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The 2021 NFL draft is three weeks away but mock draft season is still in full swing. With trades reshuffling the deck almost every other day, teams’ priorities change drastically.
One thing is certain for the New York Giants, however. They benefit each time a team trades up into the top 10 in an effort to select a quarterback. That means they’ll one more position player for them to choose from at No. 11.
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In his latest mock draft, Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports gives his assessment of who the Giants might end up with in Rounds 1 and 2 of the NFL draft later this month.
In Round 1, with several targets such as Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, offensive lineman Rashawn Slater and LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase off board, Trapasso has the Giants selecting Alabama wideout DeVonta Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner.
More weaponry for Daniel Jones entering Year 3. Now, a receiver group of Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, and Smith is a darn good one.
Good point. An even better point is that if the Giants don’t take a No. 1/No. 2 level wideout in this draft, they are one Golladay injury away from having last year’s wide receiver corps.
Smith gives the Giants a second No. 1 wide receiver option along with Golladay. He is a polished, accomplished player with a high floor who would help the Giants open up their passing game. The addition of Smith, Golladay and tight end Kyle Rudolph along with the return of running back Saquon Barkley from injury suddenly gives them explosive potential.
In Round 2, Trapasso sees the Giants selecting Penn State edge rusher Jayson Oweh, who wowed scouts at his pro day. Oweh could actually sneak into the first round based on that workout.
The 6-foot-3, 257-pound Oweh rans 4.36 40-yard dash at his pro day and followed that up with with a 39.5-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 11 feet, 2 inches.
But Oweh is all potential since his stat sheet at Penn State is very light. He had no sacks in 2020. He says that isn’t what people should be judging him by.
“As far as the zero sacks thing, it’s obviously there,” Oweh said in a recent interview. “But if you really are a savant of the game and really understand what is going on in the game, and you watch film, you don’t just look at the box score. You understand that’s not even who I am, that’s not even the type of player I am. I’d say (against) Indiana, I could have had five sacks that game. It was just a split second off. I feel like even if I did have five, six sacks, people still would come up with things to say.
“My best football is ahead of me. This is probably the best thing that could have happened to me because I’m using that as motivation. People have said that I was a pass-rush specialist the year before that, and now they say I can only play the run. So I use all this stuff as motivation, and it’s helping me become a more complete football player.”