The Giants have a ton of needs and picks in all rounds of the NFL Draft, which creates even more unpredictability and options for GM Joe Schoen.
But there are still plenty of Giants-related names and player positions to keep an eye on for all 10 Giants picks from rounds one through seven.
Here’s a Giants fan viewing guide to some of the prospects to watch Thursday through Saturday:
FIRST ROUND: Cornerback is probably the biggest need on Brian Daboll’s roster. So if one of the Giants’ “blue” corners — the color of the highest scouting grade — is available at No. 25, there’s a good chance he’ll be the pick. Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and Deonte Banks of Maryland they are all very well thought out. There’s just one problem: those top four corners on most experts’ big boards will probably be gone before the 25th.
So the question is: Do the Giants and other “blue” CB’s deserve a first round pick?
The Daily News knows of two other cornerbacks like the Giants: DJ Turner from Michigan and South Carolina’s Darius Rush. It’s just that no one has a live feed of Schoen’s horizontal board that measures exactly how the Giants rank him compared to the players they like at other positions like Minnesota John Michael Schmitz Center and Boston College’s Zay Flowers (One source said some Giants scouts were as hot on Flowers’ trail as some Bills scouts were while scouting Central Florida’s Gabe Davis in 2020.)
There are other opinions about where Schoen could go. A source said he could easily see the Giants taking it Texas RB Bijan Robinson if he’s still there (he’s not expected to be). NBC Sports’ Peter King, the NFL’s preeminent national columnist, scoffed Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer at Big Blue (not impossible). May be Jordan Addison, USC at-large or Quentin Johnston, who is at the TCU level reach their choice and move the needle.
But the best information suggests that if the top four CBs, including Banks, go ahead of the Giants’ pick, Schmitz is a “blue” player on the Giants board who fills one of the team’s biggest needs. So unless there’s a blue-chip corner ranked ahead of Schmitz — and while a player like Flowers would certainly make sense — there’s a good chance the Gophers’ center will be the pick.
Schoen could actually trade down and get Schmitz later in the first round. They should just monitor the Seahawks, because if Seattle GM John Schneider trades up from the No. 20 in the late 20s or early 30s, he is a major threat to Schmitz’s pick.
MIDDLE RELATIVES: This is a deep draft for corners, so if the Giants don’t get one in the first round, players like Rush, Turner or South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith could be second round picks. Smith is a possible first-round talent that Schoen could take at 25; he just has some flags scaring some clubs away from him in the first round. Some league sources didn’t have Schoen taking a first-round shot there or in the second round. Emmanuel Forbes of Mississippi State is also a corner some teams think could go in the first round and Kansas State’s Julius Brents is a long corner who flashed well at the Senior Bowl.
The Giants have plenty of other needs and players they like, though. On the receiver, Tyler Scott of Cincinnati is a former play star whose name has come up a lot in conversations about possible second-round targets for the Giants, where they hold the 57th pick. Miss Ole’s Jonathan Mingo ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at 6-2, 220 pounds. Is he there in the third round at pick 89? Schoen could trade in either of those rounds for a receiver or player he likes.
At center, if Schoen doesn’t pick Schmitz in the first round, Joe Tippmann from Wisconsin is the next pivot for the Giants to keep an eye on in the second round. Ohio State’s Luke Wypler he’s also a player the Giants worked deeper into the draft.
Schoen’s signing Rams free agent DT A’Shawn Robinson (at another priority position of need entering the offseason), meanwhile, could free up the GM to not have to draft an interior defensive lineman high. So if a stud with 10 grand likes it Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore or Mazi Smith from Michigan it’s not in the cards in the second round, it wouldn’t be Alabama’s Byron Young be a good run stopping addition at pick 128 in the fourth round?
He wouldn’t hate it if the giants were watching Clemson tackle Jordan McFadden in the fourth round or so to kick him inside to guard and flex, but Schoen has said publicly that he has confidence in starters like Ben Bredeson and Josh Ezeudu.
in passing On the edge of Oregon, DJ Johnson he’s a former college teammate of Kayvon Thibodeaux’s switch from tight end to defensive end, has major upside and could be available in the fourth or fifth rounds.
LATER ROUNDS/FREE AGENTS PRIORITIES: Iowa cornerback Riley Moss is a player to keep an eye on for the Giants in the fourth and fifth rounds, ideally one of two fifth-round selections at either 160 or 172. First-team All-Big 10 captain team, maybe some positional versatility at safety . And Moss played 590 special teams for the Hawkeyes. Maybe he could step into the deck protector role released by the safety Julian Love’s free agent departure, where running back Matt Breida is likely atop the depth chart for now. With 10 picks overall, Schoen could come out of this draft with two or even three defensive backs.
NC State inside linebacker Isaiah Moore is another player to watch in the later rounds, perhaps at pick 209 in the sixth. Moore is a three-time captain who defends the run well, can play special teams and impressed the Giants in the East-West Shrine game. At quarterback, UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Houston’s Clayton Tune and Penn State’s Sean Clifford late-round or priority free agent targets are possible. Thompson-Robinson’s name is hot in league circles, though. It will probably go sooner. Georgetown receiver and returner Josh TomasIn the meantime, he’s an intriguing potential free agent target who would add juice to the special teams.
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