Best Giants Draft Picks Value-wise of Last Five Years Who Weren't First Rounders
The NFL draft is crucial for all 32 teams because general managers and their staffs need to scout prospects and select the right players for their franchise. Yet it's probably fair to say that the New York Giants haven’t exactly hit their drafts out of the park over the last five years.
However, the Giants must be proud of several key picks. There aren’t many, but the ones that turned out to be solid contributors should be highlighted. That said, here are my choices for the Giants’ best draft picks over the last five years that have yielded the best value, who finished the 2023 season on the team, and who are NOT first-round picks (that would be too easy).
WR Darius Slayton, R5, 2019
Say what you want about Slayton, but the value the Giants got from the former fifth-round pick has been more than enough. Slayton started his career strong, catching 48 passes for 740 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019 as a rookie. Since then, he’s led the Giants in receiving yards every year except for one, except the 2021 season.
The important thing to remember about Slayton is how he completely turned his fate around once the new regime came in before the 2022 season. Most believed he’d be traded or cut during training camp, as he was an outcast in the wide receiver room.
Slayton agreed to a pay cut before the season began to remain on the team and was even a healthy scratch during the Giants’ Week 1 thrilling win over the Titans. Once most of the other wideouts went down with injuries, Slayton’s number was called, and he delivered, leading the team with 724 yards and a career-high 15.7 yards per reception.
The one aspect of Slayton’s game that garnered lots of backlash was his drop problem. He had 19 drops from 2020-2022. He worked on it during the 2023 offseason and had just three all season, the lowest since his rookie season. Slayton’s entering the last year of his two-year extension that he signed last offseason; his consistency should be praised.
S Xavier McKinney, R2, 2020
Although he’s currently slated to hit the open market and potentially leave in free agency, McKinney has been solid when healthy during his time as a Giant. After a shortened rookie year in 2020 that saw him only appear in six games, McKinney returned in 2021 and played every game, recording five interceptions, ten pass deflections, and 93 total tackles.
His 2022 season was also shortened due to an ATV accident during the team’s bye week. The accident limited McKinney to nine regular-season games, but he returned for the team’s playoff win in Minnesota.
Not only did McKinney, who was projected as a first-round pick but fell to the second round in his class, come back to play every game in 2023, but he also played every single defensive snap. He also had a career year, totaling 116 tackles, 11 pass deflections, and three interceptions.
McKinney’s Giants career has had some ups and downs. However, considering he’s still growing as a player and will only get better, he’s certainly one of their better draft picks over the years and one that, hopefully, the Giants find a way to retain.
ILB Micah McFadden, R5, 2022
McFadden was thrown into the deep end of the pool as a rookie when the Giants were desperate to find a decent set of starting inside linebackers. Predictably, he struggled. In 435 defensive snaps, McFadden recorded six pressures, 58 tackles, 19 stops, and posted a 120.5 coverage rating.
Having earned a starting job last year, McFadden improved in many areas, finishing with 14 pressures, 97 tackles, 36 stops, and a 103.0 coverage rating. The lone glitch in his game has been missed tackles. As a rookie, he had five missed tackles; last season, he led the team with 25 misses.
McFadden should get another year as the starter alongside Bobby Okereke, whose presence helped the former Indiana standout raise his game. It will be interesting to see if new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen makes greater use of McFadden's blitzing ability.
Last season, McFadden's 11.1 pas-rush win rate was the best among the team's three inside linebackers (Okereke and Isaoah Simmons) and the second best on the team (behind Dexter Lawrence) among defenders with at least 80 pass-rushing snaps.
TE Daniel Bellinger, R4, 2022
Bellinger got lost in the shuffle last season thanks to the team's acquisition and reliance on Darren Waller, but when called upon in the passing game, the second-year tight end delivered. His 89.3 reception percentage was the best among all Giants receiving targets (wideouts, running backs, and tight ends) with at least 20 pass targets, and he (along with three other teammates) recorded just one dropped pass.
Bellinger also was successful on 50 percent of his contested catch attempts, the fourth-best mark among the sample group.
That said, where Bellinger's game took a bit of a step backward, was as a blocker. After allowing just two pressures in his rookie season, he allowed 10, his pass-blocking efficiency rating dropping from 96.3 to 91.8. It's hard to say if there was an injury involved as Bellinger didn't miss any time, but that, along with his doubling of penalties, were two concerns from last year he'd need to address in Year 3.
S Dane Belton, R4, 2022
Belton saw his rookie training camp period cut short due to a collarbone injury that arguably set him back in his development. But in limited defensive snaps over two seasons (695 total snaps, 412 of those in coverage), the former Iowa product already has four interceptions to his name as part of a 68.5 NFL coverage rating.
Last season, Belton didn't get on the field much because Xavier McKinney never left the field, and Pinnock rarely came off it. But Belton found a home in the dime package and proved he belonged there.
When he stepped in late last season for Jason Pinnock when Pinnock suffered a season-ending foot injury, Belton flashed, recording nine total tackles (seven solo), three of his four stops, a fumble recovery, and two of his four quarterback pressures over three games of increased snaps.
Belton has shown himself to have a nose for the ball and good range in deep coverage. He does need to clean up some of those missed open-field tackles, but there is a lot of promise in this young man who is only 23 years old that simply must be made. With McKinney likely gone, this kid with the uncanny ball skills needs to step up.
Belton could be someone to watch this coming season for an increased role on the defense if McKinney departs via free agency.
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