NFL Draft: New York Giants 2022 Mock Addresses Edge, O-Line
With training camps about to start up in less than two weeks, the last thing on anyone’s mind right now is a mock draft.
Well, except over at Bleacher Report, where Brent Sobleski put together a way-too-early first-round mock draft for all 32 NFL teams and in which he made some intriguing forecasts for the Giants, who have two first-round picks—their own and the one belonging to the Chicago Bears—in next year’s draft.
Sobleski predicts the Giants will have the first of their two picks at No. 9 overall (where they select USC edge rusher Drake Jackson, of whom Sobleski writes:
USC's Drake Jackson is more potential than production at this point as well. His 7.5 sacks in 17 career games definitely don't impress. Traits translate, though. Jackson is a smooth operator working the edge as a standup defender.
Then at No. 11, where the Bears’ pick is projected, Sobleski projects that pick as being North Carolina State guard Ikem Ekwonu, of whom he writes:
Ekwonu is a powerhouse blocker capable of uprooting and moving defensive linemen. He provided the highest percentage of positively graded run blocks among Power Five offensive linemen last season, per Pro Football Focus' Austin Gayle. Ekwonu can play tackle or guard. In New York, he's the physical interior presence and tone-setter the group currently lacks.
Let's start with the edge rusher forecast. Sobleski, in his article, notes of the Giants edge rushers that the team "hope(s) they have a pair of talented young pass-rushers in Lorenzo Carter and this year's second-round draft pick, Azeez Ojulari. However, neither has proved anything yet."
While this is true to a degree--Carter was on his way to a breakout season when he tore his Achilles, and Ojulari needs to show he can step up and make good on his second-round draft pedigree--a better argument for a pass rusher is economics.
Carter is entering the final season of his rookie deal. If he has the kind of year he started to have last season, he's going to be in line for a nice payday for the team to keep him and Ojulari, who is on Year 1 of his rookie deal together.
But the Giants have a few other potential pass-rushing candidates they're taking fliers on, including Ifeadi Odenigbo, whom they signed from Minnesota, and Ryan Anderson, whom they acquired from Washington. And forgotten in this equation is Oshane Ximines, who is trying to transition from a small school program to the pros, has flashed but who, like Carter last year, had some injury issues.
Granted, a team can never have too many pass rushers, but it might be worth seeing how the current group pans out before heading down that path.
If Ekwonu can play both guard and tackle at the next level, then the pick makes sense since the Giants could see a significant turnover at that unit where they currently have seven players whose contracts are set to end after this season.
The most notable name among those whose contracts end after this year is Will Hernandez, projected to be the starting right guard. If Hernandez doesn't take that step forward, it's not farfetched to think they'd look to fill the position via the draft.
The final takeaway from this way-too-early mock draft? There isn't a single mention of drafting a quarterback.
But again, all this is way too early as we still have a season ahead (both college and pro) that will go a long way toward answering the annual question of whom the Giants will draft.
Check out the video above as Giants Country host Kim Becker and site publisher Patricia Traina discuss expectations for an improved Giants defense in 2021.
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