Saints trade for Giants cornerback Eli Apple

A former Giants first round pick is heading from the Big Apple to Big Easy. And his name is Apple.

Cornerback Eli Apple is being traded from the New York Giants to the New Orleans Saints, ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported.

Schefter indicated the Saints gave up a 2019 fourth round pick and a 2020 seventh rounder to acquire the former Ohio State standout.

SAINTS RELEASE:
Saints Acquire CB Eli Apple
For Immediate Release: October 23, 2018

The New Orleans Saints announced today that they have acquired CB Eli Apple from the New York Giants in exchange for a 2019 fourth round draft choice and a seventh round draft choice in 2020, pending the completion of Apple’s physical. The announcement was made by Saints’ Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.

Apple, 6-1, 203 pounds, is a three-year NFL veteran who was originally selected in the first round (tenth overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State by the Giants.

Since entering the NFL in 2016, Apple has appeared in 30 regular season games with 23 starts recording 120 tackles (102 solo), one interception, 20 passes defensed, one forced fumble and five fumble recoveries, as well as two stops and one fumble recovery on special teams.

As a rookie in 2016, Apple played a key role as the Giants returned to the postseason for the first time since 2011, playing in 14 games with 11 starts and posting 49 tackles (41 solo), seven passes defensed, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and one interception. In 2018, Apple has started all five games he’s played in, recording 22 tackles (20 solo), five passes defensed and making a fumble recovery this past Monday night at Atlanta.

The Voorhees, N.J. native came to the Giants after playing in 28 games with 27 starts for the Buckeyes from 2014-15. He finished his college career with 86 tackles (56 solo), including 7.5 stops for losses, picked off four passes and added 22 passes defensed. In 2015, he was named second-team All-Big Ten by the league’s coaches after he started all 13 games and had 33 tackles (23 solo), including two for losses, one pick and nine passes defensed. In Ohio State’s national championship season in 2014, Apple was a freshman All-American as he played in 15 games with 14 starts and finished with 53 stops, including 5.5 for loss, three interceptions, including one in the College Football Playoff national championship game vs. Oregon and 13 passes defensed. At Ohio State, Apple was a college teammate of Saints S Vonn Bell, CB Marshon Lattimore and WR Michael Thomas.