(beyond the obvious they just want to get better): Is it more important to raise our defense to the next level, or max support Daniel Jones with an overall better supporting cast?
Would be nice to do both in the upcoming Draft, but that would be sorta greedy. Maybe a great drafting team, that's also lucky, could pull it off. But the Giants, who have been neither "great" nor "lucky" since 2011?
Another way to pose the question: What does Giants management fear most (beyond an empty stadium): A defense that makes no significant progress in 2021, or Daniel Jones stagnating for another year?
My guess -- at least 4 (if not 5) of the Giants 6 picks will be on the offensive side of the ball.
I could see Edge in Round One (maybe with a trade-down), and then a run of offensive players.
I could see clustering as well. For example, maybe 2 WRs?
Let's see if this is the year they make some trades not to move up, but to accumulate picks.
One of the things that even we here, the unchallenged experts at BBI believe with almost unanimity is that this is a make or break year, specifically, for DJ and DG.
Not to mention that the defense last year wasn't really that bad and even a lot of the edge concerns have been overblown.
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I think you'll see a theme similar to last year's cluster drafting of OL and LB, granted we have fewer picks.
I could see clustering as well. For example, maybe 2 WRs?
I would love to pair a smallish receiver like Smith with a guy like Nico Collins.
Smith/Waddle and a mid rounder set up the next few years complimenting Golladay and it frees up a good amount next year to go after a solid free agent to upgrade another spot on the roster.
Historically speaking Jerry Reese did ok in the second but got nothing that compared to 2005 and failed in all late round picks except Bradshaw.
DG seems to have improved in the later rounds but only time will tell.
In summary a lot of picks after 3rd round don't amount to much other than special teams.
Parson makes a ton of sense....the GA kid has all the intangibles....
Plenty of talent at WR and OL throughout draft
The best strategy is draft the highest impact players you can each round almost regardless of position. If several guys are in the mix at a pick because the grades/impact are that close then let Joe Judge make the final call.
The Giants still need to get better almost everywhere...
Parson makes a ton of sense....the GA kid has all the intangibles....
Plenty of talent at WR and OL throughout draft
Agree with this. Best player available at eleven will likely be one of these three guys. And Horn is looking more and more to me like a combination of Jaylen Ramsey and Derwin James. Great cover corner, but he could play any secondary position.
We already know the answer
We already know the answer
No. We don't know the answer. We signed Golladay and Rudolph already. They didn't say they would surround Jones with talent just through the draft. I can see another WR being drafted and there still being a heavy focus on D.
But the point is - that we do not know what they will do or where they will focus. My guess is they will go BPA for the most part.
An offensive lineman who’s a good (maybe even great) pass protector since our guys are adequate run blockers, a sure-handed wide receiver (there’s an article out there saying that Giants receivers had one of the largest amounts of incompletions based on the fault of the receivers), a two-way tight end, and a running back to complement Saquon Barkley who doesn’t suck in pass protection, maybe a power runner. For defense, an edge rusher that can complement Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence, who can get to the quarterback when they can’t.
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Have all said they need to surround Jones with more talent
We already know the answer
No. We don't know the answer. We signed Golladay and Rudolph already. They didn't say they would surround Jones with talent just through the draft. I can see another WR being drafted and there still being a heavy focus on D.
But the point is - that we do not know what they will do or where they will focus. My guess is they will go BPA for the most part.
BPA is a cop out, there is no such thing. There is Best player they have ranked for their needs... if a qb is BPA are they taking qb? I don't think so.
They told you what the focus is.
They signed a wr and a te who were both hurt last yr (Golladay was out for games, Rudolph played thru it)... that's not going to stop them from taking more offensive weapons.
It isn't a "cop-out" whatever the hell that means. It is the strategy they've used.
Any discussion on if they will be more defense or offense heavy in the draft is just a guess right now.
Last season, people expected them to take a WR at some point and they didn't.
Jimmy Googs : 9:15 am : link : reply
on both sides of the ball.
The best strategy is draft the highest impact players you can each round almost regardless of position. If several guys are in the mix at a pick because the grades/impact are that close then let Joe Judge make the final call.
This is modulated a bit by Klaatu's:
Klaatu : 9:19 am : link : reply
Should be the Giants' primary concern. Now, how that might play out in the draft remains to be seen, but adding another weapon (or two) and upgrading the O-Line seem like imperatives to me.
