Mock Draft: New York Giants roster needs more than a new QB
By Hunter Haas
New York Giants Mock Draft: Fixing The Roster Before Adding A New QB
Round 1, Pick 7: Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
The Giants grade out as the sixth-worst team in coverage (via PFF). One look at the roster shows how badly Wink Martindale needs a pillar at the cornerback position opposite Deonte Banks. Enter Kool-Aid McKinstry.
With the best name in the 2024 NFL Draft, McKinstry has even better on-field traits. He is a press coverage specialist, but thanks to his time at Alabama, the gifted defender boasts remarkable scheme versatility. In the Big Apple, McKinstry would quickly challenge Sauce Gardner for the “best cornerback in New York” title.
Round 2, Pick 38: Cooper Beebe, OL, Kansas State
The offensive line needs considerable help on the interior. I am willing to give the Andrew Thomas-Evan Neal bookend another season on the outside, and John Michael Schmitz is a long-term option at center. But the guard spots are severely lacking starting-caliber talent.
Kansas State star Cooper Beebe is a plug-and-play option for Brian Daboll. Beebe is a fringe first-rounder on my current Big Board, but most mock draft articles still have him falling into Day 2. The Giants benefit by adding a polished pass protector with ascending run-blocking prowess.
Round 3, Pick 69: Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina
Finally! A weapon on the boundary! South Carolina’s Xavier Legette is flying up mock draft boards everywhere — and rightfully so. Legette is built like a robot, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 227 pounds without an ounce of body fat. He legitimately looks chiseled from stone.
But the Gamecock standout does more than pass the eye test with his build. A man the size of Legette should not move the way he does. He flashes high-end breakaway speed and competitiveness at the catch point that most of his peers lack. Legette has legitimate WR1 chops in the NFL — a perfect way to cap this Giants mock draft.