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The New York Giants now have three quality cornerbacks in James Bradberry, Adoree Jackson and Darnay Holmes, but might they be on the hunt for more?
The staff over at The Athletic pondered that very question while compiling their latest beat writer mock draft, and ultimately settled on the belief that you can never have too many good cornerbacks.
For that reason, they have the Giants selecting Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II at No. 11 overall.
11. New York Giants: Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
Signing Kenny Golladay makes it a lot easier to stomach all of the top receiving options being off the board. Though the Giants agreed to a deal with former first-round cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, the first round is about finding a player for the next 10 years, not just the upcoming season. James Bradberry only has two years left on his contract. Teams can never have enough cornerbacks, especially one with the pedigree of Surtain, who could become a Pro Bowler like his father. It was tempting to take Northwestern offensive lineman Rashawn Slater, but Surtain’s upside was too much to pass up.
In addition to Slater, Michigan edge rusher Kwity Paye, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, USC offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker, Georgia edge rusher Azeez Ojulari and Miami edge rusher Gregory Rousseau were still on the board.
Yes, the Giants miss out on adding even more offensive playmakers in this scenario, but they have a choice of quality offensive linemen, edge rushers and, of course, a young cornerback with a ton of potential.
The Giants are likely to extend Bradberry’s contract in 2022, but that shouldn’t preclude them from adding more talent to their secondary. Jackson is coming off of an injury, Holmes is likely to stick at nickel and behind that, there’s not much.
Drafting Surtain would allow the Giants to potentially cut ties with Isaac Yiadom or Sam Beal, which would hurt in terms of pick investment (one via trade and the other in the supplemental draft), but it would improve the overall unit while also shedding some salary.
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