If the Giants don’t elect to make an aggressive move for a quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft, the consensus is that they will land a top wide receiver prospect as a consolation prize. The top pass catchers in this draft class are certainly exciting and electric despite a deep pool of talent that could end up gifting a team a player with WR1 upside in the second round.
In Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft for ESPN, the Giants end up securing Rome Odunze out of Washington. At 21 years old, the 6’3″, 215-pound receiver accumulated 1,639 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season. This was his second collegiate campaign with over 1,000 yards, nearly doubling his touchdown totals from 2022. Odunze only dropped three passes, which was good for a 3.2% drop rate over 140 targets.
The Giants Need a Receiver With Elite Qualities
With the Giants’ receiver corps consisting of Wan’Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt, and Darius Slaton, another skilled player would be a great addition.
None of them have the skill set that Odunze has, and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com gave him an NFL comp comparison to Larry Fitzgerald.
As a team captain with intangible qualities, Odunze has tremendous ball skills and great size to win competitive 50/50 balls but also utilizes elite route-running to his advantage. He has the frame and strength to feature as a team’s primary receiver, and while he doesn’t have top speed like Malik Nabers, he makes up for it with other elite qualities.
Ultimately, the Giants need to add receivers with qualities to create separation and make plays, especially if they plan to roll with Daniel Jones for the 2024 season.
At the very least, the Giants may not land a quarterback, but they will have a star receiver under contract for the next five seasons, so they will have plenty of time to find a passer to lead them into the future with linchpin pieces in place.