New York Giants co-owner John Mara has hinted that the team will pass on wide receivers over the first two rounds of the 2021 NFL draft, but members of the media and draft experts simply aren’t buying it.
Despite the additions of Kenny Golladay and John Ross, many still believe the Giants will not only target a wideout in the draft, but will do so at pick No. 11 overall.
Which wide receiver that ends up being is up for debate.
Recent mock drafts seem to be trending towards Alabama’s DeVonta Smith, but Cynthia Frelund of NFL.com believes Smith’s teammate, Jaylen Waddle, is an analytics-based “best fit” for the Giants.
Projected 2021 win share: 0.69
Alignment versatility. That’s what makes Waddle so enticing here, even with Kenny Golladay already added via free agency. Need him in the slot? Cool. Outside? Also cool. My model says his speed when open (i.e. no defenders are closer than 3 yards) is the fastest among all receivers in this draft class. An ankle injury limited Waddle’s field time in 2020, but he was a nightmare to defend when active. According to Pro Football Focus, he only dropped one target on 29 catchable passes last season, while averaging 10.1 yards after the catch per reception, third-most in the FBS. This helped drive his 4.4 average when it came to receiving yards per route run (also the third-best FBS mark).
There’s no denying that Waddle is a quality player when healthy, but how many previously injured wide receivers do the Giants really need to add? And where would he fit in among a group that consists of Golladay, Ross, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton and Austin Mack?
We subscribe to the theory that the Giants could (and perhaps even should) add another wide receiver in the draft, but should that come at No. 11? Should that be a previously injured player? And should it be another undersized target (Waddle is 5-foot-10, 183 pounds)?
At this point, the Giants’ best course of action would be to add an edge rusher or offensive lineman at No. 11 and then dive into what’s left of the wide receiver pool later in the draft.
