Amid others mocking Kyle Pitts or Jaylen Waddle to the New York Giants, NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah has an entirely different take on their upcoming draft. In his second mock draft, he sees the team addressing the potential pass rush need that will arise if they end up losing Leonard Williams in free agency.
The player that has been linked to the Giants repeatedly as an option to draft on defense is Gregory Rousseau, who has a strong record behind him but skipped out on the 2020 season. The missed time seems to not have impacted his draft stock much, and like wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Rousseau is still one of the top prospects in this year’s class.
Rousseau is also the player that Jeremiah sees the Giants taking even over receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle, who Jeremiah predicts as being available when the Giants pick at eleven.
I know GM Dave Gettleman has let it be known that he wants to add playmakers on offense. At the end of the day, though, he’s not able to pass up the big, athletic edge rusher.
If the Giants indeed aren’t able to hold onto their top pass rusher, it’s easy to see why they would be interested. During the 2019 season, Rousseau had 15.5 sacks and was one of the top pass rushers in the country. On the other hand, it seems unlikely the franchise would pass on taking one of the draft’s top weapons to help out Daniel Jones next season.
The consensus on the likely pick, of course, is still split. Between Kyle Pitts, Jaylen Waddle, Rousseau, and DeVonta Smith, there’s a lot of names being mentioned as likely options. Until we get closer to the draft, we likely won’t know which has the best odds.