Eli Apple

Eli Apple (né Woodard, born August 9, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL).

On February 12, 2012, he announced his Verbal commitment to Ohio State after Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Apple was rated the top prospect in New Jersey in the 2013 class by Rivals.com and was ranked the 28th best prospect nationally.

He received about twenty scholarship offers, including offers from Alabama, California, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Purdue, Miami, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Michigan, Ole Miss, Nebraska, North Carolina, NC State, and Clemson and ranked his top three schools as Rutgers, Ohio State, and Notre Dame.

Apple enrolled at Ohio State in January 2013 as a five-star prospect (ESPN 150) and was rated as high as the No. 11 prospect nationally on the ESPN 150.

He was also rated as the No. 1 overall prospect in New Jersey and No. 6 cornerback prospect nationally by 247sports.

He redshirted as a true freshman and went on to play in 2014 as a redshirt freshman.

He played college football at Ohio State, where he was a part of the team that won the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship, and was selected by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

He has also played for the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Cincinnati Bengals.

Apple, born Eli Woodard, was born to a Ghanaian mother and lived a couple of years in the country.

He attended Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey.

He played in the 2015 Sugar Bowl and the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.

In his second season with the Buckeyes, he was the Defensive MVP.

On January 4, 2016, Apple announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2016 NFL Draft.

Apple attended the NFL Scouting Combine and completed the majority of combine drills before suffering cramps.

He finished with the tenth fastest time in the 40-yard dash among all participating players at the NFL Combine.

On March 11, 2016, Apple attended Ohio State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed the short shuttle, three-cone drill, and positional drills.

Apple had pre-draft visits with multiple teams, including the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, and Tennessee Titans.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Apple was projected to be an early to mid first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

He was ranked the third best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, was ranked the fourth best cornerback by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and was ranked the sixth best defensive back by Sports Illustrated.

The New York Giants selected Apple in the first round (10th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Apple was the second cornerback drafted in 2016, after Jalen Ramsey (5th overall).

It was reported that the Giants had initially planned to draft linebacker Leonard Floyd or offensive tackle Jack Conklin.

However, circumstances changed after Laremy Tunsil unexpectedly fell out of the top ten.

The Titans traded ahead of the Giants to draft Jack Conklin (8th overall) and the Chicago Bears traded ahead of the Giants to select Leonard Floyd (9th overall).

Giants' General Manager Jerry Reese opted to keep the tenth overall pick and selected Apple who was their highest graded player available on their draft board without any issues or injuries.

Draft analysts and fans criticized the selection of Apple as many deemed it to be a reach.

On May 6, 2016, the Giants signed Apple to a fully guaranteed four-year, $15.15 million that includes a signing bonus of $9.21 million.

Apple entered training camp slated as the third cornerback on the depth chart behind veterans Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Head coach Ben McAdoo named Apple the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season and first-team nickelback.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Giants' season-opener at the Dallas Cowboys and recorded four solo tackles during their 20–19 victory.

On September 25, 2016, Apple earned his first career start and recorded one solo tackle in a 29–27 loss to the Washington Redskins, but left the game in the second quarter after suffering a hamstring injury.

Apple was inactive for the Giants Week 4 loss at the Minnesota Vikings with a hamstring injury.

He was also sidelined for their Week 6 win against the Baltimore Ravens due to a groin injury.

On November 7, 2016, he started his second game in a row and made four solo tackles against the Philadelphia Eagles but was benched in favor of Trevin Wade as the Giants won 28–23.

On November 14, 2016, Apple started his first game at outside corner, with Rodgers-Cromartie covering the slot and made one solo tackle in a 21–20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

In Week 11, Apple collected a season-high nine combined tackles in a 22–16 victory over the Bears.

On December 4, 2016, Apple recorded five combined tackles, broke up two passes, recovered a fumble, and made his first career interception in the Giants' 24–14 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13.

Apple intercepted a pass attempt by Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, which was originally intended for wide receiver Eli Rogers, during the third quarter.

Apple started the last ten games of the season and finished his rookie season in 2016 with 51 combined tackles (41 solo), seven pass deflections, one interception, and a forced fumble in 14 games and 11 starts.