Giants' Initial 7-Round Mock Draft Post-Super Bowl

The New York Giants, coming off an impressive 11-5 season in head coach Ben McAdoo’s first year at the helm, have been hard at work trying to map out a strategy on how to bolster a sagging offensive unit that finished 25th in average yards per game (330.7), 26th in scoring (19.4 yards per game) and 17th in passing (242.4 yards per game).  

The needs on offense are glaring. In no particular order, the Giants could use an offensive tackle, a tight end, a big-bodied receiver, a running back and yes, even a young quarterback to begin grooming as starter Eli Manning’s successor.

At the same time, general manager Jerry Reese and Co. will look to fortify the championship-caliber defense built last offseason, a unit that is facing some potential difficult free-agency negotiations and which also needs some additional fortification in some spots, such as depth at both cornerback and safety.

Although the NFL draft is still more than three months away, fans, draft analysts and media are already buzzing about the direction the Giants, who draft 23rd, might take with their seven picks.

Here is a very, very early guess.  

Round 1: DE Taco Charlton, Michigan

The Giants have a decision to make with soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Jason Pierre-Paul. According to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY TV, Pierre-Paul is reportedly looking for a payday that will match or exceed that of teammate Olivier Vernon’s five-year, $85 million deal with $52.5 million guaranteed.

That’s a figure that the Giants might be hard-pressed to deliver considering the Giants’ preliminary cap space could hover around $33 million of salary cap space (based on a $168 million cap figure for 2017), significantly less than the close to $60 million they had in 2016.

If Pierre-Paul does walk, the depth behind Vernon will include Kerry Wynn, at this point a better run-stopper; Romeo Okwara, who flashed some promise when he stepped in for Pierre-Paul during his core muscle injury; and Owa Odighizuwa, who is still building on his potential.

A solid potential replacement for Pierre-Paul who fits the Giants’ template is Michigan defensive end Vidauntae “Taco” Charlton, 6’6”, 272 pounds.

Charlton would give the Giants a diverse defensive end with the potential to move inside to defensive tackle (a role like what Pierre-Paul, and before him, Justin Tuck, had) in the Giants pass-rushing package.

Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout even goes so far as to compare Charlton to Tuck, noting that Charlton “has a large and long body type with the body flexibility and strength potential to be grow into an above average defensive end in a four-man front.”

Steve Palazzo of Pro Football Focus lists Charlton as his 30th top overall prospect (out of 32), noting that Charlton was an effective two-way player against the run and pass and that his two-year production was among the best in the nation.

A team can never have too many good pass-rushers on board. With Charlton, a player whose stock seems to be on the rise, he could be a welcome fit on the Giants defense and a player who could really hone his craft by following the example Vernon sets.

Round 2: OL Garett Bolles, Utah

The Giants desperately need help on the offensive line, and in particular, at tackle, a problem that came to a head when their 2015 first-round pick, Ereck Flowers (chosen ninth overall that year) continued to struggle so badly yet forcing the coaches to stick with him, because there was no depth behind him.

Without a human wall to protect Manning, having all the big-time skill position players in the world won’t mean very much if there is no room to run or if Manning has to continue to get rid of the ball in under three seconds rather than attempting to stretch the field.

This is why an offensive linemen has to be among the Giants’ first three picks, and why the unit might potentially see both a draft pick and a veteran free agent added.

While many expect the Giants to potentially look toward free agency to fill this hole—Bengals Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth is a popular name appearing in conversations—the Giants still need to address the tackle spot with youth, as even if they were to land Whitworth, at best they might be able to get two or three years out of the 35-year-old.

The problem is the college crop of offensive tackles doesn’t appear to be very deep either, with many of the prospects appearing to project to guard.

Utah’s Garett Bolles, 6’5”, 300 pounds, is someone whom B/R draft analyst Matt Miller has on the upswing in his offensive tackle rankings. Besides being a feel-good story—Bolles overcame a troubled youth, as outlined by Mike Sorensen of the Desert News, and became a mature and responsible young man who stayed out of trouble off the field—Bolles also has demonstrated the maturity and commitment toward his craft.

