The narrative around the New York Giants and the NFL Draft has already changed multiple times at this point. And closer to the draft, it may change again.
The first instinct of many analysts and fans was to predict the team drafting Isaiah Simmons after falling out of the running for Chase Young by dropping in draft position at the end of the season, but then the narrative shifted to support the team taking an offensive tackle. After all, Nate Solder hasn’t panned out at the position, and the Giants have a young quarterback to protect.
Andrew Thomas, Mekhi Becton, and Jedrick Wills have been some of the players linked to the Giants the most. And they all share the position of offensive tackle. Tristan Wirfs has also entered the conversation following his performance in the combine, adding another tackle to the list of potential options.
However, according to Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, it isn’t a tackle that scouts are linking to the Giants.
New heart of the Big Blue defense?
(via @nfldraftscout) pic.twitter.com/qsZ1bcq9fG
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) March 31, 2020
Miller claims that “many NFL scouts” believe that the Giants will take Simmons rather than taking a tackle or trading down. Simmons is seen as the most versatile player at the linebacker position, especially in comparison to Chase Young, whose claim to fame comes from his pass rushing.
With the Giants potentially losing Markus Golden, who is their sacks leader from last year, as well as not quite getting the most out of Lorenzo Carter’s potential, drafting an outside linebacker isn’t entirely a bad idea – but it does mean the Giants would likely miss out on a top pass protector for Daniel Jones, to get a player that won’t help with sacks as much as Chase Young would.
Is it a good move? Potentially, but there’s still a major case to be made for the Giants taking a tackle.