Perfect Picks 2024: New York Giants
The honeymoon is over for Head Coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen in New York. The impressive job in 2022 – 9-7-1 on a shoestring roster beset by all kinds of injuries – is long in the rearview mirror, superseded by a disastrous 2023 in which the team went backwards, both tangibly and some might argue philosophically, finishing 6-11.
For the first time since Tom Coughlin, a Giants HC/GM tandem has lasted for a third consecutive year, and Daboll and Schoen will look to rebuild (again). The jury is out on Daniel Jones but it looks like they’ll stick with him for another season. Let’s take a look at how they can make his life a little easier through the draft.
Round 1 - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
After Marvin Harrison JR, Malik Nabers is perhaps the #2 WR in this draft class. Jayden Daniels’ favourite target in 2023, Nabers notched up 86 catches for 1,546 yards and 14 scores this past season. He’s naturally drawn comparisons to Ja’Marr Chase, another LSU Tiger with a similar physical profile and skillset. If Nabers is half the player Chase has become in the league, the Giants would be delighted. Darius Slayton, Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt aren’t bad options but none of them warrant WR centric defensive game-planning, and with no real gamechanger it makes it hard to stretch defenses vertically – Nabers, an explosive route runner who can line up across the offensive formation, could transform the offense.
Round 2 - Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas
Losing Saquon Barkley was a tough pill to swallow for Giants fans, especially considering how much time, money and offensive strategy was invested in the back over the course of his stint in New York. But sometimes cutting loose is the right move (sunk cost and all that). The Giants now have a hole at running back (despite signing Devin Singletary to a three-year deal) and could turn to a back in the second round – Jonathan Brooks out of Texas fits the bill.
Brooks, a 6 foot, 215lb back, averaged over 6 ypc in 2023, finding paydirt ten times on the ground for the Longhorns. These numbers are all the more impressive given he missed four games at the end of the year after tearing his ACL. That injury looms large, but if he can return to the same level of twitchiness and quickness, he’s a potentially very useful NFL player as a complementary back, especially given his above-average hands and route-running out of the backfield.
Mid-Round Gem - Kenny Logan Jr., S, Kansas
The Giants need help at Cornerback, but also Safety after losing Xavier McKinney to Green Bay in free agency. Luckily there are plenty of versatile defensive backs in this class who can play a bit of both positions, and Kenny Logan Jr. out of Kansas could be a steal if he’s available in the 5th round. Logan Jr. is tall with long arms and quick enough to cover down the field. He plays violently, too, showcasing good hand strength and the occasional big hit. The Jayhawk is a tackling machine, recording 314 over the past three seasons, with plenty of them nearer the line of scrimmage than might be expected.
Kansas senior S Kenny Logan Jr is one of the top safety prospects in CFB
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) July 29, 2022
Rangy backend speed (watch the clip!) AND effective/willing downhill in run support and defending alleys
6'0 210lbs w/ 4.4 speed & over 400+ special team snaps (kick returning ++). Tackling machine in 2021 pic.twitter.com/s4GzywLxtG
Late Round Sleeper - Gabe Hall, DT, Baylor
Dexter Lawrence is an All-Pro nose tackle so there is naturally a huge drop-off after him on the interior of the defensive line. Yes, the Giants could use offensive line help, but I often think latter round sleepers are more likely contributors on the defensive side of the trenches, so I’m going with Gabe Hall out of Baylor as a dart throw with the Giants last pick (6th round). Hall is 6’6” and 291 pounds with good length and a pretty strange career trajectory, playing a lot more early on and then being used gradually more rotationally in his senior year. There are obvious reasons he’s projected as a late rounder, the most glaring being his lack of usefulness rushing the passer, but there could be a decent rotational run stuffer in there if his early career potential is unlocked in the pros.
Draft in full
Round 1 – Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
Round 2 – Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas
Round 3 – Jalen McMillan, WR, Washington
Round 4 – Blake Fisher, OT, Notre Dame
Round 5 – Kenny Logan Jr., S, Kansas
Round 6 – Gabe Hall, DT, Baylor
