It’s that time of the year when everyone becomes a couch football general manager. Most of you cannot even win your fantasy football leagues, yet, you know exactly who your favorite team should draft.
The third installment of 4th & Dwa will feature an inside look at what the New York Football Giants should do in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The NFL Draft is scheduled to take place April 23 through April 25. The question of the month has been should the draft still take place despite the COVID-19 outbreak. If the IT employees cannot work from home during this draft, then the NFL should take the necessary precautions during this pandemic. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter has been very vocal about his concerns. As a fan, I hope the league finds a way to make the draft happen. I miss sports!
Team Needs
The Giants have a lot of holes, some of which they addressed in free agency, which I spoke about in the first installment of 4th & Dwa. The Giants need to come out of this draft with a DYNAMIC player. The main need on the roster is a pass rusher and the Giants are probably out of the sweepstakes for Chase Young so they’ll have to focus on young players like linebackers Lorzeno Carter and Oshane Ximines, who are going to have to step up in the 2021 season. The main team needs are LB, OT, C, WR, and EDGE.
Draft Day 1
Disclaimer I am no Mel Kiper or NFL Scout
There is a lot of back and forth between #GiantsPride and #GiantsChat on Twitter about what the Giants should do with the fourth pick of the draft. In theory, trading back and getting picks sounds like the right thing to do, but to me, it only sounds good in theory. If the Giants trade back and miss on that new pick, then who cares if they got more picks. The Giants are not in the position right now to miss on talent. They HAVE to hit on the fourth pick in 2020. I have said in many articles, Isaiah Simmons out of Clemson is the pick. DO NOT OVERTHINK IT. Most scouts have said he has a high floor, worst case scenario the Giants will have a versatile starter for years to come.
Draft Day 2
Things get very tricky on day two. The Giants have a second-round pick (36th overall) and a third-round pick (99th overall).
I am a big believer in wide receivers being a luxury. However, if Laviska Shenault is available when they pick at 36, the Giants have to get the kid. He was a stud at Colorado. If he played at a bigger program, he would be mentioned with names like Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb. Shenault, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram give Danny Dimes the weapons he needs.
Other options in the second round are offensive tackle Josh Jones from Houston, and center Lloyd Cushenberry III from LSU. Both players would start instantly if they are drafted.
I know you are thinking “Wow is Dwa going to give me a third-round pick too?” The answer is yes, I did a lot of research and watched a lot of tape.
First, I want to highlight some of the Giants’ recent third-round picks, like Oshane Ximines, Sam Beal (he was a supplemental draft pick but the Giants gave up 2019 third rounder), Lorenzo Carter, Davis Webb, Darian Thompson, Owamagbe Odigizuwa. I would keep going but I don’t want to bring up more dark times.
2020 is the year the Giants will hit on their third-round pick. At 99th overall, the New York Football Giants should select Khalid Kareem out of Notre Dame. Rarely, can you find a player with this pedigree in the late third. He was an ESPN 300 top recruit, even had an Alabama scholarship. He only had 5.5 sacks as a senior but was very active. Drafting Kareem will be the third straight year they add an edge rusher in the third round. Kareem will be the steal of the day!
Draft Day 3
The NFL Draft is incredibly long. I am hours in on my research and I am tired. Life as an NFL Scout must suck. The Giants hold one fourth-round pick, one fifth, one sixth, and four seventh-round picks.
I looked at every NFL Draft from now back to 2015 to find some day three gems that the Giants have drafted. They have missed on every pick on day three from 2015 to 2019. Last season the Giants did well on day three by drafting receiver Darius Slayton, cornerback Corey Ballentine, linebacker Ryan Connelly, and corner Julian Love. Gettleman did an amazing job with the 2019 draft. I know we are supposed to hate him, but let’s hope his success continues this season.
I am not going to go pick by pick for day three, but I will name three players projected to go day three that I would love to see on the Giants.
First, if the Giants do not draft Shenault and do the smart thing by drafting an offensive lineman on day two, they NEED to draft Donovan Peoples-Jones. Jerry Jeudy was not the number one recruit in the nation out of high school, it was Peoples-Jones. He underachieved at Michigan due to Harbaugh running the ball three times then punting every possession. How does Harbaugh have a job and continuously losing to THE Ohio State University? I still believe in Peoples-Jones talent and would love to add him in the fourth.