The usual plan for a second-round draft pick is to immediately or at least eventually earn some quality playing time as a rookie. That plan, though, does not apply to William Beatty, a player the Giants hope isn’t needed any time soon.
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As an offensive tackle, Beatty arrives from UConn with a long-term forecast in mind. The Giants have a veteran but hardly aged line, an established group considered one of the best in the NFL. Their two tackles, David Diehl on the left side and Kareem McKenzie on the right, are not spectacular but incredibly sturdy and dependable.
Unlike the defensive line, where multiple players can move in and out in a rotation, the offensive line is a five-man unit best kept intact and on the field together. That means Beatty — unless there’s an unforeseen injury — gets a season to watch and learn and get a uniform on game day only as an emergency reserve or a young body to be used on special teams.
“There’s such an urgency that you got to do it, but that’s not there for me,” Beatty said during the Giants’ rookie mini-camp which concluded yesterday with weight training.
“I know I get a chance to learn, so I’m not put on the hot seat type of thing. For me it’s good to know there is a strong starting corps and I can learn from that strong starting corps. It’s not ‘Welcome to the NFL, we need you to start’ and you got to learn on your feet.”
It’s the feet that attracted the Giants to Beatty. The term “left tackle feet” should not be confused with “two left feet.” It is a coveted attribute that coaches and scouts demand out of the most difficult (and highly paid) athlete on the offensive line. Beatty went off the draft board slightly later than anticipated — he was the 60th player taken but seven tackles went before him — as the Giants used the second of their two second-round picks to gear up for the future.
“We thought he was the best athlete of the tackles in the draft,” said GM Jerry Reese, making a claim that might be hard to believe, with Jason Smith (Baylor) and Andre Smith (Alabama) taken so early.
Wearing stylish Dolce & Gabbana prescription glasses and an easy smile, Beatty at 6-foot-6 and 304 pounds certainly looked the part during the recently completed rookie mini-camp. He made a few assignment errors but clearly is athletic enough to handle what comes next. He lined up primarily on the left side but also got some work at right tackle.
The most he’s ever weighed is 312, and it’s likely after some time in the Giants’ strength program he’ll reach that again.
“For a left tackle you want to be more agile when you’re dealing with the faster defensive ends, so I’m not seeing me at like 330,” Beatty said. “As long as I put it on muscle I can still move around. You don’t want Krispy Kremes and Haagen Dazs.”
The knock on Beatty is that he’s not as intense as he needs to be. If that’s the case, the veterans who will surround him — a smart and relentless bunch — will push him like never before.
Beatty also played at UConn for Randy Edsall, an assistant under Tom Coughlin at both Boston College and Jacksonville. Edsall is a coach who doesn’t take any nonsense.
“We all got high school, college reps, but now it’s what you do day to day that matters,” Beatty said. “We all got to start out with a clean slate. Hopefully I’ll show them they made a good decision and get on the field as fast as I can.”