Coming off of a 4-13 season, it’s safe to say the Giants have a plethora of needs, but what are the biggest?
Offensive Tackle
The Giants look to have the left tackle spot locked down with Andrew Thomas, but the right side is a different story. The Giants trotted out Nate Solder for the majority of last season and it was an ugly, ugly scene. With the Giants having minimal money this offseason, the options for right tackle on the roster right now aren’t looking much prettier. These options consist of Matt Peart, Matt Gono, and Korey Cunningham. Peart found himself unable to unseat Solder at tackle last year, and when he did get on the field he tore his ACL. Gono was signed this offseason from the Falcons and had started 4 games for the Falcons dating back to 2019, but missed all of 2021 due to injury. Cunningham spent time with the Giants last year, playing in 12 games but starting 0. With these options, it is clear the Giants should upgrade the positon. The Giants themselves have alluded to the fact that they will be looking to upgrade Right tackle in the draft, and it is clear that it is their biggest immediate need on the roster.
Edge Rusher
Much like the tackle positon on the O-Line, the Giants look to have one of their edge rushers locked down in Azeez Ojulari, but a partner is needed on the opposite side. The Giants have players behind Ojulari who could be/will be depth pieces in Quincy Roche, Elerson Smith, Oshane Ximines, and Trent Harris. Heading into the draft, they will surely be looking to upgrade this position. Now, it is certainly a need, and I would for sure like to see it addressed, but the defense has been able to play well the last 2 years with less than stellar options coming off the edge. This is why I think that the Right Tackle spot is a bigger need than edge rusher. With that being said, Giants fan’s have been itching for a great pass rush for far too long now.
Tight End
If you read my stuff, you know I am more excited about Ricky Seals-Jones than most other people. With that being said, I’m not stupid enough to say tight end isn’t a need, and having Ricky Seals-Jones as your starter with pretty much no competition is a bit scary. Chris Myrick, Ryson John, and Jake Hausmann just have never showed enough of anything for them to potentially be number 2 tight ends. The Giants should most definitely be looking to at least bring in competition for Seals-Jones.
Hodgepodge of Positions
Like I said earlier, the Giants have holes everywhere on this roster. They could use a center as Nick Gates is coming off a gruesome injury and may not even play this season and new comer Jon Feliciano has limited experience at center over the course of his career. The Right Guard spot is also a question mark as it looks like that will be a battle between Shane Lemieux, Max Garcia, and Ben Bredeson right now. There are only 2 safety’s currently on the roster in Xavier McKinney and Julian Love, so depth is surely needed there. The Wide Reciever room has a lot of potential players, but that potential also comes with a ton of question marks, so they could use someone there as well. Cornerback looks good right now, but with the likely departure of James Bradberry, the starting corner opposite Adoree Jackson becomes a huge question. The defensive line has limited depth behind Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, and Justin Ellis. The running back spot is questionable because after Saquon Barkley and Matt Breida, the only other option is Gary Brightwell who has limited experience. Heck, even newly singed punter Jamie Gillan comes with some question marks, so maybe we take our first punter since Matt Dodge (I kid, I kid).
The Giants could clearly use help everywhere, but what does that mean on draft night?
I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m a draft expert. I don’t watch much college football and I’m no film buff. Giving takes on these players always feels funny to me (even though I’ll eventually prefer someone just because it’s more fun), but I do have an approach to the draft that I feel strongly about. That approach is to take the best available player in relation to positional need. With that in mind, players like Evan Neal, Ikem Ekwonu, Charles Cross, Kavon Thibideaux, or Aiden Hutchinson all make sense at the 5 or 7 spot. But if guys like Sauce Garnder, Kyle Hamilton, or Derek Stingley Jr. are ranked that much higher for the Giants, then take those guys. If you have guys ranked just as well as some of these guys later in the draft, then trade downs make sense, but don’t let potentially great players go just to get an extra pick next year. The point of these picks are for them to eventually become great players.
To sum it up:
Don’t let a positional need force you into taking a player that’s less talented than other players, and don’t let great players go just to get an extra pick next year.
(Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK)
