NYGiantsman10's Semi-Realistic 4 Round Mock Draft

[NYGiantsman10]

Hola fellow Giants fans! Hope everybody is staying healthy and well in these strange times. I am stuck in purgatory right now because the Marine Corps cancelled my school, which has given me plenty of time to read mock drafts  It has gotten me especially revved for the draft. I have read a loooooot of mock drafts with all of my free time, and I wanted to try my hand at slapping together a semi-realistic one. My goal was to find good deals for the Giants, but deals that were also somewhat realistic. I stopped after 4 rounds because it's pretty much just throwing darts for me after that. Let me know what you think! 

For starters, the Giants have the following picks: 

(Yanked from Giants.com) 

1	4	4
2	4	36
3	35	99*
4	4	110
5	4	150
6	4	183
7	4	218
7	24	238**
7	33	247*
7	41	255*

From what I have read there is a ton of value in this draft in the top 100. The Giants need a bunch of instant starters at super key spots, so let's see if we can maximize the assets we've got in a semi-believable way. 

Round 1:

4th overall: NY Giants trade the 4th overall pick to the Miami Dolphins for the 5th overall pick, a second round pick (56th overall), and a 5th round pick

- Ok so, logic for this trade: I think Tua might slip. He's a great player, but he's also a smallish QB that has suffered a bunch of serious injuries. One wonders how he'll hold up in the NFL where the defenders are even stronger and faster. As a result I think both Miami and the LA Chargers will eyeball Herbert. I have read that Miami is pretty determined not to sacrifice any of their first round picks. In this situation, both teams have trade talks with Detroit, but Detroit asks for too much and Miami balks at giving up a first round pick and LA doesn't want to give up their second rounder. Both teams call Detroit's bluff and wait them out and Detroit picks Jeff Okudah as a result. For the Giants, they are able spook Miami into making this deal due to LA, Las Vegas, and other teams potentially looking into making a trade. From Miami's perspective they don't sacrifice any of their top 40 picks, and you sure as hell don't want to see your #1 guy go on the pick right in front of you. I think the trade favors the Giants, but I don't think it's an outrageous price tag.  

5th overall: NY Giants trade the 5th overall pick to the Carolina Panthers for the 7th overall pick, a third round pick (68th overall), and a 2021 4th rounder 

- The seeds for this trade were actually planted in my head after reading the work done by @ny92mike and @Acgott in the FFMD Giants thread. I think Carolina could ID Isaiah Simmons as a really good fit to replace Luke Kuechly and can't be sure that LA won't take him at 6 to just load up their defense with athletic freaks to stop Patrick Mahomes. I think he can be the new central node for Carolina's defense. Plus he's a Clemson product and I think keeping such a magnificent player in state is a great idea for Carolina (Imagine if Kuechly teaches him how to look for tendencies too? Yikes). For the record, I love Simmons and view him like the queen on a chessboard. I won't be mad at all if the Giants pick him.

*The Giants now possess the 7th overall pick, two 2nd rounders (36 and 56), two 3rd rounders (68 and 99), a fourth (110), two fives, a six, and three sevens.*  

7th overall: NY Giants select: OT Tristan Wirfs, Iowa

- I absolutely understand the divide between Giants fans on Simmons vs. OT. As a long time Giants fan it seems to me the Giants haven't been able to cover a TE or control a game up front for years. With that being said, Eli got pummeled in the later years of his career because guys like Omameh, Hart, and Flowers are trash players that couldn't block worth a damn. Andrew Luck retired from injuries that he got from taking too many hits. Too often we see Saquon having to juke guys in the backfield and the team not being able to pick up 3rd and 1s. Heck last year we saw Daniel Jones take a lot of hard hits and fumble a lot. All of that has got to stop. For me, the only way to stop all that is to to bite the bullet and spend premium picks on linemen. I believe it will make the entire team better as a result. Pretty much everything positive for offensive football builds off of an offensive line that can sustain its blocks in pass pro and generate some movement in the running game regardless of down and distance. Plus if you look at the NFC East, Chase Young is going to Washington (and they already have a bunch of good players in their front seven), Philly always has a strong defensive line (that has been kicking sand in the face of the Giants for years), and Dallas just added Gerald McCoy. You can't "scheme" or "smoke and mirrors" your way around a lack of big, talented guys up front.  

I'm not much for evaluating offensive line talent. To be honest I'd be happy with any of the "big four". From what I've been reading Wirfs is the Giant's guy and I can definitely see why. Big, strong as an ox, athletic, a snowplow in the running game, set records at Iowa and the Combine, good feet in pass protection, good character on and off the field, etc. He's the pick at 7.   

Round 2:  

36th overall: NY Giants select: OLB Zach Baun, Wisconsin 

- For the record, if Yetur Gross-Matos is here, I absolutely think he should be the guy (so don't @ me @Gmen ) I tried to scheme up a way to trade up for YGM in a realistic way (I eyeballed the Seahawks at 27 overall specifically) but I didn't want to throw in a stupid amount of trades, and the fact is the Giants just need a bunch of picks. They're not really in a position to hollow out the guts of their draft (especially after the Leonard Williams debacle). 

