There is a lot of talk of BPA when the draft is discussed. That teams should pick the Best Player Available regardless of team needs. I have felt that way in prior drafts. However for the upcoming 2021 draft for the Giants I believe they should draft for need. Not only that I maintain they should have a targeted position for each of the first three rounds. Here are my draft targets based on what players are available and what needs the Giants have.
Round 1
Offensive Tackle
Ten reasons the Giants should pick an offensive tackle in round 1.
- PFF ranked Giants 2020 offensive line 31st in the league
- Daniel Jones had the fourth most sacks and fourth highest pressure percentage in the league. Of the 12 highest sacked quarterbacks only Russell Wilson had a winning record. Jones is going into year three of his four year rookie contract. He needs to be protected for a valid evaluation in his remaining rookie contract years.
- Right Tackle Cameron Fleming allowed the sixth most pressures in the league.
- Left Tackle Andrew Thomas allowed 57 pressures, 14 more than any other player at the position. He was the only left tackle that allowed 10 sacks.
- In 2019 Nate Solder posted the worst PFF grade of his career at 64.8 overall, as he allowed a league-high 56 pressures while ranking just 70th out of 89 qualifiers with a 52.9 run-blocking grade.
- Pro Football Focus ranked the 2020 teams for each team’s pass rushing grade. The other three teams in the NFC East all came in the top ten.
- ESPN analysis put the Giants 2020 Pass Block Win Rate as last in the league. The pass block win rate metric conveys the rate linemen can sustain their blocks for 2.5 seconds or longer. The Giants had a 46% rate.
- The 2020 rushing yards before contact had the Giant’s Wayne Gallman at 28th out of 47 qualifying backs. His yards before contact was 2.2 yards.
- As reported by PFF, quarterback Daniel Jones had a PFF grade of 91.5 when kept clean in 2020 but 46.9 when pressured.
- There are three top half first round OT prospects in the draft – Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater and Christian Darrisaw. Two are projected 2-5 spots after the Giant’s pick at 11.
Here is a list of projected available players at the 11 spot in the draft based on the nflmockdraftdatabase.com site. As of this writing this site maintains a database using 15 Big Board(s), 233 1st Round Mock Draft(s), and 260Team Based Mock Draft(s).
| Projected | RD 1 Prospects | Pos/School |
| 2 | Penei Sewell | OT | Oregon |
| 5 | Ja’Marr Chase | WR | LSU |
| 6 | Devonta Smith | WR | Alabama |
| 7 | Patrick Surtain II | CB | Alabama |
| 8 | Micah Parsons | LB | Penn State |
| 9 | Caleb Farley | CB | Virginia Tech |
| 10 | Trey Lance | QB | North Dakota State |
| 11 | Kyle Pitts | TE | Florida |
| 12 | Jaylen Waddle | WR | Alabama |
| 13 | Rashawn Slater | OT | Northwestern |
| 14 | Kwity Paye | EDGE | Michigan |
| 15 | Gregory Rousseau | EDGE | Miami (FL) |
| 16 | Christian Darrisaw | OT | Virginia Tech |
Here are the Round one pick 11 prospects at offensive tackle position
Penei Sewell
OT | Oregon
In the run game, he demonstrates his physical toughness as an in-line blocker. He comes off the ball with the intent to maul you inside and he’s dominant on combo blocks. PFF states that at 19 years old, Sewell had the single highest graded season we’ve ever seen from a Power 5 offensive tackle. PFF says he is the best offensive tackle prospect since Jake Long was taken in 2008.
Christian Darrisaw
OT, Virginia Tech
A three year starter that earned increasing PFF grades each year from 68.6 as a freshman, 80.3 as a sophomore and an FBS-leading 93.9 as a junior. Darrisaw logged 293 pass-block snaps across 10 starts in 2020, yet he allowed just six pressures, all of which were hurries. Darrisaw has great play strength. His leg strength can drive defenders back, his grip strength holds defenders, and a core strength to maintain anchor. He has strength compared to Penei Sewell but at 35 lbs lighter. Darrisaw is agile and has good lateral mobility. Darrisaw has great use of his hands. He is a powerful run-blocker and shows a desired nastiness.
