With the Draft drawing ever closer. I thought I would finally take my crack at a (3 round) Giants Mock draft. I’m attempting to do this from what I would assume is the mindset of JS, what he’s seen and most likely (I’m guessing) learned about how to approach a draft(Positional value).
Let’s begin.
Round 1. The New York Giants Select….Zay Flowers WR Boston College.
- In this instance, Deonte Banks, Joey Porter Jr., Quentin Johnson, Jordan Addison and Brian Branch are off the board. I seriously considered Bryan Bresee here and could see his positional value being the seller, but I believe the Zay Flowers love is REAL and I believe Flowers is being terribly undersold as just a slot/gadget guy. He’s extremely dense for his size and has Elite level CoD skills. Absolute dawg of a competitor as well.
Round 2. The New York Giants Select….Tuli Tuipulotu EDGE USC
- Wink likes his edge setting, power rushers (Zadarius Smith, Pernell McPhee, Matthew Judon, Terrell Suggs, Jihad Ward). Tuipulotu come in at 6’3 266lbs (in line with Suggs, Judon, and McPhee). Tuli also has great bend for his size along with cinderblocks for hands. Team leader, consistent performer, PAC-12 DOY, Giants have shown genuine interest and need to continue to add to their pass rush rotation. Especially with an unreliable Ojulari.
Round 3. The New York Giants Select…..Tyjae Spears RB Tulane
Spears is a Dynamic back that offers the Giants a great alternative to Saquon Barkley if he needs to be spelled, misses games, or just another weapon to incorporate in the offense. Spears hat elite level burst and surprising toughness for his size. He offers a good receiving option out of the backfield. We saw what Tony Pollard meant to Dallas. Spears can bring a similar aspect and either take over from Barkley after a season or force Barkley to take less to be on the Giants but understand there is a rotation (which is beneficial to both backs).
Things I’ll Address
“No Center in the first three rounds!? We don’t have one on the roster!” - I truly believe JS doesn’t put much value in the center position. I think his feeling is “if the guys around him are good, you can get away with being average at Center. That being said. I can see us grabbing a guy like Juice Scruggs in the 5th.
“No DBs? You know Wink loves his defensive backs.” - Absolutely, but I think we’ve forgotten just how many bodies we have (Did we all forget about Aaron Robinson?). But Adoree, Aaron Robinson, Cordale Flott, Darnay Holmes, Rodarius Williams, and Amani Oruwariye may not be a big name group but it’s a group that should be solid. Had this draft fleshed out more, Jakorian Bennett would have been my move in the 4th. Teammate of Deonte Banks with speed to burn and sticky man coverage.
“You said positional value but took a WR in the 1st, a RB in the 3rd, and ignored DB and DL?” - Yes. Not Ideal, but wen taking into account where we pick and the premiums placed on certain positions, sometimes it’s better to get the 3rd ranked WR than the 5th ranked CB. If one guy is more likely to provide a bigger impact act their position, i say, take the impact player.
Flowers is a very good player. Bootleg Football podcast has a great interview with him. You guys should check it out.
I haven't watch the USC Edge player yet but I will now on your recommendations. We need to add to this position. Round 2 will be a good spot.
RB is deep in this draft. I expect NYG to draft one.
1) Flowers - If you don't think that he's firmly on the Giants radar, you haven't been paying attention to anything that Schoen/Daboll has said or done in the last year. I think Addison is firmly on their radar too.
2) Tuli - Fans are sleeping on a versatile pass rusher. I think they'll want some inside out or outside in versatility and Tuli fits there. There are 4-5 guys that can fit that bill in this range.
3) Spears - Not my preference in the 3rd but we prioritized smaller, speedier playmaker in Wan'Dale with a premium pick last year. We could do the same again. Schoen comes from a Bills FO, drafting for a similar offense, that took James Cook with a high pick last year.
I'd still be surprised that we didn't go CB given the strength of the draft but not outrageous.
I'm not into forcing a pick at center...at all.
I definitely don't understand the complaints about Zay Flowers. He is a total stud, powerfully built, incredible body control, a separator, tenacious, and a YAC monster.
All three of the selections above would help the Giants. Two immediate impacts on Offense and a stud edge rusher. Edge is a deep position in this draft.
Good Values.
Remember the day Saquon had 31 carries and became a shell of himself for a month. Another stud at RB would definitely be a big help for this team, and at 3, it's a good value. Running back is also a deep position in this draft. Breida is not at the level that you cannot improve, neither is Brightwell or Corbin.
Also CB and C will be available in the 4th, 5th, 6th rounds at good values.
From what I am picking up. This is a draft that is stocked with great value at cornerback. There will be value options at that position dropping into the later rounds.
The Center evaluations appear to be all over the map. There is a lot of hype due to the need at the position. Some of them will certainly get over-drafted, but they all have limitations in the Giants scheme. I heard one evaluator that I respect state definitively that Feliciano is a better value in the Giants system than any center in this draft. That ought to at least give some of you at least cause for a pause in any early center demand. Sticking to a player's round valuations is a good policy. A fourth or fifth round Center should be there as GoDeep forecasts, and there should be no serious drop off. There is no point in over-drafting a Center when you could have a better player at another position of need. You still have to live with the warts of the selection.
I believe the 5th is the earliest we would see Schoen address the position, and if they hang on to all the 7th rounders, that's the round I see them taking a guy.
I think people are sleeping on Jashaun Corbin a bit. Corbin has some skills. And it's highly likely Saquon is the guy in 2023, and you can go year-to-year on this. I wouldn't rule out an extension with Saquon prior to FA in 2024 if he plays on the tag this year.
There's a decent chance Schoen is satisfied with the Barkley-Brightwell-Breida-Corbin group, but if they do add a guy, there's RBs I like that should be there in round 5 and later.
Zay Flowers is not just a slot receiver -- he can do it all. He has spent the bulk of his reps at the outside this past season.
You just invested 160 million in your QB and you want him healthy and upright
Sekecting Torrance is a no brainer to me
You will have much better pass protection and a road grading right side of the line
I like Spears a lot but with Barkley I think they would go CB Rd 3 in this scenario if the value of Tuli was too much to pass up rd 2. The learning curve for an RB is small even if somehow they lose Barkley and can draft one higher next year.