Giants Draft Stock Watch: 6 Players Rising, Falling on New York's Board

With the bulk of the 2015 free-agency period in the rearview mirror, the New York Giants no doubt have a clearer idea of what needs they still have to address in the upcoming draft.

To recap what the Giants have done, they primarily filled a number of depth or specific role positions at running back (Shane Vereen), offensive line (John Jerry, Dallas Reynolds and Brett Jones), defensive line (Kenrick Ellis and George Selvie), receiver/return specialist (Dwayne Harris) and linebacker (Jonathan Casillas and J.T. Thomas).

Of those players mentioned, Casillas and Thomas will compete for the starting weak-side linebacker spot, according to comments made by head coach Tom Coughlin at the NFL meetings earlier this week in Phoenix (h/t Inside Football).

Just because the Giants addressed some of their many needs doesn't mean they won't loop back around and take additional players at the same positions.

Remember, many of these new free-agent signings have short-term contracts of one or two years, which usually signals that the intent of the team is to have the veterans serve as a stopgap until a younger player is ready to go.

That leads us back to the draft, which is a little more than a month away. The scouting process is entering the home stretch, with the scouts attending pro days and the team in general hosting visits or attending private workouts by those prospects that are of significant interest to them.

Let's look at who some of those “risers” are and why, as well as look at which players might have “fallen” down their draft board for one reason or another.

Rising: OT La'el Collins, LSU

If the Giants are intent on moving Justin Pugh to left guard, a move that would make sense for numerous reasons, they're obviously going to need a true offensive tackle to plug in from Day 1 at right tackle.

That prospect could be La'el Collins (6'4" and 305 pounds) from LSU, whom NFL Draft Scout lists as its second-highest graded tackle. According to NDS's Rob Rang, Collins has that wide wing span that teams look for in their offensive tackles to go along with impressive strength and pure power.

With the pressure on New York to get the No. 9 pick right, if offensive line is the target, then they need to make sure they spend it on a prospect whose skills transfer to tackle at the pro level, such as Collins.

Falling: OL Brandon Scherff, Iowa

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Let's get one thing squared away right off the bat.

Brandon Scherff is a first-round talent and probably one of the safest picks in the draft. To the casual draft enthusiast, it makes too much sense for the Giants to draft him and insert him into the starting lineup at right tackle, shifting current starting right tackle Justin Pugh to left guard.

Why? Weston Richburg, who will be moving from left guard to center, would probably benefit from having experienced players on either side of him. In a perfect setting, that experience would come from Geoff Schwartz at right guard and Pugh at left guard.

The wild card in this plan is in what position the Giants view Scherff. If they view him as a guard, it would be stunning if they spend the No. 9 overall pick on that position.

The Giants haven't spent a first-round pick on an guard since 1988, when they took Eric Moore out of Indiana with the 10th overall pick (h/t Pro Football Reference).

Richburg and starting left tackle Will Beatty are both second-round picks. Schwartz, who was signed as an unrestricted free agent from Kansas City last year, was originally a 2008 seventh-round pick for the Carolina Panthers.

Let's look at the solid offensive line of the 2007 team for more proof of the Giants' reluctance to spend a first-round pick on an offensive lineman.

Chris Snee was a second-round pick. Shaun O'Hara and Rich Seubert were both undrafted free agents, O'Hara coming over as an unrestricted free agent. David Diehl was a fifth-round pick, and Kareem McKenzie, who signed as an unrestricted free agent, was originally a third-round pick.

It would be surprising if the Giants didn't draft an offensive lineman. If they are targeting a guard, that player will likely be a Day 2 or Day 3 pick; if it's a pure tackle, look for that move to happen Day 1. 

Rising: S Damarious Randall, Arizona State

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With only three safeties under contract—Nat Berhe, Cooper Taylor and Thomas Gordon—the Giants need to add to this position.

According to Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media, Coughlin told reporters at the NFL meetings that the team hasn't ruled out moving Bennett Jackson, a cornerback, to safety.

The problem with that plan is two-fold. First, as Raanan reported earlier in the year, Jackson underwent microfracture knee surgery last year, a year that was a washout because of the knee injury suffered sometime in October.

The Giants' likely action plan at safety is to start either Berhe or Taylor at strong safety and add another veteran via free agency—that being Stevie Brown, who is reportedly still on the mend from offseason foot surgery, according to Raanan.

It also would not be surprising if they add a draft pick at this position. Alabama's Landon Collins is the top safety in the draft, but he's probably a reach to take at No. 9 overall.

Related: Damarious Randall College Highlights (NSFW)

The rest of the safety class appears to thin out a bit, but there are some promising prospects that could be developed into solid long-term contributors.