Rashawn Slater
OT | Northwestern
Rashawn Slater pass-blocking in 2019:
355 snaps
5 QB pressures
0 sacks allowed
Slater is athletic and versatile. He could play anywhere along the line. He has good footwork, lateral mobility and functional strength. In 2019 he held his own against top draft pick Chase Young. He only gave up 2 quarterback pressures to Young. Slater has a strong work ethic. The questions on Slater are on his size and specifically a shorter arm length and if he may have to move inside in the NFL. However even if he did he would make an outstanding guard.
Round 2
Edge Rusher
Five reasons the Giants should pick an edge rusher in Round 2.
- It has been a decade since the Giants drafted an edge rusher in the first two rounds. That was JPP in round 1 of the 2010 draft. If you consider the key positions on a team as QB, WR, LT, RB, CB, ER and DT/MLB/FS. They have all been addressed since that time.
- The Giant’s highest PFF graded edge rusher is graded as average. The Washington team has two high quality edge rushers. Dallas and the Eagles have one each. The PFF scale goes from average (60-69.9) to above average (70 – 79.9) to high quality (80-89.9).
- According to PFF, the Giants top four pressure marks came from interior defensive lienmen. Even DT B.J. Hill who was only in on 31% of the defensive snaps produced more pressures than the top Giant edge rusher.
- The Giant’s top edge rusher , Kyler Fackrell, ranked 105th in the league with 14 QB pressures.
- The Giants ranked tenth in quarterback pressure percentage per dropback with 24.9%. That even though they ranked only 21st in decreasing blitz percentage. They are getting to the quarterback without heavily relying on blitzing. The Giants ranked twelfth in the league in sacks with 40.
Here are the potential Round 2 pick 42 players at edge rusher.
Jayson Oweh
EDGE | Penn State
By December, Oweh had an 18% win rate as a pass rusher, one of the highest figures in the Big Ten conference.Oweh made the 2020 Big Ten Coaches First Team and Media Second Team. Oweh is an athletic “freak” and made Bruce Feldman’s annual freaks list at number six. The 6-foot-5, 257-pound Jayson has run a 4.33 40, according to Penn State coaches. He also has vertical jumped 36 inches and broad jumped 10-7 to go with a pro agility time of 4.46, a 380-pound bench press and a 365-pound power clean. His body fat is 4.9 percent.
Jaelan Phillips
EDGE | Miami (FL)
Phillips had 4 nominations (AFCA, Athletic, CBS, USAT) for 2020 All American. Only two other defensive ends received more. In 2020 Phillips had 36 pressures over his final seven games. Phillips has a diverse pass rush arsenal. After stepping away from the game in 2018 due to injuries Phillips came back two years later and was disruptive as a pass rusher. He had 8 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss over 10 games.
Carlos Basham Jr.
EDGE | Wake Forest
Basham had multiple games in 2019 with double digit pressures. He has had Over 50 pressures in each of 2019 and 2018. In 2019 Basham was 14th in the NCAA in sacks with 11 and fourteenth with 18 tackles for loss. The 281 lb end is the heaviest edge rusher among nfldraftnetwork’s edge rushers in the top 400 players. Basham is 12th in active career leaders for sacks in 2020.
Joe Tryon
EDGE | Washington
In 2019 Joe Tryon had 8 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Those numbers were good for a 26.7% team market share of sacks and 17.6% team market share of tackles for loss. Those numbers are indicative of a potential All-Pro to Pro Bowl players since the 1989 NFL draft class. Tryon has good burst off the line of scrimmage. He has the versatility to play outside linebacker or defensive end. Tryon has a strong work ethic and great size at 6’5″ and 262 lbs. Yet he is agile and mobile.
Quincy Roche
EDGE | Miami (FL)
In 2019 Roche was 5th in sacks per game and 11th in tackles for loss per game.In 2019 Roche had the most quarterback pressures on 3rd and 4th down with 39. That season PFF had Roche as the second most valuable edge defender behind only Chase Young. In 2019 he had two games with 3 and 3.5 sacks. Roche was the 2019 AAC Defensive Player of the Year. Roche can rush the passer and play the run, making him an every down player. Joe Marino of the Draft Network lists his hands, vision and technique are his strengths. He also shows above average functional strength for his size. At Temple, he was one of the rare players chosen to wear a single-digit jersey. Those numbers are reserved for the team’s toughest players and are voted on by teammates. BigBlueView.com reports that his competitive toughness shines through Roche’s game as he is relentless in pursuit and willing to battle through the echo of the whistle.
Round 3
Wide Receiver
Five reasons a Wide Receiver should be chosen in Round three.
- The Giants were 31st in the league in receiving plays of 15+ yards in 2020.
