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Giants Get Receiver Help in Latest Mel Kiper Mock Draft

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr has one of the top receivers in this year's draft class going to the Giants in his latest mock draft.
Patricia Traina|
Giants Get Receiver Help in Latest Mel Kiper Mock Draft
Giants Get Receiver Help in Latest Mel Kiper Mock Draft

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New York GiantsTCU Horned Frogs

The New York Giants got more than expected out of their receiver corps last year. Still, general manager Joe Schoen knows that the unit could be so much more if it had a legitimate game-breaking deep threat at receiver there to take some of the onus off Saquon Barkley, currently the team's lone consistent playmaker.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr, in his latest mock draft, addresses that problem, forecasting TCU speedster Quentin Johnston to the Giants at pick No. 25, of whom he writes:

The Giants don't have a No. 1 or No. 2 wideout on their roster, and Wan'Dale Robinson, a second-round pick last year, is most effective out of the slot. Johnston is the big, fast, and physical receiver they need. 

At 6-foot-4, he is tremendous after the catch, breaking tackles and running for long touchdowns. He understands how to use his frame to high-point the ball in the air. Jones has improved every season, but he has never had a player who can make contested catches like Johnston. Schoen should make this happen in April.

Johnston is currently the top-ranked receiver on NFL Draft Bible's big board, a receiver who is praised as "a tall, long, strong, explosive, and fast pass-catcher" and "an exciting deep and jump-ball threat who wins with physicality after the catch."

The drawback, though, with Johnston is coming off a sprained right ankle he suffered late in the season and which lingered through to the Fiesta Bowl. That, plus questions about his route tree, could be enough to send him sliding down in the first round to where the Giants are currently set to pick (No. 25).

That said, Johnston has enough upside to develop into a legitimate X-receiver on a team that sorely needs one for its passing game. 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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