Giants Fan and NFL Draft Prospect Yetur Gross-Matos Could Be an Answer for the Giants' Pass Rushing Needs

With the Giants needing pass rush help, Penn State defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos could provide just that for the team he grew up rooting for, if they want him in next month's draft.

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos can offer his premier power rushing to whatever team decides to draft him. What Giants general manager Dave Gettleman can offer Gross-Matos, if he decides to draft him next month, is the opportunity to play for a team that Gross-Matos enjoyed watching back in the day.  

“When I was growing up my favorite team was the Giants,” Gross-Matos said during his combine media session last month. “(Former Giants defensive end) Jason Pierre-Paul — I was a big fan of his growing up.” 

If drafted by the Giants, Gross-Matos would likely see time on the edge and in the interior in new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s system.

Gross-Matos would also be reunited with his college defensive line coach, Sean Spencer, hired by the Giants as their defensive line coach. 

Throughout his college career, the 6-foot 5, 270-pound Gross-Matos proved to possess the prototypical combination of size, athleticism, and agility ideal for a 4-3 NFL defensive end. 

In two seasons as a starter for the Nittany Lions, Gross-Matos tallied 17.5 sacks and 35 tackles for loss. 

At the combine, he only participated in three events, posting a 120-inch broad jump, 34-inch vertical jump, and 20 reps in the bench press.

Although those are not elite numbers, if Gross-Matos joined a pass rush room with the likes of Lorenzo Carter, Oshane Ximines, and, if he’s re-signed, Markus Golden, he would be the largest of the group. 

Gross-Matos’ finesse and speed moves are an area of criticism by draft experts. Still, he would bring a strong bull rush to the front seven, comparable to that of current Giants defensive linemen B.J. Hill and Dexter Lawrence, but with greater speed and agility as a tackler. 

Size-wise, Gross-Matos has a comparable build and play style to that of Pierre-Paul. The two boast nearly identical heights and weights and possess similar fundamental strengths coming out of college, though Pierre-Paul was more of a superior finesse speed rusher, however. 

Gross-Matos was 13 years old when Pierre-Paul led the Giants with a team-high 16 sacks, en-route to the team’s last Super Bowl championship in 2011. 

The fond childhood memories of watching the Giants did not go unaccompanied by tragedy. Gross-Matos’ father, Michael Gross, was lost in a boating accident in May of 2000 at the age of 29 in his effort to save his son from drowning. 

“The guilt from knowing that and knowing you have no control over it … it’s just a heavy burden,” Gross-Matos said in an interview with ESPN. “I feel like that just doesn’t go away, but there’s nothing I can do, and there’s nothing I could have done.” 

Nearly a decade later, his older brother Chelal passed away when he was struck by lightning at a Little League game. 

In the wake of crippling tragedies, Gross-Matos turned to football in search of something to override the pain. 

“I fell in love with football,” Gross-Matos said. “It was just therapeutic. I just saw things differently. ” 

The football career that was born from that tragedy saw Gross-Matos ascend to the apex of the college game. He was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2018 and 2019. 

While it’s probably not a stretch to say that Gross-Matos isn’t a top-10 overall draft pick, some talent evaluators believe his talent, athleticism, and the value of his position could put him into the discussion at the bottom of the first round or in the second round.

And if he was to somehow fall to the Giants, Gross-Matos couldn't think of a better way to honor the memories of his father and brother than to give it his all to the team the family followed from afar.