Mel Kiper Goes on the Defense for Giants in Latest Mock Draft

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper has gone on the defense for the New York Giants in his latest mock draft, which dropped just before the start of the combine, selecting Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux at No. 5 and Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd for Big Blue.

These choices appear to have been made after Kiper had the top two offensive tackles, North Carolina’s Ikem Ekwonu and Alabama’s Evan Neal, going off the board before the Giants’ first pick. Kiper’s thinking would appear to align with that of NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s when he said that if those two tackles were off the board, he wouldn’t want to see the Giants force an offensive lineman at No. 5.

Of Thibodeaux, Kiper said:

If the draft plays out like this and both of the top offensive tackles are off the board before the Giants pick, taking a defender makes the most sense. And if Thibodeaux is available, he'd be a perfect fit for a New York defense that needs to pair a true edge rusher with rookie Azeez Ojulari, who led the team with eight sacks last season. Thibodeaux has to improve his all-around game, but he has outstanding physical tools as a pass-rusher. He had seven sacks last season and put up the second-best pressure rate in the country (17.8%). If he comes close to his ceiling, he'll make multiple All-Pro teams.

The Giants have some nice pieces to build around for new general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll, but they're not going to be able to acquire an edge rusher like Thibodeaux anywhere other than the draft. We could look back at this pick in five years and consider it a steal.

Although the defensive edge rusher class is deep with talent this year, if the Giants have a chance at taking the top member of that particular class, they’d be foolish not to considering how stagnant their pass rush has been. New defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale is reportedly looking to deploy an aggressive, attacking style of defense, and would no doubt welcome a stud pass rusher to the lineup.

The Giants have been looking to beef up their pass rush with homegrown talent ever since trading away Jason Pierre-Paul, their first-round pick in 2010, to the Bucs in 2018.

New York tried with Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines, both third-round draft picks, but didn't exactly have enough success.

Carter hasn’t quite developed into the “Batman” pass rusher the team has been missing since Pierre-Paul patrolled the trenches while Ximines has gone from being a promising prospect to a guy who likely won’t even make the roster this year.

The Giants did add Ojulari last year, and he turned in a promising rookie campaign. But one season does not make an NFL star, so while there is optimism Ojulari can be a fixture on the Giants' pass rush unit, he’ll need to continue rising in his career.

The Giants also added Elerson Smith in the fourth round of last year’s draft and Quincy Roche, whom they acquired off waivers from Pittsburgh. Smith’s rookie season yielded a minimal sample size leaving the jury still out on whether he’ll be a fit for what Martindale wants to do. Roche, meanwhile, flashed signs of promise, though again, like Ojulari, he’s going to need to continue showing growth.

Of Lloyd, Kiper had this to say:

I'm going all-in on improving the front seven of the defense. Lloyd is a middle linebacker, yes, but he does so much more. He had 111 total tackles, eight sacks, 20 tackles for loss, four interceptions, and a forced fumble last season. He had 16.5 total sacks over the past three seasons. Lloyd (and No. 5 pick Kayvon Thibodeaux) can add some pass-rush upside to a team that desperately needs it. If New York does take Lloyd here, that probably means Blake Martinez, who tore his left ACL in September, will be a salary-cap casualty.

Isn’t it interesting how pundits have agreed over the last few years that the Giants need to upgrade their offense, yet when it comes to the draft, we often seem more of a heavy defensive flavor in the early picks? Sure enough, that’s the case here, though it’s hard to find fault with Kiper’s reasoning on the surface.

Blake Martinez is not only coming off a torn ACL, but he currently has the fifth-highest cap number on the team, a number that the Giants probably won’t be able to carry this year if they’re to reach their goal of clearing $40 million in cap space.

Hence the projection of Lloyd. That said, the question is whether the Giants value an inside linebacker ahead of, say, a cover cornerback, who would allow for the Giants to beef up the coverage in the back end to let the pass rush to get home.

Kiper also acknowledged that “The Giants will have to address their offensive line at some point this offseason,” adding that he considered center Tyler Linderbaum for the second of New York’s two first-round picks. However, he apparently felt No. 7 was too high to draft a center.

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