Before his 2017 draft as Panthers GM, before he selected RB Christian McCaffrey with the eighth pick, before the start of his last free agency in Carolina, Dave Gettleman outlined his philosophy thusly:
“My philosophy has always been, ‘Whatever you do in unrestricted free agency sets you up for the draft,’ so by the time you get to the draft you can literally take the best player available.”
Gettleman wound up whiffing on prize free-agent left tackle Matt Kalil — five years and $55.5 million, with $25 million guaranteed — and the Giants GM will have to shop predominantly in the bargain basement department now with only $24.