One hard and fast rule at the NFL Draft is that you never draft out of need. Many teams don’t follow that rule and draft pundits definitely don’t, hence all of these “draft need” articles.
The New York Giants did what smart teams do in the offseason. They covered their immediate needs in free agency, filling the holes in their roster with veterans at linebacker (Blake Martinez, Kyler Fackrell), cornerback (James Bradberry), offensive tackle (Cam Fleming), backup quarterback (Colt McCoy), running back (Dion Lewis), long snapper (Casey Kreiter), blocking tight end (Levine Toilolo, Eric Tomlinson), safety (Dravon Askew-Henry) and special teams ace (Nate Ebner).
They still have a multitude of areas they want to improve in however, and that is what the draft is for. They are doing this thing right.
With 10 selections in this week’s draft, they can address some areas with long talent that can supplement their roster and maybe even find a few Day 1 starters.
Those areas are: offensive tackle, center, safety, wide receiver and inside linebacker. They could use upgrades at all of those positions. They are lucky that this draft will allow them to address those “needs” as there are excellent prospects at all of those positions.
If the Giants can’t swing a deal to trade back from the No. 4 slot, they almost have to take the best player available at that spot or they’re simply reaching and that is a common mistake most teams make. And it may not be a player at a position of need.
The best players in this draft are all on the defensive side of the football. The Giants should not pass on any of them to grab an offensive tackle at No 4. The value isn’t there.
If Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah or Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown is staring at them at No. 4, they have to consider them over the top four offensive tackles and even All-World hybrid hero Isaiah Simmons.
As one scout told me years ago: “Take the guy that’s going to go to Hawaii every year in the first round. You can get what you need in the later rounds. Don’t blow your draft reaching out of need.”
Okudah and Brown are not going to Hawaii (the Pro Bowl is now held in Orlando), but they should be annual Pro Bowlers in the coming years.
The misconception is that Okudah is a full-service corner that the Giants don’t need. Correction: every NFL team could use a Pro Bowl corner. Between him, Bradberry and hopefully DeAndre Baker, the tail could wag the dog so to speak and result in coverage sacks, hurries, et al. Giant fans will take that all day long.
Brown is a monster, who plopped down next to Dexter Lawrence in the middle of the defensive line means the Giants ain’t losing in the trenches any longer. They will dominate the middle of the field. There’s no real downside in selecting him.
There are teams that know these players aren’t likely on the Giants’ radar and will wait for them drop. The Giants shouldn’t let that happen. They should send signals that they are interested in Okudah and Brown and force those teams to trade up to get them.
Simmons is a dynamo, but the Giants have to have a plan for him. Winding him and letting him go isn’t exactly the best course here, no matter how fun it will be to watch. They have to give him responsibility and structure to really make things work. Unless he’s the second coming Lawrence Taylor, a player who simply transcends the game, the Giants have to be careful they don’t overreach with him. They already have several uber-talented players they haven’t been able to find roles for (Evan Engram, Jabrill Peppers and Oshane Ximines to name a few), don’t make the same mistake with Simmons.
If you told me last year at this time the Giants would likely have their pick of Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon’s Justin Herbert at No. 4, I would have laughed you out of the room. But, yet there they are.
The Giants need to play teams against one another and force them to trade up for the right to take one of these QBs. It’s only fair. They aren’t going to draft one, but if a team really wants one of them bad enough, let them trade up to get him.
In fact, Dave Gettleman should be letting the draft come to him this week. I know he’s been taking heat for his lack of tech savvy, but he can still play poker with the best of them. It’s time for him play his ace in the hole here.
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