surely hope he can turn into half the player McCaffrey has been during his eight seasons in the NFL. However, Yates was also a big fan of the pick the Jets made at 73.
“But Thomas does more than enough to make up for that speed. He has excellent size, ball skills, and physicality to get up in the face of wideouts. Like many of the picks highlighted here, the value was too great to pass up on a talented player.”
The Jets have a rock-solid secondary due to having Sauce Gardner as their shutdown anchor. If Thomas can evolve into a strong CB2, New York could end up having one of the best secondaries in the game in future seasons.