The New York Giants selected offensive tackle Andrew Thomas in Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft, but now is where the real work begins.
The Giants have just one early second-round pick and then one late third-round pick, so they’re going to need a quality player in Round 2.
The good news? There’s a lot to pick from. Here’s a look at 15 potential targets.
Matt Hennessy, C, Temple
The Giants need a center and they need one now, even with Spencer Pulley under contract and free agent Jon Halapio aiming for a June return.
Selecting Hennessy or any other offensive lineman would be the second consecutive pick lacking flash, but that’s not what the Giants need right now. What they need is to establish a quality offensive line long-term, and the addition of Hennessy would go a long way in doing that.
Not to mention, the kid is a huge Giants fans.
“I remember going to those games just as Eli was starting to take over. Remember the Super Bowls. Those were two of my best childhood memories. It was fifth and eighth grade,” Hennessy told ESPN. “Went to the stadium both times for the celebration after. Got all the gear. Got to see the [Lombardi] trophy and everything.”
Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE, Penn State
In addition to their needs along the offensive line, the Giants are also in desperate need to help on the edge.
Markus Golden remains a free agent and some of the talent brought in has boom or bust potential based on scheme. And while that was the same situation with Golden a season ago, the Giants can’t rely on luck to continue carrying them in terms of pass rush.
With the Giants, Gross-Matos would reunite with his former coach, Sean Spencer, and could produce at a quality level from Day 1.
Antoine Winfield Jr., S, Minnesota
Another position of need, the Giants would love to add a consistent free safety alongside Swiss Army Knife Jabrill Peppers.
Winfield Jr. has that talent, but he’s also capable of playing in the box if need be. He’s quick, athletic, can close off half of the field and he’s a solid tackler. He’s not the perfectly polished prospect, but he has an exceptionally high ceiling and could be a Pro Bowl player in no time.
Oh yea, he’s also a big hitter who will make receivers and tight end hear the footsteps.
Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama
There is an argument to be made that McKinney is actually a more complete safety than Winfield Jr.
McKinney can play either free safety or strong safety, and sports and extremely high football IQ. He has great instincts, can make plays in space, is a sure tackler and has decent hands.
McKinney hasn’t been connected to the Giants much by speculation or rumor, but the same could be said for offensive tackle Andrew Thomas. We will see.
Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor
The Giants are bound to go wide receiver at some point in the draft, so why not Round 2?
Mims possesses great size and speed, and would provide the Giants with a talented wide receiver capable of challenging defenses both over the top and in the red zone/end zone.
With Sterling Shepard having suffered multiple concussions in recent years and Golden Tate turning 32 before the season starts, Mims could be a cog next to Darius Slayton and a hopefully healthy Evan Engram for years to come.
A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa
We at Giants Wire have addressed Epenesa as a potential second-round pick previously and here we stand… The potential is there.
As a refresher, here’s what we’ve shared previously:
An average showing at the Combine could send the 6-foot-6, 275-pound Epenesa tumbling out of the first round, but he won’t fall very far. In 13 starts as a junior in 2019, he was named a Second Team AP All-American and a First Team all-Big 10 Conference defender with 49 tackles (14.5 for loss) and 11.5 sacks along with four forced fumbles.
Zack Baun, LB, Wisconsin
Braun is another name that has been repeatedly connected to the Giants this offseason, often mocked to the team in mock drafts extending beyond Round 1 and a frequent suggestion of ours.
Baun (6-foot-2, 238 pounds) ran a 4.65 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis under the watchful eye of Giants assistant Bret Bielema.
As Braun’s stock rose, many expected him to climb into the first round, but that did not happen and it serves as a boost to the Giants, who now have a plethora of options.
“Ascending prospect whose explosive production on the field has begun to mirror his explosive athletic traits,” wrote NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein. “Baun’s twitchy get-off and deep bend at the edge is nightmare fuel for Big Ten tackles and he’s still at the early stages of pass rush development. He is aggressive to flow downhill in run support, has sideline-to-sideline range and is fluid dropping into coverage. He’s strong but a little light as an edge-setter so teams will need to figure out how best to align him. Baun is a scheme-diverse linebacker with high-impact potential whose best days are ahead of him.”
