If drafting to correct problems or deficiencies on a team, here are areas the Giants did poorly in the 2021 season and draft prospects that can help.
Average starting field position (line of scrimmage LOS) per drive
Average LOS per drive: NYG 31st 26.62 (LOS)
Average LOS for Kickoffs: NYG 30th 24.18 (LOS)
CB Marcus Jones
Besides being a top slot cornerback, Marcus Jones is an electrifying return player. In 2021 Jones was third in average kickoff returns (34 yards) and returned two for touchdowns. He was fifth in average punt returns (14.4 yards) and he returned two for touchdowns. Jones was tied at fourth in long punt return plays with five of 20+ yards. Jones was tied at first in long kickoff returns with four for 40+ yards. Jones is a two year FWAA American Team selection.
Yards per receptions
| Rank | Giant | Age | Yards/Rec |
| 24 | Kenny Golladay | 28 | 14.1 |
| 81 | Kadarius Toney | 22 | 10.8 |
| 92 | Sterling Shepard | 28 | 10.2 |
WR Jalen Tolbert
In 2021, 43% of Tolbert’s 82 receptions (35 reception) were for 15+ yards. In comparison Henry Ruggs‘ last college year had 52.5% of his 40 receptions (21 receptions) went for 15+ yards. Ruggs has the fourth best career yards per reception among active players in the NFL. Tolbert has good skills of ball tracking, route running and body control. Tolbert shows good speed.
NYG 32nd in receiving plays of 20+ yards
The Giants had 31 receptions of 20+ yards. The league average was 51.
WR Drake London
In 2021 London played only 8 games but he was second in 20+ yard receiving plays per game.
WR Jalen Tolbert
For his 12 games,Tolbert was fifth in 20+ yard receiving plays per game.
Among active career leaders Tolbert is third in yards per reception (17.6 yards) and sixth in receiving yards (3,140 yards). In 2021 Tolbert showed his proclivity for the big play as he was was 9th in 10+ yard receptions, 6th in 20+ yards, tie for 1st in 30+ yards and 1st in 40+ yards. In 2021 Tolbert was third in receiving yards per game and nine of his twelve games had 94+ receiving yards. In 2021 he had an incredible 47% team market share receiving yards. A thirty percent team market share is indicative of a Pro-Bowl player. Tolbert was one of the best if not the best receiver at the week of the Senior Bowl. Tolbert s a high effort guy on blocking and shows the toughness to make catches with defenders draped all over him.
Rushing first downs
Giants ranked 27th in rushing first downs. They had 90 rushing first downs. The league average was 113.6 first downs.
Rushing YAC/Att
The Giants ranked 31st in yards after contact per rush attempts with 1.5 yards.The league average was 1.8 and the maximum was 2.5 yards after contact.
RB Hassan Haskins
Hassan Haskins rushed for 16 1st downs against Ohio State The most in a game by any power five RB this season.Thirty-one percent of Haskins’ rush attempts in college made first down. On third down with 1-6 yards to go he made 64% first downs. In 2021 he made 67% of these on 43 third down attempts.
Abram Smith in 2021 according to PFF:
1,598 rushing yards (1st among Big 12 running backs)
1,011 yards after contact (1st)
79 first downs gained (1st)
Twenty-nine percent of Smith’s college rush attempts made first down. His 10+ yard rush attempts were 17% of his total college attempts.That percentage is comparable to Saquon Barkley’s 10+ rushing plays in college. Smith made first down on 55% of his college 3rd down rush attempts with 1-6 yards to go and 54% in his last season on 37 attempts on third down.
In contrast Saquon Barkley’s college rush attempt percents were first down on 24% of total rush attempts and 44% first down on 3rd down attempts with 1-6 yards to go.
NYG – QB Hits allowed
The Giants ranked 27th in quarterback hits allowed with 62 hits allowed. The league average allowed was 51.
Tackles
Evan Neal
6’7” 360 lbs
In his 15 starts at left tackle in 2021, Neal had six games he was perfect in pass protection and he had a team-high total of 34 knockdown blocks. Over his last two seasons at tackle, he allowed only 22 quarterback pressures — fewer than one per game on average. At 6-7 and 360 lbs, Evan Neal would be the biggest Giant on the team. Yet his is incredibly athletic. He made Matt Feldman’s 2021 College Football Freaks List as number one. This is a big man that can move nimbly. He has a great work ethic and drive to be the best he can be. It is said that he is a perfectionist. A coaches’ dream player. 38 starts over three years and three positions along the Alabama offensive line, starting 13 games at left guard in 2019, 12 games at right tackle in 2020 and 13 games at left tackle in 2021.
Charles Cross
6’5” 305 lbs
In 2021 Cross allowed just five pressures and one sack in 682 pass blocks, which were second most in the FBS. He gave up two sacks across all snaps. Cross allowed zero QB hits in 2021. Cross is a blocking technician with great athleticism and footwork.Yes he still brings that brawler competitive edge.
