Giants Address This Glaring Need in NFL.com’s Latest Mock Draft

NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah believes the New York Giants must invest high draft capital into this key position of need.

Author:
Andrew Parsaud
Publish date:
Mar 22, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

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The New York Giants have been fairly active since the start of free agency, adding depth at receiver and on the run defense.

But they've also lost depth, specifically at center. Nick Gates signed a three-year deal with division rival Washington, and Jon Feliciano is headed to San Francisco on a one-year deal.

This leaves the Giants depth at center extremely thin, even if Ben Bredeson, who primarily played left guard last season, gets a chance to build on the 30 snaps he played at center last year.

The Giants will probably sign a veteran for competition and depth purposes, but NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes that the Giants should address their center vacancy with their first-round pick and has Wisconsin's Joe Tippmann going to the Giants at No. 25 in his latest mock draft.

Tippmann is a former tackle that transitioned into center. Standing at 6-foot-6, he’s a larger center prospect but can still effectively bend and drive defenders away.

Tippmann started all 12 games last season at center and 11 games during the 2021 season. The former Wisconsin Badger finished with a Production Score of 78 at the NFL Scouting Combine (second among centers) and a Total Score of 87 (first among centers).

One of the main things about Tippmann’s game is his high football IQ and ability to make calls and adjustments, a skill that will certainly come in handy playing in this offense and against stunts and twists shown by opposing defenses.

Tippmann is an athletic center that always looks for someone to block. He’s exceptional when getting to the second level and is keen on picking up blitzers up the middle. The major knock on him is he sometimes leads with his helmet and allows defenders to easily shed his block. Tippmann is NFL Draft Bible’s top-ranked center, noting, "Tippmann is an athletic, powerful center who excels at framing blocks and climbing to the second level, but there’s room to improve his footwork and leverage."

NFL Draft Bible currently has Tippman as a Day 2-3 selection but with the upside to be a solid starter in the league. The Giants will have to decide if they want to devote another first-round pick to the offensive line after drafting left tackle Andrew Thomas in 2020 and right tackle Evan Neal last year.

Given their investment in quarterback Daniel Jones, such a move might be worth it.