Here’s how the New York Giants draft should have gone

The New York Giants have been the recipients of unrelenting criticism ever since they drafted QB Daniel Jones with the 6th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

The New York Giants have been the recipients of unrelenting criticism ever since they drafted QB Daniel Jones of Duke with the 6th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and therefore fans are left to wonder what their draft would have looked like had they conformed to conventional wisdom and drafted accordingly.

Perhaps GM Dave Gettleman succumbed to the criticism that he received all year for not drafting a QB in 2018. The confusing part is that he said in a press conference a few days before the draft that a team should not reach for a player because every time that you reach for a player it is a loser, yet that is exactly what he did in 2019.

So in the interest of fairness and for the sanity of Giants fans, we have conducted a re-draft of what could have been.

1 (6) JOSH ALLEN – OLB or EDGE, 6047 260, Kentucky – this selection is appropriate for two reasons: (a) the case can be made that he is the best player available, and (b) he fills the Giants biggest need. The proof of his value is that the Jacksonville Jaguars, picking right after the Giants at No. 7, changed their draft plans when Allen became available and selected him.

1 (17) DEXTER LAWRENCE – DT, 6044 342, Clemson – I actually like this pick as I believe that he can become a force in the NFL. Firstly, he is strong against the run and is better in the pass rush than given credit for. In his freshman year of 2016 he had 7 Sacks and this year he had 1.5 Sacks but 15 QB pressures and the potential for further development. Coach Dabo Swinney has stated that Lawrence is “the most unique D-lineman that he has ever been around” and that he is “one in a million.” And this combination of strengths with Lawrence and Allen transforms the Giants defense just with these two players alone.

2 (37) This is the pick that the Giants traded up to get back into the first round to select CB Deandre Baker of Georgia. But to do so they also gave up two additional picks: 4 (132); and 5 (142), which is a questionable trade for the following reasons: If Baker was still available at pick 1 (30), that would mean that there was no great rush to draft him and there were other CBs and immediate starting players who would have been available to them at (37), and further they could have retained the other two picks. It is interesting that pick 4 (132) is the pick just before the pick that the Patriots used to select QB Jarrett Stidham of Auburn with pick 4 (133).

It is also possible that Baker might have been available with this pick but if not then it is possible that either CB Byron Murphy or CB Rock Ya-Sin might have been available here.

Even if they all were off the board the following players were still available with this pick: T Greg Little of Ole Miss; T/G Cody Ford of Oklahoma; T Dalton Risner of Kansas State; WR A.J. Brown of Ole Miss who would be an instant starter, WR D.K. Metcalf of Ole Miss, CB Sean Bunting of Central Michigan, CB Trayvon Mullen of Clemson, CB Greedy Williams of LSU, C/G Elgton Jenkins of Miss State; and QB Drew Lock of Missouri.

In the aftermath of the draft the word was that Greedy Williams dropped because he was too cocky in team interviews. But for our re-draft, the pick is in:

2 (37) GREG LITTLE – T, 6052 310, Ole Miss – this pick is to solidify the RT position that has haunted the Giants for a few years. As it turned out in the real draft, Little went with this exact pick to the Carolina Panthers and ahead of Cody Ford and Dalton Risner. Ford may be more of a mauler in the run game and Risner may be a safer pick in that he has good technique, but Little gets the nod here with his 35 1/4 inch arms and good kick slide that he exhibited while at Ole Miss at LT. LT is where he might ultimately end up with the Giants, and is also where the Panthers plan to use him.

3 (71) This pick was forfeited as the Giants selected CB Sam Beal from Western Michigan in the 2018 Supplemental Draft, whose value has to be questioned since the Giants became aggressive in moving up to select CB Deandre Baker. Had the Giants retained this pick the following players would have been available to them: CB Justin Layne of Michigan State, WR Terry McLaurin of Ohio State, C/G Connor McGovern of Penn State, ILB Germaine Pratt of N.C. State, DE Chase Winovich of Michigan, and WR Hakeem Butler of Iowa State.

3 (95) – Giants selected Edge Rusher Oshane Ximines of Old Dominion who may turn out to be a starter, but if the Giants had selected Josh Allen they would have had other options with this pick.  But since this is a do-over draft, we already selected Josh Allen and this pick would be changed to:

3 (95) HAKEEM BUTLER – WR, 6046 220, Iowa State – this would be the deep sideline threat that the Giants presently lack as Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate are more Slot types and TE Evan Engram is more of a Flex TE. Butler has 4.49 speed at nearly 6-5 and averaged 22.0 yards per catch on 60 receptions in 2018. He comes with spectacular catches and some drops, which could be concentration drops, but regardless the Arizona Cardinals jumped for him with the first pick in the 4th Round.

