PFF Identifies These Positions as Biggest Giants Draft Needs

But do we at Giants Country agree with the popular analytics site's picks?

Author:
Timothy Lindsey and Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Apr 14, 2023 11:54 AM EDT

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With the NFL Draft just two weeks away, teams are looking at their draft boards and analyzing what positions need help. In the latest article from Pro Football Focus, the state of each NFL team is analyzed to see what positions they must address two weeks from now.

After making it to the divisional round for the first time since the franchise’s last Super Bowl run in 2011, the New York Giants appear to be better positioned than most teams entering the draft. That said, they still have their fair share of needs, both in terms of starters and depth.

Recently, Pro Football Focus looked at those needs, identifying center, cornerback, linebacker, and receiver as a starter need, and edge rusher as a depth need.

Let’s break each one down and weigh in on the popular analytics site’s take.

Center

This position will generate little argument among the fan base and media, and it would be hard to imagine the team’s brass disagreeing. The Giants lost their two best centers this offseason in free agents Nick Gates (Commanders) and Jon Feliciano (49ers), the latter last year’s starter.

They do have a couple of guys on the roster that can play the position, including Ben Bredeson (30 snaps played last year at center) and recently signed offensive lineman J.C. Hassenauer (7 career games started), but the Giants haven’t had the same opening day starter at the position since Weston Richburg 2016-2017.

Cornerback

Again, Pro Football Focus hits the nail on the head with this position, noting that the Giants secondary outside of Adoree’ Jackson “has major question marks.” Jackson is only under contract for one more season before he hits a voidable year in his deal.

Behind him, the depth consists of Cor’Dale Flott, Amani Oruwariye, Aaron Robinson, Zyon Gilbert, and Nick McCloud, all of whom will be competing for the starting role right now opposite of Jackson.

But it’s probably a good idea to think about the future if you’re the Giants and especially if you want to close the talent gap in the NFC East, which features dangerous receivers such as CeeDee Lamb (Dallas), A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith (Eagles) and Terry McLaurin (Washington).

This year’s cornerback class is historically deep to where any team looking to shore up this all-important position—like the Giants—will be able to do so.

Linebacker

Here we have our first disagreement with PFF. The Giants signed Bobby Okereke (career-high 151 tackles in 2022) in the off-season, who instantly upgrades that unit.

They are also bringing back veteran linebacker Jarrad Davis, whom they signed off Detroit’s practice squad late last season. They are expecting Darrian Beavers, the promising sixth-round draft pick last year who looked so promising before a torn ACL suffered in the pre-season ended his rookie campaign.

Beyond those three, there will probably be a competition between Micah McFadden, another draft pick last year, and Carter Coughlin, a holdover from the previous regime, for the fourth spot.

This isn’t to say the Giants won’t continue to look for more talent for what’s been a consistently weak unit, but to suggest that the linebackers unit needs starters in the way that the first two positions listed do is a bit of a stretch.

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Wide Receiver

Again, we disagree about PFF's emphasis on the Giants needing a starting receiver. While we don’t doubt the Giants would take a receiver in the first round if the value matched up, that all will depend on how the board falls.

That said, the Giants heavily addressed the receiver position in the off-season, perhaps a clue reflecting their feelings about the upcoming class and their chance of landing a top-shelf threat. The Giants re-signed veterans Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Isaiah Hodgins.

They also added Parris Campbell and Jamison Crowder. And although not a receiver, they traded for tight end Darren Waller, who is expected to play a big role as a potential pass target for quarterback Daniel Jones.

Schoen told reporters at the end of last season that he’d love to have a big X-receiver if the opportunity were there. But don’t expect him to force a fit just to appease the armchair general managers who view this as a glaring need.

Edge Rusher

The one position where PFF opined the Giants should add depth is at edge rusher, and we couldn’t agree more.

The Giants already have two talented, young edge-rushers in 2022 first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux and soon-to-be third-year pass-rusher Azeez Ojulari (second in sacks on the team with 5.5 despite playing in only seven games in 2022).

Although the Giants are bringing back Jihad Ward for another season and have the intriguing Tomon Fox on the roster, they seem to be passing on having Oshane Ximines back, and they still aren’t quite sure what they have in the oft-injured Elerson Smith (11 tackles in two career seasons).

With a creative defensive coordinator in Wink Martindale who just so happens to love getting after the quarterback, there is no such thing as having too many pass rushers. Adding another one could open up many possibilities for Martindale to explore.