Lloyd Cushenberry, C, LSU
Speed, strength, size and athleticism. That’s what Cushenberry brings to the table, but he may not be graded higher than Hennessy.
However, if Hennessy goes off the board before the Giants pick in Round 2, Cushenberry immediately becomes a legitimate target at a position of need.
The 6-foot-3, 312-pound center is a coaches dream and was groomed against top-tier SEC talent. There is a little rounding into shape that needs to occur, but Cushenberry is prepared to step in and play at the NFL level immediately.
Logan Wilson, LB, Wyoming
The Giants have kept a watchful eye on Wilson since the 2019-2020 college season ended, and have had at least one meeting — possibly two — with him.
Wilson, a 6-foot-2, 241-pound senior was a three-year captain at Wyoming and is just another one of these kids who gets the game and can succeed at the pro level.
“His play recognition, burst and lateral agility help him play faster than his timed speed and his fundamentals as a tackler are as good as you’ll find in this draft,” writes NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.
Michael Pittman Jr., WR, USC
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Pittman Jr. isn’t going to blaze by cornerbacks and safeties, but that’s not exactly what the Giants need. What they need is a tall, lanky receiver who can go up and high-point a ball, use his physicality in the red zone and provide Daniel Jones a size outlet.
Whatever Pittman could develop into down the line would be a plus, but on Day 1 he would provide the Giants the big-bodied outside receiving threat they lack.
Pittman has good control over his body, strong hands and tremendous leaping ability.
Grant Delpit, S, LSU
Delpit is another safety we here at Giants Wire have discussed this offseason, mocking him to Big Blue a few times leading up to the NFL Draft.
We previously had him pegged as a potential Round 2 guy.
Considered pretty much a “can’t miss” player by many scouts, the 6-foot-2, 213-pound Delpit comes from a long-line of LSU safety royalty (Jamal Adams, LaRon Landry, Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid) and should be a first round pick. He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 2019 racking up 65 tackles (4.5 for loss), two sacks, two interceptions and seven pass breakups in 14 starts for the national champs.
Terrell Lewis, EDGE, Alabama
Another player Giants Wire has previously suggested as a Round 2 pick, there are rumors swirling that Lewis failed multiple medical tests this offseason.
If those rumors are somehow proven untrue, he becomes an interesting prospect.
An extremely overlooked prospect as many Tide players tend to be grouped into products of the”system.” Early spate of injuries cut into his production at Bama but after he got healthy he strutted his stuff. The 6-foot-5, 262-pound Lewis showed what he could do in 2019, making 31 tackles (11.5 for loss) with six sacks and two pass breakups in 11 games. He appears to be a first round talent with injury flags. If he can stay healthy, he should be a productive pro.
Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson
Since we’ve talked wide receiver in this article a bit, we’d be remiss to leave Higgins off the list. He is another player we have previously mocked to the Giants in Round 2.
It’s possible Higgins could be here staring the Giants in the face. If he is, the 6-foot-4, 215 pounder with a unique combination of size, speed and football acumen who NFL.com compares to A.J. Green would be hard for Dave Gettleman to pass up. The Giants need both a field-stretcher and a red-zone threat. Higgins would give them that plus he is a player who can win in contested situations.
Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State
We know, we know… Back-to-back offensive tackles would infuriate some, but the reality is, the Giants could benefit from a second. Nate Solder is not going to be around much longer, so why not get your second long-term tackle at the same time as your first?
Again, we have suggested this previously…
The 6-foot-6, 310 pounder is a little light in the frame, but is an athletic tackle who might equate as a young Nate Solder in the NFL. He could intrigue the Giants here, especially since the tackle position gets real thin after the early second round.
Josh Jones, OT, Houston
We end this list with one more offensive tackle… As we noted previously, Nate Solder is not a part of the long-term vision and the Giants are desperate to repair their offensive line “once and for all.”
In 42 career starts at Houston, the 6-foot-7, 310-pound Jones surrendered just 10 pressures and 14 sacks while displaying impressive footwork and athleticism.
Jones is a monster of a human who will only get larger and stronger in the NFL’s strength and conditioning program. He’s an absolute mauler and could be viewed as a quality right tackle opposite Andrew Thomas for years to come.
