There’s a lot of speculation surrounding the New York Giants and the upcoming NFL Draft. First, there’s who they will take with the fourth overall selection (if they choose to keep it), but there is also a plenty of chatter regarding who their second round choice will be.
The Giants hold the 36th overall pick, or the fourth pick in Round 2, and as always, there will be some primo talent at that spot and maybe even a draft steal in the form of a first round talent who falls into the early second round.
Looking at the draft logistically, there’s only two paths the Giants can go at No. 4. First, they can take the bait on Clemson linebacker/safety Isaiah Simmons or they can do the safe thing and take one of the four stud offensive tackles on the board to protect last year’s top pick, quarterback Daniel Jones.
Scenario No. 1
Using The Draft Network’s mock draft simulator, we selected Simmons at No. 4. Here’s the top three players who were on the board that might interest the Giants at No. 36:
A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa
An average showing at the Combine could send the 6-foot-6, 275-pound Epenesa tumbling out of the first round, but he won’t fall very far. In 13 starts as a junior in 2019, he was named a Second Team AP All-American and a First Team all-Big 10 Conference defender with 49 tackles (14.5 for loss) and 11.5 sacks along with four forced fumbles.
Grant Delpit, S, LSU
Considered pretty much a “can’t miss” player by many scouts, the 6-foot-2, 213-pound Delpit comes from a long-line of LSU safety royalty (Jamal Adams, LaRon Landry, Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid) and should be a first round pick. He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 2019 racking up 65 tackles (4.5 for loss), two sacks, two interceptions and seven pass breakups in 14 starts for the national champs.
Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State
It’s very possible Cleveland gets taken in Round One. The 6-foot-6, 310 pounder is a little light in the frame, but is an athletic tackle who might equate as a young Nate Solder in the NFL. He could intrigue the Giants here, especially since the tackle position gets real thin after the early second round.