The popular narrative in the rumor mill now is that the New York Giants are going to trade back with the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft instead of using it to get a player, but that’s not the only narrative – there’s also talks of the Giants keeping the pick, and their rumored top prospects at that spot tend to be from either the linebacker or the offensive tackle position. With the team needing help at both spots, it’s easy to see why they could use a top five pick to make an improvement at either position.
According to NJ Advance Media, it’s linebacker that the Giants are looking at with the pick. The name that’s being brought up again is Isaiah Simmons, Clemson’s alternative to Chase Young who was mocked to the Giants almost immediately after they fell to number four in the draft order and likely fell out of the race for Young.
“The name I keep hearing if they don’t trade back in the draft and stay at No. 4 is Isaiah Simmons,†one NFL evaluator tells NJ Advance Media. “That has really picked up since they released Alec Ogletree and Kareem Martin.â€
“They seem to be doing a lot of homework on linebackers,†a second individual said.
Simmons is one of the top players the Giants have been linked to at the number four spot with the other name that keeps coming up being Mekhi Becton from Louisville – the former would be an upgrade for the defense while the latter could potentially replace Nate Solder in his rookie season.
While Simmons wasn’t as notable in college last year as Chase Young, his greater versatility and ability to help in coverage has been praised.
The Giants, however, seem to be considering a trade down for Auburn’s Derrick Brown. Dave Gettleman has never traded back as the General Manager in charge of a draft, though, and it seems like an odd selection to make a first time trade in the first round for. We’ll see over the next few weeks if the interest in Brown is simply pre-draft hype and smokescreens, with the team’s real interest being in Simmons.