2022 NFL Draft: Grading Every Team’s 2022 NFL Draft Haul
By Hunter Haas
Giants (11 picks):
1:05 – Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE, Oregon
1:07 – Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
2:11 – Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky
3:03 – Joshua Ezeudu, OL, North Carolina
3:17 – Cordale Flott, CB, LSU
4:07 – Daniel Bellinger, TE, San Diego State
4:09 – Dane Belton, Safety, Iowa
5:03 – Micah McFadden, LB, Indiana
5:04 – DJ Davidson, DT, Arizona State
5:30 – Marcus McKethan, OL, North Carolina
6:03 – Darrian Beavers, LB, Cincinnati
The New York Football Giants hired general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll from the Buffalo Bills, hoping that they can replicate their success further south in New York. Schoen added a couple veteran offensive linemen in free agency, and cleared up a lot of future cap space by moving on from older, pricier players that he inherited from the prior regime. Because of this, it was anyones best guess as to what the Giants would do in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Ultimately, they came away with two blue-chip prospects in a draft with less than a handful of such prospects. Evan Neal (No. 2 overall) and Kayvon Thibodeaux (No. 4 overall) received a “foundational prospect” grade from me following my evaluations of each player. Thibodeaux is a dream pairing with the Wink Martindale system and Evan Neal is athletic enough to do anything that Brian Daboll asks.
The Wan’Dale Robinson pick threw me for a loop, not because I don’t like Robinson as a prospect, but solely because he fills the same role as Kadarius Toney. This makes more sense if Toney is eventually moved, but as of today I don’t understand using a second-round pick on a WR4. Daniel Bellinger is the dark horse of this class, as he has the precise profile that Daboll will look for to serve the “Dawson Knox role” of the offense. The top two picks carry this class, but the rest of the class is well-rounded enough to garner high praise from me.
Grade: A-