EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kerry Wynn spent the weekend of the NFL draft hoping his phone would ring, and it didn't. He spent this past Saturday hoping his phone wouldn't ring, and it didn't. The end result is that Wynn, an undrafted defensive end out of the University of Richmond, is a member of the New York Giants' 53-man roster.
"I just went out there in camp trying to make some plays, stand out and try not to do anything bad, because I'm an undrafted rookie," Wynn said Monday. "I ask a lot of questions and just make sure I'm staying up with everybody else."
Wynn impressed the Giants' coaches with a consistent and dedicated training camp approach. He routinely stayed late after practice to work on technique and ask questions of coaches or veterans, and he showed well in the second halves of the team's preseason games. He recorded a sack against Buffalo in the Hall of Fame Game and another in the victory against the Jets. After the game against the Colts in Indianapolis, he said he believed he was close to the quarterback four times and was upset with himself for not finishing at least one or two of those opportunities.
He and Damontre Moore shared the team lead with seven quarterback hurries in the preseason, and Pro Football Focus gave Wynn a +1.4 grade as a run-stopper, which ranked him 22nd among 4-3 defensive ends in the preseason.
"He has very good size and he runs well," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said of the 6-foot-5, 264-pound Wynn. "He's a young prospect who works hard and studies hard. We think he has a lot of upside."
Wynn said he spent Saturday in his hotel room with his mother, watching the clock nervously and hoping no one would call to tell him he'd been cut. Shortly after 4 p.m. ET, the deadline for teams to reduce their rosters to 53, he called his agent, who confirmed for him he had made the final cut. Then he got back to studying and preparing for this week of practice heading into the regular season.
"Pass rush, play the run, play special teams, whatever they need me to do, I'm going to do it," Wynn said. "Just saying 'Yes, sir' and putting my best foot forward."