Why did the Giants draft TE Theo Johnson, RB Tyrone Tracy and LB Darius Muasau?

Let’s look at how the Giants decided on their Day 3 selections

It is a reality for NFL teams that getting to have your coaches working on the staffs for the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl can give you added insight into NFL Draft prospects. The players the New York Giants selected on Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft with whom their coaching staff had first-hand knowledge.

Giants’ quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Shea Tierney was offensive coordinator for the National Team at the Senior Bowl. He worked there with tight end Theo Johnson, selected by the Giants in Round 4.

Running back Tyrone Tracy was a Shrine Bowl participant. He was not on the team coached by Giants’ offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka, but Kafka and the Giants got added exposure to him. The Giants chose him in Round 5.

Linebacker Darius Mausua was chosen in Round 6. He was also a Shrine Bowl participant. Perhaps more importantly, Mausua was special teams MVP at Hawaii in 2019 — when new Giants’ special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial was coordinating that group.

“I think there’s a little bit of competitive advantage in terms of — again, going back to Dabs’ staff and their willingness to sacrifice their time to help us in this process, and I would say all three of those guys that we took today, our coaches had intimate knowledge of those guys from the all-star games,” general manager Joe Schoen said on Saturday night.

Let’s look a little deeper at why the Giants made each pick:

Round 4 — TE Theo Johnson

Schoen admitted the Giants “had to take that into account” in reference to the Darren Waller situation. He insisted, though, that the 6-foot-6, 259-pound Johnson “was the top player on our board.”

“I’m trying to think, if there were any of these guys that we took that weren’t the top player on the board at the time,” Schoen said. “Last night we left, he was sticking out for us. You always think when you come in the next morning, he’s going to go sooner and may not be there and we’re excited to get Theo.”

In addition to Tierney, Johnson went to school coach Brian Daboll’s son, Christian, who was a volunteer assistant coach at the time and is now on the Giants’ staff.

“Pretty early on, they showed a lot of interest and it was clear that this was definitely a potential landing spot for me,” Johnson said.

He also spoke about his Senior Bowl experience with Tierney.

“That week, you get a real good feel for coaches and their style of coaching and how they do things,” he said. “I think me and Shea had a lot of fun together with just what he was dialing up, and the feel he got for me as a player, and obviously I was kind of rooting for the Giants since then because I had a really good feel for him and how he’s doing things.”

Round 5 — RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.

The Giants are obviously curious about Tracy, a wide receiver turned running back in his final collegiate season who also has kickoff return potential.

“He’s a former receiver. In terms of yards per carry, he’s been pretty good. He’s an athlete who has played receiver and then played running back and has some good production. We’ll throw him in the mix,” Schoen said. “Whether that’s in the kickoff return game or whether that’s at running back or the receiving part of it, we’ve got to do a good job of getting him in here and seeing where he’s at and then trying to fit him into the things that he can do well.”

Here are a couple of social media posts that show the possibilities:

Round 6 — LB Darius Muasau

Asked for a comment on Muasau, Schoen said three times “he’s a good football player.”

Here is the quote:

“He’s a good football player. He was actually with Ghoby (Michael Ghobrial), our special teams coach, they crossed paths at Hawaii. 440 career tackles, hasn’t missed a game, smart, tough, dependable, instinctive. Our special teams coach, he’s coached him, has a vision for him on special teams … we are excited about Darius. He’s a good football player. He’s a good football player.”

“Ghobi is my guy,” Muasau said Saturday night.

Here is how Muasau described Ghobrial:

“High-energy. Very intellectual football-minded coach. He’s great on the special teams side of football. He knows the insides and outs, but also the offensive and defensive side. He specializes in the special teams. When I was playing for him at the University of Hawaii, man, I enjoyed every single time I got on the field for special teams because he just made everything so fun, and because of the way he was able to detail everything down to the minute details, and just made it fun out there every time I would step off on kickoff can kickoff return. Everything was a blast out there.”

Here is Muasau’s description of what makes him successful:

“One thing that I pride myself on is being the most instinctive and smartest player on the field every time I step on the field. I love to watch film. That’s what I do. I spend most of my days in the film room and also on the field but mostly in the film room breaking down film, knowing tendencies, and little details of the offense and I feel that’s what I do best. That’s why I’m headed to New York, and I’m just ready to showcase my abilities there.”

Here are a couple of social media posts that give you an idea what the Giants saw: