Big Blue 2021 Draft Preview

Let’s get one thing straight from the start: I’m not a fan of David Gettleman. I wanted to give the guy a chance, despite the Boston accent, I really did. But I lost all respect for the guy as a GM at the 2019 Draft. And I don’t care what he, other GMs, commentators, fans, players, bloggers, v-loggers, Tik Tok-ers, Instragrammers, You Tubers, scientists, math wizzes, or anyone else says, there is no way on earth that Daniel Jones was going to be drafted before that 17th pick. Yes, I know there were rumors of Jones moving up the draft board before the draft began because of Duke HC David Cutcliffe, the Manning whisperer. But still, drafting, whether you wanted to call Jones the third or fourth rated QB in a weak QB draft class, at #6 with a desperately needed DE in Josh Allen still on the board? Are you friggin kidding me? It has to be one of the dumbest draft moves I have ever seen in all my years. To make matters worse, they should not have even been in that position to begin with. In the year before, in a highly touted QB draft class, and sitting with #2 pick, Gettleman went RB. Look, Saquon is a phenom, I get it. But drafting a position such as RB, which unfortunately has a short shelf life and as we all have seen is very prone to injuries, was a risk the team should not have taken. Especially when they needed a QB then. And last year, why couldn’t the Giants have traded back a bit, gotten some extra picks, and still drafted a good lineman? Was Andrew Thomas worthy of the #4 pick last year at the time of draft? No way. So with all that said, I head into this year’s Giant’s Draft, hopeful, but highly skeptical.

The Giants currently have the following picks:

Rd 1 – #11 overall

Rd 2 – #42 overall

Rd 3 – #76

Rd 4 – #116

Rd 6 -#196 and 201

So what do the Giants need to accomplish in this year’s draft? From a needs basis, despite multiple draft picks on the O-line last year, the Giants’ O-line remains their main weakness. Sure it would be exciting to draft either WR Waddle or WR Smith to line up with Golladay, but will it matter if Jones has no time to get them the ball? If they do go WR in the 1st, they would have to stress O-line in the second and/or third round. If they do go O-line in the first (Oregon left tackle Penei Sewell or NW OT Rashawn Slater anyone?) a WR should added in the 3rd or 4th. Another wild card would include if someone unexpectedly falls to them, e.g. CB Surtain. My worry here is that Gettleman gets so attached to one player, he will be unable to recognize tremendous value on the board.

Another big need is an Edge rusher. Thanks to 2019 Pro-Bowler DE Josh Allen being on the Jaguars, the Giant’s are still in desperate need of someone who can get after the opposing QB. I’ve seen a few mock drafts with Georgia edge rusher Azeez Ojulari going to the Giants at #11. I’ve also seen some with PSU LB Micah Parsons, who can also play Edge as well as Kwity Paye, Edge, Michigan.

Speaking of rushers, the Giants should also look to draft a RB. Gallman is gone. Barkley is injury prone. They need a RB.

As to what will actually happen. My predictions: The Giants will select someone that no one has thought they would in the 1st round as Gettleman once again tries to prove that he is smarter than everyone else by drafting someone high in the first round that he could gotten later anyway. Which will lead to my second prediction coming true: I will yell at the TV at some point. Third and other easy prediction: The chances of the Giants trading down remain near zero.