A combination of a veteran such as Whitworth and Bolles, the latter of whom needs a tad more polish, would certainly be a big improvement for the Giants’ offensive tackle spot.

Moreover, if the Giants opt to move Flowers to right tackle, which would probably be the case if they sign Whitworth, Bolles’ presence would hopefully push Flowers to get better. 

Round 3: TE Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech

Ever since picking Kevin Boss in the fifth round of the 2007 draft, the Giants have swung and missed on tight end draft picks (Adrien Robinson, a 2012 fourth round pick comes to mind, while the jury is still out on last year’s sixth-round pick, Jerell Adams).

As such, the Giants have taken the route of trying to develop undrafted free agents into viable pieces of the offense.

That approach worked just fine for a while (see Jake Ballard), but with the arrival of Odell Beckham Jr., it’s time to stop skimping on the position (see Larry Donnell) and look to invest more heavily in landing someone who has size, who is versatile and who can potentially help discourage opposing defenses from leaning almost exclusively on deploying bracket coverage to neutralize Beckham. 

That someone, if he’s still on the board, could be Virginia Tech’s Bucky Hodges, whom Miller names as the best route-runner and the best slot tight end among this year’s crop.

Hodges, 6’6”, 245 pounds, is currently projected by NFL Draft Scout to go somewhere in the second to third round and is a player whom, in 2016, the Hokies used to complement their receiving duo of Isaiah Ford (1,094 receiving yards) and Cam Phillips (983 receiving yards).

Hodges, who started all 14 games played in 2016, finished third on the Hokies with 48 receptions for 691 yards and 7 touchdowns. Although listed as a tight end, he reminds quite a few draft analysts of a wide receiver, given his skill set.

While not appearing to be an ideal in-line blocking candidate—the Giants will probably look to continue developing Adams in that role—Hodges could also potentially line up as that big outside receiving target the Giants have also been missing on their offense.

Miller lists Hodges as No. 56 overall on his Big Board and as his third-best tight end prospect.

Round 4: DT Tanzel Smart, Tulane

The Giants will be picking a little later in the fourth round because of their illegal use of a walkie-talkie communication system during their Week 14 game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Giants, who were fined $150,000 and whose head coach, Ben McAdoo, was fined $50,000 as part of the punishment handed down by the league, will have their fourth-round pick moved to the end of the round after the compensatory picks, a maximum of 12 slots, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today. 

The draft spot might change, but the remaining needs certainly don’t, and one such need that the Giants will probably look to address via the draft is defensive tackle.

The Giants have long made it a habit of replacing their homegrown defensive tackles once they play out their contracts—Barry Cofield and Linval Joseph come immediately to mind.

This year, Johnathan Hankins is set to be an unrestricted free agent, but unlike past years where the Giants seemed to have a replacement waiting in the wings, it might be too soon to say for sure if either Robert Thomas or Jay Bromley have developed enough to be anything more than a rotational type over the long-term.

The Giants are unlikely to shell out big money at this position, not after plunking down $46.25 million over 5 years last winter to ink Damon Harrison. With Bromley set to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2017 season, the time to start replenishing some of that depth is now.

Tulane’s Tazel Smart, (6’1”, 305 pounds) had himself a fine showing at the Senior Bowl, according to Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst, who called Smart “one of the better three-technique tackle prospects in the draft.”

Pauline also noted that “Smart has been impossible to stop as his combination of quickness, movement skills and surprising power has knocked blockers back off the ball every day” during the Senior Bowl practices.

Miller ranks Smart as his 23rd best defensive line prospect.

Round 5: QB Davis Webb, California

Both of the Giants’ backup quarterbacks, Ryan Nassib and Josh Johnson, are set to be unrestricted free agents. Of the two, Johnson might have the better chance of being re-signed for another year or two, since he does have NFL starting experience and he’s been in the Giants system for about a year.