- Baun seems to land in the late first, early second round (The Giants are usually his floor in Round 2) in most mock drafts, so I don't think this is an unrealistic spot at all for him. Our pass rush just needs more juice. Baun's a little undersized, but he's an active, energetic, high effort player and a pass rusher that broke out in a big way this year. Plus he'll have some synergy with Ryan Connelly, and OLB coach Bret Bielama took an interest in him at Wisconsin's pro day. Hopefully Fackerell, Baun, Ximenes, and Lorenzo Carter is enough. I think the pass rush will have to be a team effort between the OLB rotation, improved coverage,  and interior guys like Big Dex and Leonard Williams stepping up. Will it be enough? We'll see. 

56th overall: NY Giants select: C Lloyd Cushenberry, LSU 

- I really wrestled with making Caesar Ruiz the pick at 36, but I have seen his value all over the place. He might go as high as 17 to Dallas. Also, I personally think Cush will be a top 45 pick. But I have seen him slip into the third in some mocks, and seen him picked in this spot in other ones, so I feel like it's not too unrealistic to put him here. The Giants need a center really badly. Halapio suffered a serious injury and Spencer Pulley is a backup.

- I think this is the final piece for the starting offensive line rebuild. Lloyd Cushenberry is a big, strong, high character center that competed at the highest level of college footballs and battled monsters like Derrick Brown. I believe he can come in and play immediately. I think drafting him and Wirfs gives the Giants a big, strong, young, athletic line that can run power, pass block, and lean on teams late in games. 

Round 3: 

68th overall: NY Giants select: FS Ashtyn Davis, California 

- Honestly, this might be my favorite pick of the entire mock. Peter King called Ashtyn Davis "The mystery man of the draft" and said he could go anywhere from 40 to 75. In fact I think the only reason he's here in my hypothetical scenario is he's coming off of an injury that prevented him from running at the combine. He's a heck of an athlete that strikes aggressively and can cover a ton of ground. I think Julian Love can develop into a starter, but I think adding another true free safety and letting them compete would be great for the back end of the Giant's defense. I think he's a starter almost immediately if he's coached well. 

99th overall: NY Giants select Ben Bartch, OT, Saint Johns 

- This is probably the floor for Ben Bartch. His stock has been skyrocketing since the Senior Bowl and the combine. I love a good underdog story, and I think based on what he did at the Senior Bowl he showed he really deserves to be a top 100 pick. This might be a bit of overkill, but the Giants haven't had quality depth on the line for a long time. I think Bartch could have a pseudo redshirt year where he acclimatizes to NFL speed and strength, learns the tackle spots, and gets into the games as a jumbo tight end (he used to be one). He could be a potential replacement for Solder in 2021. 

- If this is too unrealistic, swap in Matt Peart, OT, UConn. 

Round 4: NY Giants select Michael Pittman, WR, USC 

- I think the only reason Pittman would be here would be because of the insane depth at WR this year. The Giants don't have a ton of size in their WR corps, so I think a mid round pick would be a prudent investment. Plus, Sterling Shepard has had some concussions and Golden Tate will be 32 years old next year. Slayton can't do it by himself. Pittman is a monstrous WR with great size, strong hands, good enough speed, and great bloodlines. He runs pretty good routes and could be great fade/jump ball guy for Jones. 

I think the team would be in good shape to be competitive with a draft like this. I don't think there's a true alpha level player on the defense, but I think between free agency (Bradberry, Martinez, Fackerell) and the draft (Baun, Davis) the unit's speed and athleticism will be better. And I think that the offense would be and stacked from front to back and would ascend quickly. I think upgrading the line would allow DJ and Saquon to really shine. 

I think this draft is definitely favorable for the Giants, but I don't think it's totally out of the realm of possibility. What do y'all think? 

 

 

[Acgott]

I would be good with this draft, even if everything fits too perfectly for the Giants.  Trading back twice in the first 10 picks is impossible for Gettleman lol.

Sadly the Giants are going to stay at 4 and pick an OL

Excellent write up as well.

 

 

 

[Kip Smithers]

Simmons and then OT. Potentially a Josh Jones in round 2 or even trade up at end of first. But it’s Gettleman, so I expect the opposite of what I want to happen.

[Kodaraw]

I still think we need a LB that can cover the middle of the field, but am willing to give Martinez a chance to prove me wrong. I think I’d rather Thomas/Wills than Wirfs. I go back and forth.  Basically hits everything we need except an athletic LB so hard to really complain.  

[Gmen]

Baun just got dinged for a failed drug test at the combine.

Michael Pittman is getting some late first round talk, so landing him in the fourth is probably a unrealistic at this point.

I like the Ashtyn Davis pick a lot.  Obviously a big fan of Wirfs.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Gmen

[minutemancl]

4 hours ago, Gmen said:

Baun just got dinged for a failed drug test at the combine.

Michael Pittman is getting some late first round talk, so landing him in the fourth is probably a unrealistic at this point.

I like the Ashtyn Davis pick a lot.  Obviously a big fan of Wirfs.

Diluted sample, which under the new CBA means nothing (as it should be).

You're right on Pittman though. He's one of my favorite WRs in this draft, but he's going early. Between his pedigree, college tape, and reported work ethic, he's getting snatched up quick.