This will be my first of many mock drafts that will be posted on this page leading up to April 23rd’s draft in Sin City. The New York Giants own the 4th selection in the draft, after another disappointing, 4-12 regular season campaign. However, now is not the time to dwell on the past, Giants nation, as it is draft season! Every draft season provides a beautiful thing to franchises selecting at the top of the draft…hope. All that we need sometimes to spark something great from the pits of darkness is hope, just ask Luke Skywalker and Rey (Skywalker). As proof for this hypothesis and in support of my rallying decree for Giants fandom to believe in this now sorry franchise once again, I point my spotlight to the San Francisco 49ers. In a society where we’re so quick to forget the distant past, cancel culture, and craving the next big thing or fad constantly in the form of a tweet or Instagram post, we tend to forget that everything takes time and that sometimes, we need to trust the process. I am here to remind you that the 49ers were 4-12 prior to this season’s Super Bowl run, laying out a blueprint for the rest of the NFL on how to jump-start a rebuild and essentially go from worst to first. Great teams are built through the draft. Point blank. Giants GM, Dave Gettleman, has certainly made his fair share of head scratching decisions in his second stint with the team, but I actually believe one thing he does really well is find talent in the draft that other scouts and talent evaluators may not necessarily see. One can argue that Gettleman had a top 5 draft in the entire NFL this past offseason. Nailing the Daniel Jones selection at 6, who looks more than promising as a franchise QB , staying put at 17 by selecting an absolute stud IDL in Dexter “Sexy Dexy” Lawrence, and striking gold in the form of 5th round wide reciever, Darius Slayton, who led all rookies with 8 TD catches and already appears to have a special connection with fellow rookie Daniel Jones. And, oh yeah, he nabbed TE Kaden Smith as an UDFA off the Niners practice squad, who was so impressive this year and well rounded, that he might just get former first round pick Evan Engram traded out of town. Here is what I think Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge SHOULD do with their draft choices in the 2020 NFL Draft to have Big Blue back where they belong: competing for championships. It all starts in the green room. Enjoy and trust the process.
*There were no trade ups or trade downs in this version of my mock draft*
Team needs:
EDGE, LB, OT, CB, WR, S, IOL
Round 1, Pick 4:
Clemson, LB Isaiah Simmons, 6’4” 230 lbs
Although, I feel as if the Giants are in prime position to trade back in this spot to accumulate picks, there are no trades in this version of my mock draft. The Clemson product was too good to pass up at #4. The Giants haven’t had a Quarterback of the defense, game changing type LB since Antonio Pierce, and they haven’t allocated a first round draft pick to one since 1984, on Giants legend Carl Banks. If you want to jump-start a rebuild, and become more versatile, physical, and fast as Joe Judge claims he intends to do, you hand in the Simmons draft card and you don’t think twice about it. The G-men need play-makers on defense and ignoring that side of the ball needs to stop this year. Even though as of today I have an inkling they will once again go on the offensive side of the ball with this selection, I call the shots here and Simmons is the guy.
Round 2, Pick 36
Notre Dame, EDGE Julian Okwara, 6’4″ 248 lbs
Not going to lie, I was tempted to get Daniel Jones another shiny toy here in the form of LSU WR Justin Jefferson, but I was quick to remind myself that offense is not the issue here. I see where you can get sidetracked, Dave. OT Austin Jackson out of USC and Penn State WR KJ Hamler were extremely enticing options as well. However, I stuck to my guns and got the Giants something they need desperately: an explosive pass rusher. Julian’s older brother, Romeo was once in the Giants building, but they let him slip away to Detroit, where he is producing for Matt Patricia. My dream scenario is for the Giants to lure a big money FA pass rusher to town like Yannick Ngakoue, who has hinted at a possible marriage this summer via his personal Instgram story. And, then to use this draft slot to select a OT. After going LB and EDGE in Rounds 1 and 2 here, GM McGovern has quickly filled two of the most glaring holes on this Giants patchwork defense. As a Notre Dame fan, I’ll say this kid can really get to the QB and his tape is impressive as well.