- The Giants were 27th in the league in passing first downs and 29th in passing yards.
- The Giant best yards after the catch per reception wide receiver, Darius Slayton, was 135th among 153 qualifying wide receivers.
- Sterling Shepard graded in the above average category by PFF for 2020. He made their list of of the 25 highest-graded wide receivers of the 2020 regular season. Shepard is reported to get 3 yards of separation on average. That is tops on the Giants and tie for 38th in the league among wide receivers. Shepard is clutch on third down. Since 2016 Shepard ranks 16th in the league in number of third down conversions. This season he is 33rd with having played only 11 games. As of Dec 3rd, Shepard’s season 56.25% third down conversions to 3rd down targets percentage is 17th among 122 players with 10+ third down targets. Since 1994 the only Giant wide receiver with over 35 targets who had a higher 3rd down conversion percent was Steve Smith. This is why wide receiver is not a higher priority than OT and ER.
- Over the last 20 seasons Wide receivers chosen in the first two rounds did not perform as well as offensive tackles or edge rushers. Here is a table showing the percent of players that made All Pro, Pro Bowl and had zero starts.
| Pos | Drafted | AP | AP % | PB | PB % | 0GS | 0 GS % |
| WR | 225 | 19 | 8.44% | 58 | 25.78% | 7 | 3.11% |
| ER | 364 | 48 | 13.19% | 110 | 30.22% | 11 | 3.02% |
| OT | 172 | 24 | 13.95% | 45 | 26.16% | 3 | 1.74% |
Here are the potential round 3 pick 76 prospects at wide receiver.
Tylan Wallace
WR | Oklahoma State
In 2020 Wallace was 12th in 10+ yards plays in only 10 games. In 2018 Wallace had 1,491 receiving yards which was a 37% team market share. That is indicative of 95% of 5-Time Pro Bowl players reached this level of market share production since 1969. His 2018 receiving yards was second in the nation. He was eighth in receiving touchdowns. In 2018 as a sophomore Tylan was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award. Tylan excels in vertical 50-50 balls. He attacks the ball in the air. In active career leaders Tylan is ninth in the FBS in yards per catch with 16.8 yards. Of the top nine players in career yards per catch, Tylan had the second most career receiving yards with 3,434 yards. He led the FBS in career receiving yards per game with 78 yards. In career receiving TDs Tylan is third among active career leaders with 26 receiving touchdowns.
Sage Surratt
WR | Wake Forest
At 6’3″ and 215 lbs Sage Surratt is a physical receiver with great ball skills, He excels at contested catches. In 2019 Surratt had 1,001 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games. He opted out of the 2020 season. His weaknesses are lack of speed and creating separation. However his speed is good enough. He is a physical receiver who never gives up on a play. Surratt shows good hands. Fearless in the middle of the field. Sage attacks the ball to secure catches with sure hands. He does not wait for the ball he reaches out to grab it. Surratt catches well in traffic. He does very good with jump balls and 50-50 catches.
Dyami Brown
WR | North Carolina
In 2020 Brown was 7th in 10+ yards plays in 11 games. He was 11th in average yds/reception after being 9th in 2019. Among active FBS career leaders Dyami is 3rd in yards per catch (18.7), 8th in receiving touchdowns (21) and 12th in receiving yards per game (67.8). Dyami Brown and Devonta Smith were the only two FBS players with 2000+ receiving yards and 20+ receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons. Brown is a vertical threat with good burst and ball skills. Brown is a more than willing blocker and is fearless in the middle of the field.
Nico Collins
WR | Michigan
In 2019 Collins was 15th in average yards per reception with 19.7 yards. Of those top 15 players Collins had the 7th most yards per game and the fifth most among 2021 draft prospects. Nico won the 2019 team offensive player of the year award. Collins opted out of the 2020 season. Listed at 6’4″ and 215 lb, Collins uses that size to box out defenders. Collins had great ball tracking skills and contested catches. Collins has solid hands and a great work ethic. He lacks speed and may have difficulty getting open in the NFL. However his size and ball tracking skills should compensate.
I do not have high confidence the Giants would go offensive tackle again in round one. In the 2010/2011 drafts both the Packers and the Seahawks went consecutive round one tackles selected. Both tackles selected first played well. In fact the Packer’s 2010 tackle made the All-Rookie team. Both teams had succeeding years of playoff appearances. I hope the Giants do the same.