In terms of Johnson potentially being the heir to Eli Manning, they’ll probably want to go in another direction when that day comes, because Johnson is going to be 31 on his next birthday, and the Giants would seemingly prefer a franchise quarterback who can man the position for a dozen or more years. 

Cal’s Davis Webb, 6’5”, 225 pounds, went 11 of 16 for 165 yards and a touchdown, including this perfectly placed 39-yard game-winning pass to Josh Reynolds of Texas A&M in the Senior Bowl. 

Webb’s performance for the South team earned him the Reese’s Cup award given to the game’s most outstanding player.

Webb, current projected by NFL Draft Scout to be a fourth or fifth round prospect, transferred to Cal after three seasons at Texas Tech and ended up posting his best year as far as production for the Bears, with 4,295 passing yards and 37 touchdowns (versus 12 interceptions).

Per his Cal football bio, Davis was among the nation’s leaders in nearly every passing category in 2016, including passing attempts (first place, 620), total plays (first, 653), passing yards (second place, 4,295), completions (third place, 382) and passing touchdowns (tied for fourth place, 37).

However, as Lance Zierlein of NFL.com notes, Davis is more of a system quarterback with more than 65 percent of his pass attempts in 2016 coming inside of 10 yards.

Webb, Zierlein notes, is going to need to be coached up in certain areas of his game. The good news is that if he were to land with the Giants, time would be on his side as Manning is signed through 2019.

Round 6: WR Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M

A very preliminary guess at the Giants receiver depth chart should have Odell Beckham Jr. (5’11”) as the No. 1 guy and Sterling Shepard (5’10”) as the No. 2.

Beyond those two, it’s anyone’s guess as to who the third receiver will be—Victor Cruz and his $9.4 million cap figure could end up as a salary cap casualty unless he and the team come to another contract re-do.

If the Giants do move on from Cruz, they could use a tall receiving target. Currently, the only receiver they have on their roster listed over 6’0” is Tavarres King (6’1”), a seldom-used speedster and the Giants’ leading receiver in the preseason who faded from the picture until late in the season due to him not being a part of special teams. 

Texas A&M’s Josh Reynolds, 6’3”, 183 pounds, might be a guy worth a look as the tall receiving threat that this offense has missed.

NFL.com’s Zierlein writes that Reynolds is “a dangerous vertical threat thanks to his ball tracking and ball skills over eye-popping deep speed” and “a menace in the red-zone and can mismatch smaller cornerbacks in the air.”

With deep passing and the red zone being two areas in which the Giants struggled last year, Reynolds, whom Zierlein also praises for his toughness, work ethic and football intelligence, could help the Giants offense take steps forward. 

Reynolds is listed as the 23rd best receiver on Miller's big board.  

Round 7: OG Sean Harlow, Oregon State

The Giants won’t solve all their offensive line issues in one offseason. The first step will obviously be to figure out where Ereck Flowers’ best position is—through two seasons, he’s shown it’s not at left tackle—and find a solid and experienced left tackle (preferably a veteran) who can serve as a stop-gap solution until the youth is ready to take over the reins.

The early bet is that Flowers will be moved to right tackle, which would then put Bobby Hart, a starter at right tackle last year, as a potential candidate for the starting right guard position.

The Giants might even re-sign veteran John Jerry for depth at that spot, but if not, they’ll have third-year man Brett Jones there to compete, and they will likely look to add another young prospect to develop.

Oregon State’s Sean Harlow (6’4”, 310 pounds), a college left tackle who projects inside to guard, is Miller’s 10th best offensive guard and a projected sixth-to-seventh round draft pick by NFL Draft Scout.

The son of former offensive tackle Pat Harlow, the New England Patriots’ 1991 first-round draft pick (11th overall), Harlow, writes NFL.com’s Zierlein, “could be a serviceable backup with swing ability between center and guard.”

All player measurements via NFL.com. Unless otherwise noted, contract and salary data is from Spotrac.

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