One such prospect is Arizona State safety Damarious Randall, who, per Tony Pauline of Walter Football and draftinsider.net, helped himself during his school's pro day:

"Safety Damarious Randall did defensive back position drills and fielded punts. He looked very good, and there was a feeling from the workout that Randall will not get out of the second round of the draft."  

So impressive was Randall, NFL Draft Scout's second-best free safety, that the Giants spent one of their allotted 30 pre-draft visits with prospects outside of the local area with the 5'11" and 196-pound safety, according to Art Stapleton of The Record.

A player visit doesn't necessarily mean the Giants will draft the player—it's always possible that a player hosted by the Giants isn't on the board when their pick rolls around.

Still, the fact that the Giants are doing additional work on Randall would appear to suggest that yes, they are looking to add a safety in the draft and that Randall has more than piqued their interest to warrant an additional look. 

Falling: ILB Denzel Perryman, Miami (Florida)

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The similarities between inside Denzel Perryman and Jon Beason go beyond the fact that both played college ball for the Hurricanes, wear the same jersey number (No. 52) and are both inside linebackers.

Both are considered undersized for the position, but both are physical thumpers with good football IQ and a tenacious work ethic that allows them to play beyond any physical limitations.

While the thought of the Giants drafting Perryman—projected by NFL Draft Scout to go in the third round—learning under Beason would make for a wonderful story, the likelihood of that happening all but vanished thanks to the free-agency signings of Casillas and Thomas.

Beason, if he is healthy, will be the starting inside linebacker this year. If Beason can't give the Giants a full 16 games, they'll likely turn to either Jameel McClain, who filled in at that spot last year when Beason struggled with a toe injury, or they could begin to use Devon Kennard more in that role.

Looking ahead, if Beason, who signed through 2016, becomes a cap cut after this year—a very realistic possibility if he suffers any more injuries and doesn't play at a high enough level—the Giants could potentially look to move Kennard to the middle on a full-time basis.

Rising: DT Kristjan Sokoli, Buffalo

Although the Giants added to their defensive line, this unit is still far from being set, especially at defensive tackle.

In running down the defensive tackle personnel behind youngsters Johnathan Hankins (nearly 23) and Jay Bromley (age 22), they have 34-year-old Cullen Jenkins, who took a pay cut in the final year of his contract.

They have 28-year-old Markus Kuhn, their 2012 seventh-round pick whose style of play seems to be to absorb blocks more so than than administering the punishment. 

They also added 27-year-old Kenrick Ellis on a one-year contract to play the role of a big-bodied space eater, a la 36-year-old Shaun Rogers.

The depth at defensive tackle isn't quite as solid as it seems, other than Hankins, who's an every-down starter; Bromley, a third-round draft pick last year who will get a chance to earn a bigger role in 2015; and Ellis, signed specifically to help bolster the run defense.

That could be why local product Kristjan Sokoli (6'5" and 290 pounds) out of the University at Buffalo by way of Bloomfield, New Jersey, is drawing some attention from the Giants.

The Albanian-born Sokoli, whose agent Brett Tessler confirmed he has a workout scheduled with the Giants, took part in the Buffalo Bills' Pro Day.

Per his agent, Sokoli ran a 4.84, had a 38" vertical jump, a 9'11" broad jump, a 7.19 in the three-cone shuttle and 31 bench reps.

With all that said, Sokoli ranked as the 33rd best defensive tackle by NFL Draft Scout but currently isn't projected to be drafted.

If he continues to impress the Giants, they can take a flier on Sokoli by using that second seventh-round pick the team has from the Denver Broncos (the result of the trade involving kicker Brandon McManus last summer).

Falling: DE Randy Gregory, Nebraska

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There's little doubt that some team is going to roll the dice on Nebraska's Randy Gregory, who made headlines of the wrong kind this week when he admitted to NFL.com's Kimberly Jones that he tested positive for marijuana at the NFL combine.

That team is unlikely to be the Giants and not just because of the failed drug test.  

From a football perspective, there is another issue that might bump Gregory, whom NFL Draft Scout projects as the top-ranked defensive end and the eighth-best overall player, down the Giants’ draft board.

That issue is his 6'5," 235-pound size, which could make Gregory a better fit for a 3-4 defensive front, where he could line up as an outside linebacker.

With the Giants needing to get their first-round pick right, they need to ensure that the player they take at No. 9 can contribute right away and on every down, not just spot duty.  

If the Giants are planning to use second-year linebacker Kennard as that strong-side linebacker and occasional down lineman, it would appear that there is no need to draft Gregory at No. 9.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes, stats and other information were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise sourced. 

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