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The 2021 NFL draft is nearing and teams are beginning to maneuver to make room for the incoming class. The New York Giants have six selections in this year’s draft, one in each of the first four rounds (11th, 42nd, 76th and 107th overall) and two sixth rounders (Nos. 172 and 177). They do not have their fifth-round and seventh-round selections having surrendered them in trades for defensive lineman Leonard Williams and defensive back Isaac Yiadom.
But before we jump into speculating on this year’s group, let’s review how well did the Giants did at the draft table last year.
Nick Shook of NFL.com gave the Giants’ 2020 draft class a C+ grade in a recent article.
The lukewarm grade is largely based on the poor start to first round pick Andrew Thomas’ NFL career. Thomas played all 16 games, starting 15 and led the NFL in sacks and pressures allowed. The Giants’ second rounder, Alabama safety Xavier McKinney, broke his foot in training camp and missed the first 10 games of the regular season.
Thomas got off to a slow start in his rookie season, which carried extra pressure seeing as he was selected (a bit surprisingly) at No. 4 overall. But the first-year tackle started to put things together down the stretch (save for New York’s nightmare against Arizona in Week 14), finishing with a grade near that of PFWA All-Rookie Team member Jedrick Wills. Thomas would have started all 16 games had he not been benched for the first quarter in Week 6 for what coach Joe Judge called disciplinary reasons. McKinney’s evaluation is largely incomplete due to a foot injury that prevented him from playing until Week 12, but he also finished strong, recording his first career interception in Week 17.
The rest of the 10-player draft class all contributed on different levels. Third-round pick Matt Peart served as a swing tackle most of the year. Fourth rounder Darnay Holmes excelled as a slot corner and Tae Crowder, Mr. Irrelvant as the final pick in the draft, ended up starting six games at linebacker due to injuries. Fifth rounder Shane Lemieux started nine games at guard.
Peart didn’t see a ton of time as a rookie, but he showed flashes of promise as a possible developmental tackle for an offensive line that has question marks at one, if not both, of the tackle positions. Holmes saw considerable defensive snaps and recorded an interception, but struggled in pass coverage not unlike other rookies selected in the same range. His athleticism and instincts make him a potential candidate for Year 2 improvement. Lemieux replaced Will Hernandez at the end of October after the Giants placed the veteran on the COVID-19 list. The rookie played so well, he held onto the job for the remainder of the season, giving New York a potential steal in the fifth round.
Seventh-round selection, DB Chris Williamson, was waived during the season and the other picks — linebackers Cam Brown, Carter Coughlin and T.J. Brunson — all saw their snaps increase as the season drew to a close.
Brown primarily played special teams, with just 87 of his 397 snaps coming on defense. Coughlin played special teams for most of the first half of the season before seeing his reps increase in the final five weeks, recording 15 tackles between Weeks 12 and 15. Brunson played almost entirely on special teams in a reserve role. Williamson was waived in early September and spent most of the season on the practice squad before the Giants released him in early December. He landed with the Falcons and signed a futures deal with Atlanta in January. Crowder was one of the NFL’s more productive Mr. Irrelevants, finishing with 57 tackles (three for loss), one sack, one pass defensed and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Shook also included two UDFAs in his grading — defensive end Niko Lalos and wide receiver Austin Mack.
Lalos was elevated from the practice squad late in the season and made a key play in his first NFL game, recording an interception in a narrow win over Cincinnati. Mack caught seven of his 11 targets for 91 yards and played more than 200 special-teams snaps.
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