The New York Giants were active in free agency, addressing a few of their biggest needs in an effort to reinforce their roster ahead of the upcoming 2023 season. The Giants are preparing to address their next weakest positions in the 2023 NFL Draft following the free agency period. Despite adding talent across the board in free agency, the Giants are still weak at center, cornerback, and wide receiver.
1. Center
The Giants are in desperate need of reinforcements at the center position despite recently signing veteran J.C. Hassenauer, New York still needs to add more talent to the position.
2022 starter Jon Feliciano left in free agency this offseason along with Nick Gates who was the Giants’ starting center previously before moving to left guard last season. Currently, Hassenauer and projected starting left guard Ben Bredeson are the only two players on the Giants’ roster with experience at center.
This year’s draft class will give the Giants a few opportunities to address the position early. Prospects such as Minnesota’s John Michael-Schmitz, Ohio State’s Luke Wypler, and Wisconsin’s Joel Tippman are all expected to be drafted by the end of day two. As the top talents at their position in this class, there’s a good chance one of these three prospects will end up in New York at the end of the month.
2. Cornerback
The Giants are still painfully thin at the cornerback position despite having that weakness put on full display during the 2022 season. After CB Adoree’ Jackson went down with an injury, the Giants’ secondary fell apart until he returned to the lineup. Behind Jackson, the Giants lack depth and they have also failed to add a second starter on the boundary opposite of Adoree’.
Many analysts believe that a cornerback could be the pick for the Giants in the first round. This year’s class is loaded with first-round talents at the position. The Giants’ current projected starter opposite of Jackson is Cor’Dale Flott, a 2022 third-round draft pick. Flott flashed potential during his rookie season, but it might be a tall ask to project him as a full-time starter on the Giants’ defense this season.
The Giants chose not to address the cornerback position during free agency. It seems very likely that they will look to add talent to the position early in the draft.
3. Wide receiver
This offseason, the Giants made it a priority to add talent to their offense. They traded for star tight end Darren Waller, signed an underrated wide receiver in Parris Campbell, and extended some of their best playmakers from last season in Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard. However, the Giants are still without the elite WR1 they’ve been seeking.
Many insiders continue to connect the Giants with the top wide receivers in this year’s draft class. The Giants have met with all of the top prospects, taking a few of them to dinners to have more formal meetings.
The first round of the draft will provide the Giants with an opportunity to land their No. 1 receiver. Prospects like Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Quentin Johnston are all projected first-round picks and the Giants have met with every single one of them. If Big Blue really wants to see their offense take that next step in 2023, drafting one of these top receiving prospects could be the catalyst.