Round 4, Pick 100
Washington, OT Trey Adams, 6’8” 314 lbs
I was gearing up and preparing for my third round selection and then I remembered Dave Gettleman inexplicably traded it to the crosstown rival Jets for DL Leonard Williams who he could’ve signed in Free Agency while simply keeping both picks he traded for him. Anyways, because of this, I had to watch many of the players on my big board slip away from my grasp. Maybe, the Giants trade up in this range, because a rebuilding team needs as many high draft picks as it can amass to get players who can play on the field, quickly. Fortunate for them in this scenario, there was a tackle that they had high on their board still available. Trey Adams is a mammoth of a man at 6’8″ and about 320 pounds. Playing LT in the Pac-12 North has to count for something right? He has some injury concerns but was once viewed in NFL circles as a first round talent. I’ll take the upside pick here with the hopes that newly hired offensive line coach, Marc Colombo, can help him refine his skills to make up for his lack of elite level athleticism. Colombo helped right the ship on Dallas’ offensive line and get back to being one of the most dominant units in the league. Doesn’t hurt to take a risky pick here with how porous the offensive line play has been, any production from the tackle spot is a positive.
Round 5, Pick 132
Notre Dame, WR Chase Claypool, 6’4″ 229 lbs
Non Notre Dame bias here, of course, Claypool was too good to pass up in this spot. The Giants land another stud of a reciever in the 5th round in back to back drafts. I think the team will target a big bodied reciever in this years draft to fit Garrett’s system where he’s always had a tall receiver on the outside with strong hands who can go up and highpoint the rock. Claypool fits the bill here and unites with former collegiate teammate Julian Okwara in this fantasy mock scenario. I don’t anticipate Claypool to wow people with this speed at the combine, but he has a knack for coming down with contested catches. There is a difference between track speed and game speed and the Giants bank on that here with this selection.
Round 6, Pick 163
Florida, RB Lamical Perine, 5’11” 211 lbs
As my first mock draft winds to an end, I figured I’d get Saquon a backfield running mate that won’t mysteriously disappear in the second half a regular season *cough* Wayne Gallman. If you know anything about his brother, Samaje, you know that he runs in a straight line and he runs hard with a purpose. Lamical is very much the same, but made it a point of emphasis to cut weight this past season to be more of a complete back. I see him has more of a thumper type in the NFL and he can help alleviate some of the workload from Barkley, especially if the Giants are out of playoff contention yet again. Saquon may be listed at 6 ft 230 lbs but he plays lighter than that and I feel as if the Giants need an RB2 who can bring the boom. RB isn’t a need for this team, but they could use some fresh legs in the backfield, even if that same backfield possesses one of the best talents at the position the league has seen. Yes, I know siblings are a common theme in this mock, leave me alone.
Round 7, Pick 195
Alabama, S Shyheim Carter, 6’0″ 191 lbs
Any pick in this round is usually a shot in the dark where teams hope whoever they take here can be a practice squad player Year 1 or maybe even a contributor on special teams. I have the Giants penciled in to take a hybrid nickel corner/ safety here who played the STAR role for Nick Saban’s Crimson tide this past season. This isn’t a player the Giants would draft to man the back end alongside Jabrill Peppers. Instead, this is a player who can slide into slot corner or even a $ backer type role. It is hard to predict how new DC Patrick Graham will push the front office to draft which players to fit a particular scheme since he is so multiple in his play-calling. However, this is the type of player I envision the new coaching staff to thirst for; accomplished, physical, hard nosed, and versatile.
Round 7, Pick 215
Fresno State, CB Jaron Bryant, 6’1″ 186 lbs
The second of two 7th round selections here for NYG, as they go with a corner here. With one of the youngest secondaries in the league, after cutting Janoris Jenkins in the regular season, I’d presume the Giants will bring in one or two free agent cornerbacks this off-seasons. I anticipate them to sign one of Byron Jones and Logan Ryan to come in and influx talent, leadership, and experience into a secondary that desperately needs it. It would not surprise me if Gettleman goes corner way sooner in the draft. But, the Giants land a long, lengthy corner who has plenty of room to grow in stature and on the field. A word I saw twice while reading a scouting report on him was the word versatile. Another player, like Isaiah Simmons and Shyheim Carter that is a swiss army knife type player that will allow Coach Graham to deploy them in a myriad of roles on the field to keep opposing offenses guessing and off balanced.
This concludes my first edition of a Full Seven Round NYG Mock NFL Draft. It is my first time doing a mock draft simulator where I actually wrote player analysis explaining my reasoning behind my selections. I aim to get better as I do more and more of these. I hope everyone is as excited for this upcoming off-season as I am! Big things are on the horizon for Big Blue. As always #GiantsPride
The draft simulator I used is called NFL Mock Draft Simulator: Make Your Own Draft Picks on a site called The Draft Network. It can be found at this link–> https://thedraftnetwork.com/mock-draft-machine
Delusional Giants Fan 