Brandon Olsen's New York Giants Mock Draft 2.0

With the Giants having acquired an extra second-round pick in the Leonard Williams trade for 2024, Brandon Olsen offers up this revised mock draft.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Nov 4, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

In this story:

New York Giants

The New York Giants took another loss last week, this time to the New York Jets. With each game, win or lose, it becomes increasingly obvious that the Giants don’t have a roster that top-to-bottom can compete consistently with the rest of the NFL.

After adding a second-round pick from the Seahawks in exchange for Leonard Williams, how can the Giants continue to fill out the roster?

(Note: Overall pick numbers are based on the draft order as it stands before Week 9's games.)

Round 1, Pick 4: WR Marvin Harrison Jr, Ohio State

Generally, I’m opposed to drafting a wide receiver this early. There’s just too much talent at the position with too many receivers playing to invest that heavily in a receiver.

This isn’t an every-year kind of situation for the Giants. In this draft, the first three picks were Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Olu Fashanu, the tackle I selected with the first pick last week.

Without the top two quarterbacks or offensive tackle available, take the best player available. In this case, that’s Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr, who’s dominated almost every defense he’s faced.

Harrison can work inside-out along the formation, has elite route running ability as a prospect, and has been the savior of this offense that’s struggled mightily at quarterback.

Harrison would also be the most talented receiver on this Giants roster immediately. I’ve said before that the front office has failed to surround Daniel Jones with the appropriate supporting cast - this is a chance to right that wrong and figure out if you have your quarterback.

Round 2, Pick 35: Edge Princely Umanmielen, Florida

Kayvon Thibodeaux may have had his breakout game against the Jets, but the fact remains that edge rushers typically don’t have great production under Wink Martindale. When Martindale was still in Baltimore, the Ravens tried to address that by drafting Odafe Oweh - an athletic freak of an edge rusher who can just burst through the line.

Enter Princely Umanmielen. Currently, Umanmielen is the best pass-rusher in the Power 5 in terms of PFFs pass-rush win rate. Umanmielen’s 34 pressures are near the top of the Power 5 as well.

For me, this move was about adding an edge rusher who can win on his own against tackles, given the amount of one-on-ones created by both this defensive scheme and Dexter Lawrence requiring multiple blockers on the inside. Not only can Umanmielen win on his own, but he’s got an elite first step and great speed, so if he does get unblocked on any snap, he can generate pressure quickly.

This is a Giants defense that needs to add a bit to their repertoire, and adding a Martindale fit defensively needs to be a priority.

Round 2, Pick 58: S Cole Bishop, Utah

Xavier McKinney is currently in the final year of his contract. Jason Pinnock will be entering a contract year in 2024. There’s a very realistic possibility that the long-term plan for safety is not on this roster.

Utah’s Cole Bishop is one of the most versatile back-end players in the country right now and will be valued for that in the NFL. Martindale loves to call cover 1 with a single-high deep safety, and Bishop’s got the skill set to operate as that deep defender.

When operating in man coverage, I’m comfortable saying that Bishop can be a man defender underneath against tight ends, running backs, and bigger slot receivers. His IQ and versatility will be valued in the NFL, and his skillset allows him to be scheme versatile, which is rare to find a deep safety that could work in a Martindale-style defense or even a more conservative system.

Apr 27, 2023; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general overall view of the main stage at the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station.

Round 3, Pick 69: QB Jordan Travis, Florida State

I can’t sit here and tell you that Jordan Travis will be the future quarterback for the Giants if he's selected. I can tell you that he has a skillset to operate Brian Daboll’s offense effectively.

Travis isn’t better than Daniel Jones right now, and I don’t think he’s as fast as Jones is, but he extends plays with his legs better while still looking to throw downfield. His arm is about on par with what Jones brings to the table as well, so those throws won’t vary much.

The big difference here is that Travis is younger and cheaper. If the Giants want some wiggle room to even consider getting out of Jones’ contract after 2024, they need to draft a quarterback in the 2024 Draft.

Travis, in the third round, gives the Giants a potential future option without having to invest more heavily in the position.

Round 4, Pick 100: RB Bucky Irving, Oregon

The Giants don’t need to draft a running back early, even in the top 100. If a player like Oregon’s Bucky Irving falls to you here, with the kind of film he’s been putting out this season, you take him.

Irving, this season, has picked up more than half of his yardage after contact for Oregon, with 429 of his 750 rushing yards coming after contact. He isn’t all about power or speed; Irving is a versatile playmaker who runs with explosion.

The contact balance is impressive for Irving at 5’10” and 195 pounds, not an ideal size, but he runs like someone 25-30 pounds heavier. In the passing game, Irving is a viable check-down option that doesn’t run downfield very often, but that’s not needed to play here.

Pass-protecting isn’t Irving’s strength, but he’s got the ability to at least slightly slow down defenders.

Round 5, Pick 131: OT Ajani Cornelius, Oregon

Back-to-back Oregon Ducks? For three years, Ajani Cornelius dominated the competition at Rhode Island before deciding he needed to go to the Power 5 level to help his NFL future.

In the Pac-12, Cornelius has had his fair share of struggles - specifically adapting to the Oregon rushing attack and not having as easy a time dominating defensive linemen. However, Cornelius has been handling pass protection better than I anticipated he would after taking the step up in competition.

There doesn’t need to be a long-term plan here. Size-wise, Cornelius could play inside and out. For the Giants, this is about adding a versatile offensive lineman to your roster that can do anything Daboll and Mike Kafka will ask of him.

Round 6, Pick 165: WR Jacob Cowing, Arizona

Using a Day 3 pick on a dynamic playmaker on offense with special teams value as both a returner and cover man? That’s the way to go.

The Arizona Wildcats quarterback situation hasn’t been great this year, being relegated to check down Charlie time, but Cowing has been the guy. When he was at UTEP, Cowing established himself as a deep threat, so he’s shown the ability to stretch the field vertically as well.

This season, Cowing has just 476 receiving yards, 327 after the catch. He’s shouldering the load of his offensive production despite the quarterback play.

Cowing has lined up all over the formation throughout his career, but in the NFL, I think he’s best suited to play in the slot. The Giants have plenty of slot options, but contracts will be expiring soon, so adding a rotational option that would be under team control for four years would be cheap.