The Giants’ need for this deep sideline threat was known to them as they selected WR Darius Slayton in the 5th Round with the hope of fulfilling this need.

4 (108) JULIAN LOVE – CB of Notre Dame was the Giants pick and a good one, it loads up the CB position as the Giants also have Janoris Jenkins, Deandre Baker, Sam Beal and Grant Haley at the position.

4 (132) This pick was traded away in the Deandre Baker deal and is the spot where QB Jarrett Stidham would have been available as the Patriots took him with the very next pick. Also available here were: ILB Ben Burr-Kirven of Washington, CB/FS Amani Oruwariye of Penn State, and In-Line TE Foster Moreau of LSU. But in this re-draft, the Giants still have this pick and select:

4 (132) JARRETT STIDHAM – QB – 6023 218, Auburn – it has been reported that Stidham was the best thrower of the football at the QB camps where all of the top QBs have been. The knock on him has been that he hasn’t fared well under pressure. But if the Patriots thought enough of him as a developmental QB, and the 4th Round being where teams take a shot on a QB, this would be a worthwhile pick.

5 (142) This pick was also traded away in the Deandre Baker deal but since we have retained the pickin this re-draft: AMANI ORUWARIYE – CB, 6015 205, Penn State – who actually went 4 picks after this to the Lions. Despite running a 4.47 forty at the Combine, his deep speed has been questioned and is the reason that he has dropped. In 2018 he was 1st All Big Ten with 3 Interceptions and 12 PBUs which was a very good year along with a good Combine. If his speed at CB did become a liability, then a switch to FS would be in order and would fill another hole in the Giants defense.

5 (143) RYAN CONNELLY – LB of Wisconsin – was a good pick in this spot. He is quick to diagnose and attack the LOS from his ILB position. Had a good season despite playing with a core injury.  Mack Wilson and Vosean Joseph were other Interior Linebackers that merited consideration at this pick.

5 (171) DARIUS SLAYTON – WR of Auburn – another good pick for Round 5. Slayton is a certifiable deep threat with 4.39 speed who had limited production at Auburn because of injuries and the offense that they run at Auburn. And is still a worthwhile selection even after picking Hakeem Butler.

6 (180) COREY BALLENTINE – CB of Washburn – considering this round another good pick for the G-Men. Ballentine impressed at the Senior Bowl practices and tested very well at the Combine.  For the 2018 season he won the Cliff Harris Award which is for the top defensive back at the D2 level.. Unfortunately he was wounded by a gunshot just after the draft but reportedly is recovering. This pick does reflect the emphasis that the Giants had on the CB position going into the 2019 season and calls into question their thinking about  Janoris Jenkins and Sam Beal.

7 (232) GEORGE ASAFO-ADJEI – OL of Kentucky – one can’t argue with any pick in the 7th Round as the 7th Round is like much of the rest of the draft being a crapshoot. Asafo-Adjei performed pretty well athletically at his Pro Day but needs more development in his run blocking and pass blocking. He did play RT at Kentucky so this was a HOPE pick at a need position at the time that this pick was made.

A couple of other possibilities here could have been CB Stephen Denmark of Valdosta State or CB Ken Webster of LSU, two freakish athletes who could be Special Team contributors, OLB Kaden Elliss from Idaho, or FS Nick Scott from Penn State, an athletic developing FS who would have also contributed on Special Teams. But since we selected Tackle Greg Little in the 2nd Round of in this re-draft, we switch this pick to:

7 (232) STEPHEN DENMARK – CB, 6024 220, Valdosta State – a freakish athlete who ran a 4.46 forty at his Pro Day along with a 1.48 Ten Yard Split, 40.5 Vertical Jump and has 33 1/2 inch Arms. Though he played at the D2 level, he could be a Special Teams contributor while learning the CB position.

7 (245) CHRIS SLAYTON – DT of Syracuse – was selected to be a backup to Dexter Lawrence and/or to rotate at DE. Again, it is hard to quibble with any 7th Round selection but DE types Michael Dogbe of Temple and Jordan Brailford of Oklahoma State might have helped with the pass rush. A few players who were signed as Undrafted Free Agents could have been interesting, such as WR Emanuel Hall of Missouri who is a true deep threat but was not drafted. Same for RB Darrin Hall of Pittsburgh, who ran for over a 1,000. yards with a 7.0 yards per carry behind a very average offensive line. Hall signed with Cleveland after the draft and Hall signed with Chicago.

In conclusion, I believe that the Giants would have been better off to a) have stuck with the conventional thinking and taken OLB Josh Allen with the sixth pick and b) not trade up for Deandre Baker as he might still have been available at (37) and if not, they had many other choices for a day one starter at RT, WR or even CB. Those changes would have led to the other pick changes as  outlined above.