NFL Draft: Giants take Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta in fourth round
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Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta drops back to pass against Stony Brook at LaValle Stadium on Sept. 17, 2016. Credit: Daniel De Mato
The Giants’ backup quarterback situation now consists of a Spider and a Webb.
This after the team selected Richmond product Kyle Lauletta with the 108th overall pick in the fourth round of the draft on Saturday. He’ll spend the summer competing with second-year quarterback Davis Webb to see who gets to play behind Eli Manning once the season starts, and after that, vying with Webb and yet-to-be-named players to become Manning’s eventual replacement.
For now, though, he’ll be just another guy in the quarterback room.
“We want to develop a good and a solid quarterback culture here,” head coach Pat Shurmur said. “Picking Kyle has less to do about Eli and Davis and more to do about Kyle. We liked the player and we wanted to add him to our team and then just let them compete.”
Lauletta might actually give Webb more of a grip on the No. 2 job with the Giants, since it means they are unlikely to bring in a veteran backup. Now they have two young quarterbacks to develop and, perhaps one day, hand the franchise over to one of them.
Lauletta isn’t looking at it through that telephoto lens.
“They only have two guys, so they needed a third guy one way or another,” Lauletta said. “Obviously in the NFL, you’re always going to bring guys in and you’re always trying to improve your team and that’s what training camp is for. I’m not really thinking about any of that right now.”
Lauletta is a quarterback who can make plays with his legs as well as his arm. He threw 73 touchdowns and 35 interceptions in 40 games at Richmond, but he first caught the eye of the Giants at the Senior Bowl when he practiced well and was named MVP of the game (Webb, incidentally, won that honor a year prior).
“There is a rule of thumb about All-Star games: they can’t hurt you, they can only help you,” general manager Dave Gettleman said. “He was impressive and he made some strong throws into tight windows, anticipated things, and for me, that’s what really piqued my curiosity. I heard all the stuff about him from the scouts, but after watching that Senior Bowl, I said we’ve got to dig into him. There’s something here. We just have to figure out what it is.”
That process will continue throughout the season.
The Giants’ final pick in the draft was in the fifth round and they selected DT R.J. McIntosh from Miami 139th overall.
“I think he can play a three-technique or he can play the critical five-technique for us,” Shurmur said. “He’s developmental in some ways with his body [6-4, 293 pounds]. We feel like he can be a really, really big man and that’s what you’re looking for.”
Kyle Lauletta
QB Richmond
6-3, 215
A quarterback with good pocket presence but also the ability to make plays with his legs. Dave Gettleman said he has “legitimate escape dimensions” … Threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns to win MVP of the Senior Bowl … Set the single-season record for total offense at Richmond with 3,827 in 2017, including 3,737 passing which was the second most in school history … Set the single-game record with 546 passing yards against SHSU.
R.J. McIntosh
DL Miami
6-4, 293
A two-year starter in college he totaled 103 tackles, 23.0 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, and nine passes defensed in 31 games (26 starts) .. Was named second-team All-ACC in 2017 … Giants would like him to gain weight to play inside … Gettleman sees pass-rushing potential from him … Blocked two kicks on special teams in 2017.
More Giants
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