With less than a month until the 2021 NFL draft, the New York Giants are getting all of their final evaluation’s done. Over the past few weeks, the Giants have sent plenty of front office executives and management to evaluate several pass rushers who will be available in the draft.
However, there have been conflicting reports, as Daniel Jeremiah believes that the Giants will target a playmaker on offense with the 11th overall pick, despite the fact that they have spent a ton of resources looking into pass rush options to further bolster their defense.
The New York Giants cannot reach at 11:
Big Blue can’t make a mistake at 11, though, especially with five quarterbacks expected to go in the top 10 picks. If an elite playmaker drops to them, the pick should be easy, and even co-owner John Mara stated that after the signing of Kenny Golladay and Adoree Jackson, they can settle for the best player available and walk away winners.
When looking at the pass rushers available, we first take a gander at Jaelan Phillips and Gregory Rousseau out of Miami, who are both capable of being productive players at the NFL level but might not offer elite value where the Giants sit in the draft. Phillips is one concussion away from seeing his NFL dreams come to an end, and Rousseau is a wildcard who doesn’t have much experience as an outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme.
Shifting over to Michigan’s Kwity Paye — he is more of a down lineman who could fit in the Giants’ nickel packages but wouldn’t be an every down player, making him unlikely at 11. They could consider Jason Oweh out of Penn State, but he lacks production and experience at the college level to be considered a top selection. The only other name that is worth mentioning is Azeez Ojulari out of Georgia, who has solid athleticism and strength that should translate to the next level.
It is easy to argue that none of these options are worthy of being picked at 11, so the Giants should sit pretty and see who falls to them after the onslaught of quarterbacks in the first 10 selections. In fact, there will likely be a few more draft day trades, which will present different opportunities for Big Blue, especially with the New England Patriots potentially looking to move up and take a QB.
Ultimately, remaining patient and letting the draft come to them is how the Giants should approach things instead of reaching for a pass rusher who likely won’t have a significant impact on day one.