Michigan defensive lineman Rashan Gary, a possible first round draft target of the New York Giants, has a torn labrum in his shoulder that could send his draft stock tumbling.
That injury and inevitable surgery almost certainly discounts Gary at No. 6 for the Giants and may even prevent them from selecting him with their second first round pick, which is 17th overall.
Gary, who was born in Plainfield, New Jersey and played his high school football at Paramus Catholic, is one of the top defensive players in this week’s NFL Draft. At Michigan, Gary earned first team All-Big Ten honors in both 2017 and 2018.
Gary (6-foot-4, 277 pounds) had an impressive showing at the combine displaying speed (a 4.58 40 time) and strength (26 bench press reps) despite the injury. He is a versatile player that can play in any type of defensive alignment and is high on almost every team’s draft board.
Until now. The medical angle tends to scare teams off in the first round. Last year, fellow Michigan teammate Maurice Hurst saw his draft value plummet after it was revealed that he had a heart condition (similar to Montez Sweat this year). Instead of being taken in the first round, Hurst went into free fall, all the way down to the fifth round where he was selected by the Oakland Raiders.
Gary does not have that type of potential life-threatening diagnosis. His condition can — and will — be corrected by surgery, but whoever drafts him will have weather the storm until next offseason for that to happen.