Historically speaking Jerry Reese did ok in the second but got nothing that compared to 2005 and failed in all late round picks except Bradshaw.
DG seems to have improved in the later rounds but only time will tell.
In summary a lot of picks after 3rd round don't amount to much other than special teams.
Accorsi also got Plaxico, Antonio Pierce, and Kareem McKenzie as free agents that year. That 2005 offseason was huge.
Smith/Waddle and a mid rounder set up the next few years complimenting Golladay and it frees up a good amount next year to go after a solid free agent to upgrade another spot on the roster.
I don't if it always has been, but I think it certainly will be moving forward now with the rule changes. More of these guys that are aspiring for basketball, will certainly be eyeing football in college. A ton of these D1 WRs and basketball guys can get offers for both college and basketball.
Out of 27 selections, 18 (67%) were on the defensive side of the ball.
Take the best player on your board and don't look back.
In all likelihood we won't know exactly what the Giants will do until the 29th which is now just two weeks away as a lot will depend on what other teams do ahead of them, but I think we do have a pretty good idea what the Giants themselves want to do.
There are currently 5 edge rushers who are considered to be
first-round prospects - Paye of Michigan, Ojulari of Georgia, Oweh of Penn State, and the Miami duo of Phillips and Rousseau. FTR the Giants had senior personnel people at the pro days of all five - Judge himself at Penn State and Miami, Chris Petitt at Georgia and Kevin O'Neill at Michigan. And other than Notre Dame, those were the only pro days at which the Giants had senior people.
We have also heard from several other sources close to the Giants, including BBI's GoDeep, that they would take either Pitts or Smith if they were available at #11, otherwise their top target would be an edge rusher. We also had at least one source tell us that the Giants also have Waddle in that mix so time will tell. At the same time, we have heard from sources that if the Giants did land Smith or maybe Waddle at #11 (Oitts just isn't going to there or be anywhere close for that matter), they would look to trade back up into the first round to get one of the above ERs.
And it makes a ton of sense that the Giants are looking at their pass rush, maybe not in the context of filling the team’s most pressing immediate needs, but from the view of building toward a championship level; indeed, ask just about anyone around the NFL what are the prime ingredients of a championship team and they’ll tell you need a really good QB, as well as the ability to rush the opposing team’s passer. And right now, other than maybe Leonard Williams, the Giants don’t have any proven pass rushers at all. In fact, the team that coined the phrase ‘you can never have enough pass rushers’ hasn’t selected an edge rusher with a first or second round pick in over a decade.
Again, there are all kinds of possibilities for the Giants at this year's draft, but based on what we think we know right there are in reality just a couple of reasonable options. The first is they land a Smith or Waddle at #11 and trade up back into the opening round to take someone like Rousseau. Probably cost you a couple of threes (this year's and next)and I can hear the gnashing of teeth already but my guess if that the Giants were able to come out of this draft with a Smith or Waddle and a Rousseau and then maybe get a developmental OG in the 4th, they'd be thrilled whatever they got with their later third day picks. (And let's face it third day picks are nice but you don't build a championship team with 5th and 6th rounders.
The more logical scenario for the Giants is that both Pitts and Smith are selected with top ten picks and Waddle in fact is not in the picture. On the one hand, it is hard to imagine the Giants passing on blue-chip talents like Waddle, Slater or Parsons for a player rated farther on down the board, at least as reflected in the current rankings of the leading draft analysts. Of course, the Giants make their picks based on their own board, not the consensus draft guru rankings and its possible that they have someone like Paye or Oweh in that redchip grouping.
More likely what we have heard that the Giants would be prepared to consider breaking a long-standing tradition and trade down to a spot where an ER would make more sense value-wise. Of course, with the big-name QBs likely off the board at that point, they aren’t going to get a haul of future first rounders in return. At the same time, though, it’s hard to imagine that there wouldn’t be several teams selecting between the 12th and 20th picks who wouldn't be willing to give up a late second or early third in order to move up to grab Slater or Waddle or even Parsons. If life gives you lemons make lemonade!!
In fact, we have joked that Slater could end up being the Giants’ M.V.P. at this year’s draft even though we’d say the chances the Giants actually taking him themselves are slim. On the one hand, if Slater did end up being selected before the 11th pick, he just might push one of the receivers that the Giants wanted closer to their spot. And if he was still there at #11, Slater might give the Giants their best chance to drop down several spots to where a DE/ER would make more sense.
