The 2020 regular season and year-end press conferences have come and gone for the New York Giants, which means the focus shifts to the offseason.
Although the Giants appear to be trending in the right direction, there’s no denying they have a multitude of holes to fill in both free agency and the 2021 NFL draft. And while the former will impact the approach in the latter, that never stops the experts from releasing an endless flow of mock drafts beforehand.
Such was the case on Thursday when ESPN’s Todd McShay released his latest mock, which has the Giants selecting Miami edge rusher Gregory Rousseau at No. 11 overall.
11. New York Giants
Gregory Rousseau, DE/OLB, Miami-FL*
The Giants managed 40 sacks this season, thanks in large part to Leonard Williams bouncing back and getting 11.5 of them. But few would argue against the Giants needing edge-rushing help to take a much-improved defense to the next level, particularly if they don’t return Williams, who played this season on the franchise tag. Rousseau opted out this season, but he had 15.5 sacks for the Hurricanes in 2019 and has speed and power coming around the corner. Alternatively, offensive line, wide receiver or cornerback could be areas to keep an eye on for New York.
The Giants are in desperate need of playmakers for quarterback Daniel Jones and have made it abundantly clear that is a priority, but at No. 11, the pickings may be slim.
The good news is that a boat load of solid defensive players will be available at the time the Giants pick, so they should be able to reinforce and already solid defense. And Rousseau would certainly represent the sort of edge rushing talent that could help put things over-the-top.
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