Reading the latest 2020 NFL mock draft from USA Today’s Draft Wire, a sister site here on the network, it appears we have a difference of opinion in which direction the New York Giants are headed.
That’s fine. The author, Luke Easterling, believes the Giants are in for a regression in 2019 and will be selecting third overall in next year’s draft.
With that pick, he has them taking Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (6-foot-1, 192 pounds), the 2018 Biletnikoff Award winner and consensus All-American.
“This year, the Giants traded one of the NFL’s best wide receivers, despite him being in his prime. Living up to the legend of Odell Beckham, Jr. is a tall task, but if there’s anyone that can do it, it’s Jeudy. His combination of explosiveness and route-running ability would give Daniel Jones a valuable weapon at every level of the field.”
Agree. The Giants would love to have him, but wide receiver does not tickle general manager Dave Gettleman’s fancy that high in the draft. He’s more likely to trade that selection for a package of picks and continue to work on his offensive line and pass rush.
2020 will have several stud quarterbacks going high and Gettleman knows that. He already has his man in Daniel Jones and teams will be falling over one another to get up to No. 3 to take one of them.
My take is the Giants will be nowhere near the top of the draft. They will win eight or nine games this season and will draft in the high teens or low 20s next April.
In the second round, Easterling has the Giants taking Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson with the 35th pick. After this year’s bumper crop of corners (Deandre Baker, Julian Love, Corey Ballentine) that seems unlikely, although Gettleman isn’t afraid to draft over a position, but it look like the Giants are covered at corner for the moment.
Gettleman seems to have his skill players for the moment. Again, he’s a “line-of-the-scrimmage-out” guy, so wide receivers and corners usually take a back seat to the hog mollies and pass rushers.