Guards
Ikem Ekwonu
6’4” 320 lbs
Ikem brings great power at the point of attack and a nasty mauler fighting edge.This shows up greatly in his run blocking where he can move his man and clear big wholes. His pass blocking has improved in 2021. He gave up 3 sacks, zero QB hits, and 10 QB hurries while surrendering 4 penalties in 2021.
Tyler Smith
6’5” 332 lbs
Smith made the FWAA and Athletic 2020 Freshman All America Team, the 2020 AAC All Conference First Team and the 2021 AAC All Conference Second Team. A “mauler” that looks to put his man on the ground. He excels in run blocking where he has the power to overwhelm defenders and move them creating lanes. In pass protection he has a strong anchor and has only allowed two sacks over three seasons.
Darrian Kinnard
6’5” 345 lbs
Kinnard is adept in both run and pass blocking. He is a 2021 consensus All American. He was credited with 47 knockdown blocks in 11 games during the 2020 season and another 32 in 2019 as a first-year full-time starter. Kinnard allowed the second lowest percentage of pressures in the SEC for tackles, 1.7% per PFF.
Centers
Dohnovan West
6’3” 315 lbs
A solid blocker in both run and pass sets. In 2020 West made the All Pac-12 First Team and allowed only two quarterback pressures for the season. In 2021 West made All Pac-12 Second Team. He has the versatility to play guard or center.
Pressure Percentage Defense
The Giants ranked 30th in pressure percentage by the defense with a 20.1%. The league average was 24.2%.
George Karlaftis
6’4” 275lbs
Driven to be the best player he can be. Karlaftis has great hand usage that he perfects by mixed martial arts training. He is not the most bendy edge rusher but compensates with his power and athleticism. Burst off the snap is really top tier. He is number 7 on Bruce Feldman’s 2021 biggest Freaks in college football. His 40 this offseason was 4.69, that’s blazing fast for a 272-pounder. George is 6’4” and 275 lbs. George made the 2019 FWAA Freshman All America Team. Karlaftis had the third most sacks per game among freshman players. He recorded 55 total quarterback pressures on the year, the most by any freshman defender. 2020 Karlaftis started only three games before missing significant time due to injury and COVID-19. He still made the 2020 All Big Ten Coaches Second Team and had two sacks. In 2021 George had a 23.6% pass rush win rate from PFF. That was fifth among Power Five edge rushers. George displays an excellent motor and gives relentless effort.
Rush Defense
Opp Rush 1st downs
The Giants ranked 25th in opponent rushing first downs with 126 allowed. The league average was 113.6.
Opp Yards/Rush Att
The Giants ranked 23rd in opponent yards per rush attempt with a 4.5 yards allowed. The league average was 4.3 and the tops was at 3.7 yards allowed.
DT Travis Jones
A Senior Bowl practice player of the week as voted by the offense for his team. Jones is coming off a top-five overall grade among interior defensive linemen (87.6). During Senior Bowl practice, the 6-foot-4, 326-pound interior defender earned a 92.2 pass-rush grade while leading the position in pass-rush win rate (42.5%). Per PFF he was the most dominant pass-rusher in attendance. In 2018 no AAC interior defender had a better run-stop rate than Travis Jones. Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus said Travis Jones was the biggest bully along the defensive line in Mobile (Senior Bowl).
DT Neil Farrell Jr., LSU
Neil Farrell posted a 12.4% run stop percentage in 2019 (24 stops in 194 run snaps). That ranked first among Power 5 defensive linemen and led all SEC DL by a wide margin. In 2021 PFF had Farrell tied with DeVonte Wyatt for highest-graded Power Five interior defender. When playing zero- or one-technique, Farrell is the sole leader in PFF grade at the Power Five level in 2021. He made the PFF 2021 PFF College Football All America Team. Farrell was the American Team DT practice player of the week at the senior Bowl.
3-8 Yards gained on 1st or 2nd down (defense)
The Giants ranked 30th with 327 plays of 3-8 yards allowed on first or second down.The league average was 284 yards allowed. These short area positive plays could be decreased with a strong linebacker corps.
LB Chad Muma
Muma led CFB with 68 stops in 2021. Muma had a low 22 missed tackles in 4 seasons, compared to his 254 tackles and 118 run stops. In 2021 Muma allowed 26 receptions to his 30 targets, which added up to 283 yards. However, he did have 16 coverage stops, 3 interceptions and a pass breakup. In 2021 Muma was second in the country in run stops (50) and 19th in coverage stops (18).
LB Channing Tindall
In 2021, Tindall was Georgia’s third-leading tackler, as he recorded 67 tackles (7.5 for a loss), 5.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Tindall has 67 career stops. Tindall has elite speed and it showed at the Senior Bowl in chasing down a returner on punt coverage from across the field.
Also a note that I have updated the spreadsheet of prospect big board rankings to be at a pre-combine snapshot. You can access it at Google Docs Spreadsheet of Draft Prospects. There are multiple tabs with various information.
