With their seventh pick (No. 218 overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft, the New York Giants select Minnesota linebacker Carter Coughlin.
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Coughlin, who is no relation to former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin despite being the grandson of a Tom Coughlin, was named second team All-Big Ten in both 2018 and 2019. He is the first pure edge rusher the Giants have taken in the draft to date, having recorded 22.5 sacks over the past four seasons.
Here is what NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein had to say about Coughlin:
Smallish edge defender who plays with high football IQ and motor to help create impact production. Coughlin is a proactive rusher who mixes up his approach to access the edge, but he’ll need to develop his hands and play with leverage to beat NFL tackles. He may be between positions due to a lack of size and suddenness, so shining as a core special-teamer is essential.
Like most seventh-round picks, Coughlin faces an uphill battle to make the roster, which will only be further compounded by the coronavirus pandemic limiting rookie minicamp and all other offseason activities.
The fact that Coughlin may also project to an off-ball linebacker at the NFL level makes his role with the Giants uncertain. However, there is a lot of athleticism and smarts to tap into there.
In an interesting Giants connection, Coughlin played high school ball with Ryan Connelly.