It is also interesting that if the Giants don't end up trading back into the opening round from the second, they are alos going to have the same kind of tough choice in the second where there are going to some very good WRs, soem very good corners and some very good interior offensive linemen.
Stay tuned!
Lots of "food for thought" in your post. Three things really jumped out at me:
(1) Which Pro Days the Giants Front Office attended;
(2) Trading back into Round One;
(3) How pivotal Rashawn Slater may become.
#1 really puts an exclamation point on drafting an EDGE player. "I think" many BBIers would be OK with a trade down in Round One, securing an EDGE player AND additional Draft Capital. I would much prefer that than doing something like passing on a Devonta Smith for a Kwity Paye at 11. That would really grind my gears;
#2 trading back up into Round One would be a gutsy move for a franchise that still has lots of needs. But I guess crazier things have happened;
#3 very clever -- I didn't think of Rashawn Slater as someone who could either push a WR to us at 11, or give us trade bait to move down in Round One. I've only viewed him in one context: someone who will help keep Daniel Jones upright.
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Plenty of upgradable starting positions still exist on this roster
Jimmy Googs : 9:15 am : link : reply
on both sides of the ball.
The best strategy is draft the highest impact players you can each round almost regardless of position. If several guys are in the mix at a pick because the grades/impact are that close then let Joe Judge make the final call.
This is more or less what I've been calling for: the MVP at each pick, which signifies more realistically than BPA how each pick should be addressed. At each pick, there are likely going to be multiple guys in their rows--pick the one with most impact for the team/roster construction.
This is modulated a bit by Klaatu's:
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I've said repeatedly that setting Jones up for success...
Klaatu : 9:19 am : link : reply
Should be the Giants' primary concern. Now, how that might play out in the draft remains to be seen, but adding another weapon (or two) and upgrading the O-Line seem like imperatives to me.
And I agree that the offense is behind the defense, talent/quality player wise, across the board, and if the most important player on an NFL team is the QB, a shitty OL is going to grind an offense down to its LCD.
Excellent points all around.Agree 100%
Historically speaking Jerry Reese did ok in the second but got nothing that compared to 2005 and failed in all late round picks except Bradshaw.
DG seems to have improved in the later rounds but only time will tell.
In summary a lot of picks after 3rd round don't amount to much other than special teams.
Exactly!!! As long as we have roster limits, instead of loading up on numbers who will wind up being cut to get down to 53, I would rather add 2 or 3 top quality players even if it means trading up to get them. Of course, with either philosophy, it relies on choosing well.
Historically speaking Jerry Reese did ok in the second but got nothing that compared to 2005 and failed in all late round picks except Bradshaw.
DG seems to have improved in the later rounds but only time will tell.
In summary a lot of picks after 3rd round don't amount to much other than special teams.
Exactly!!! As long as we have roster limits, instead of loading up on numbers who will wind up being cut to get down to 53, I would rather add 2 or 3 top quality players even if it means trading up to get them. Of course, with either philosophy, it relies on choosing well.
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the 2005 draft by Ernie Accorsi . The Giants had only 4 picks and no 1st. 2nd round Corey Webster, 3rd round Justin Tuck, 4th Round Brandon Jacobs, 6th round Eric Moore. He nailed it in the second, third and fourth.
Historically speaking Jerry Reese did ok in the second but got nothing that compared to 2005 and failed in all late round picks except Bradshaw.
DG seems to have improved in the later rounds but only time will tell.
In summary a lot of picks after 3rd round don't amount to much other than special teams.
Exactly!!! As long as we have roster limits, instead of loading up on numbers who will wind up being cut to get down to 53, I would rather add 2 or 3 top quality players even if it means trading up to get them. Of course, with either philosophy, it relies on choosing well.
There are no absolutes. Similar to when the Giants traded away a shot at Santonio Holmes for Mathias Kiwanuka, if they have a situation where they have 5 players ranked equally and New England is calling and offering reasonable or better value to trade down I make the call. On the other hand, if a player I ranked 2nd or 3rd is on the board at 8 and I think Denver or Dallas could take that player I would not be against speaking with Carolina and seeing if there was the possibility of a trade up.