Everyone knows by now that the New York Giants are likely focused in on a pass protector for Daniel Jones with their first round pick, although the possibility of a trade down has remained in the mix, but which position they’ll target in the second round is less clear. With the marquee prospects off the board in round two, the Giants are under less pressure to make a certain type of selection – but the second round is still a valuable time to fill some of the team’s holes, of which there are a number of.
One of the biggest holes is at the edge rusher position. The Giants will likely lose Markus Golden in free agency, and it remains to be seen if Kyler Fackrell will perform in his first season as a Giant. With the talk about Jadeveon Clowney to the Giants dying down, that leaves one main chance for the team to avoid a slide backwards in the pass rush – the draft.
There’s one player being linked to the Giants so far in the second round at the pass rusher position, and that’s Notre Dame’s Julian Okwara, the brother of former Giant Romeo Okwara. According to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, Okwara is one of the players the Giants are interested in.
I was on the phone with Romeo for a story I just filed on his younger brother, @NDFootball edge @julian_okwara, who has received interest from the #Giants among a ton of other teams ahead of next week's #NFLDraft. Posting this morning at @NYDNSports.
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) April 17, 2020
The Giants, however, apparently aren’t the only team interested. That’s not surprising, either. The Giants would be getting a decently consistent prospect in Okwara who had 5 sacks last season with Notre Dame and 8 the season before, and who appeared in the majority of the team’s games for the past three years.
Other teams may even think highly enough to draft Okwara in the first round, which is the prediction that the latest NFL.com mock draft made.
PROJECTED TRADE WITH 49ERS. Bill O’Brien is not afraid to go after (or send away) players. If he hadn’t broken his fibula in November, Okwara would have received much more first-round talk this year. If the medicals are fine, the Texans will view him as a strong and agile edge rusher for the foreseeable future.
There’s no guarantee that Okwara will be available when the Giants do select in the second round, though they won’t have to wait long to pick once round two begins. However, if Okwara is there to take, it’s an intriguing prospect for the Giants. Getting a first round quality player at a position the Giants need but can’t prioritize in the first round, after all, would undeniably be a win.