With the New York Giants siting at 2-6 and likely headed for another Top 10 selection in the NFL Draft next spring, Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling sized up the first three rounds with the Giants slotted at No. 6 overall.
Round ,1 Pick 6: A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa
“Over the past few offseasons, the Giants have lost the likes of Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul, leaving them in dire need of an impact edge rusher. Epenesa is a physical, violent defense who can collapse the pocket just as well as he can shut down the ground game.”
Fennelly: Agree that you you can never have enough pass rushers, but the Giants are playing a 3-4 hybrid, just traded for Leonard Williams and have a full rotation up front at the moment. Epenesa is 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds, so he’s playing 4-3 DE in this league. This pick would make sense if the Giants switched back — which they should do anyway whether they pick Epenesa or not.
Considering that LSU safety Grant Delpit and Georgia OT Andrew Thomas were still on the board here, I’m not sure the Giants would pass on them for Epenesa here.
Round 2, Pick 39: Nick Harris, C, Washington
Fennelly: Jon Halapio is not having the season the Giants had hoped returning from injury and many are mystified why they haven’t swapped him out for Spencer Pulley yet. Either way, when presented with a player the caliber of the 6-foot-1, 302-pound Harris, they would find it hard to pass him up. Harris, a Rimington Trophy candidate, would give them a solid core in the center of their offensive line with Harris and guards Kevin Zeitler and Will Hernandez.
Round 3, Pick 70: Traded to the Jets for Leonard Williams
Fennelly: The Giants will likely have a compensatory pick in this round, awarded to them for losing Landon Collins in free agency. If they can ink the 25 year-old Williams to a long term deal and he produces, the trade would have been worth it.
