The New York Giants have not one but two picks within the first round, and somewhat importantly, both of those picks are within the top 20 selections in the round. Which position the Giants decide to go for with these picks is a toss up right now, with good arguments being made for both the quarterback position and for help on the defensive line or the wide receiving corps, both of which have been depleted by offseaason moves.
When it comes to the analysts, there’s not quite a consensus on both picks yet, even though Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. remains the favorite for the first pick that the Giants make, in most predictions. ESPN released a dual mock draft with Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, and both experts disagreed on the second pick while believing that the Giants would take Haskins at number six overall.
“I’m sticking with Haskins to the Giants, even though they have a gaping void in their edge rush. I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t take a quarterback in Round 1, though,” wrote Kiper.
McShay elaborated a bit more, predicting the Giants to fix what he views as their biggest problem. “This is a tough call, but you just have to think the Giants take a quarterback here. They do need pass-rushers, but I don’t see them opting for Montez Sweat or Rashan Gary over taking care of their No. 1 problem.”
But things get interesting when you look at the predictions for the 17th pick, which as a mid round selection, is much more of a tossup than the sixth overall pick. Both analysts had the Giants selecting a defensive lineman from Clemson, but projected the team taking different ones.
Kiper believes that the Giants will take Clelin Ferrel, a defensive end, while McShay has them taking a defensive tackle in Christian Wilkins. While the former fills more of a need, the latter has been more highly regarded as a prospect for a longer time.
Here’s what Kiper said about Ferrel.
I gave New York a quarterback at No. 6, which means it has to address its pass rush with its other first-round pick. Ferrell is a prototypical 4-3 defensive end.
While on the other hand, McShay thinks that Wilkins can be part of a rebuild of the defensive line.
Big Blue undoubtedly needs edge guys, but that whole line is really in shambles. The versatile Wilkins would be a good start in rebuilding the unit.
Whoever the Giants spend their first and second picks on, the team has a chance to improve for next season through this year’s draft. Both the quarterback and the defensive line positions need more depth with Eli Manning aging and defensive players such as Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison leaving the team by trade during the last year or so. Giants fans will just have to hope that the players brought in around these positions are the right ones.