Mock Draft Season | A Receiver for the Giants at No. 4?

We're in the early stages of off-season roster rebuild period, the time when teams are completing their review of their personnel and establishing their needs for both free agency and the draft.

And speaking of the draft, there have been some interesting mocks to hit the airwaves. While many of them have projected the Giants to take, in some order, an offensive tackle and defensive pass rusher, Chad Reuter of NFL.com recently published a three-round mock draft that, when it comes to the Giants in the first round, thinks outside of the box.

Rueter's pick for the Giants in the first round is receiver CeeDee Lamb out of Oklahoma, noting, "GM Dave Gettleman could go with an offensive tackle here, but Lamb may be too valuable a weapon to pass on with last year's sixth overall pick, quarterback Daniel Jones, entering Year 2."

Rueter's reasoning does make some sense. One of the Giants' biggest problems on offense was a lack of speed in the vertical game.

But upon further review, drafting a receiver ahead of a playmaker on defense or an offensive tackle might not be the best way to go if there is a three-way tie on the grades of those players.

If the past has taught us anything, it's that you build a team from the inside out with your premium picks. The Giants, in their last three drafts, have done the opposite when it comes to the offense. They devoted their first-round picks to offensive skill position players--tight end Evan Engram in 2017, running back Saquon Barkley in 2018 and Jones in 2019.

Over that same three-year period, they have drafted just one offensive lineman--guard Will Hernandez--within their first three picks of the draft.

Their record over those three years? An unimpressive 12-36.

To be clear, the dismal record over the last three seasons isn't solely due to those three draft picks. But if winning football begins in the trenches, the Giants need to stop trying to slap patches on their offensive line.

Then there is the other side of the coin, which is the defense, a group that hasn't sniffed the top-10 since 2016, the last year the team made it to the postseason.

The Giants devoted a lot of draft resources to the defense last year, and are expected to do the same again this year, with many believing that they could be eyeing Clemson outside linebacker Isaiah Simmons if he's there.

After watching the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl championship in part thanks to their "Legion of Zoom" receivers, the temptation to add a receiver is understandable.

At No. 4, it's probably not the best value, certainly not over an offensive lineman or an every-down linebacker who will be a part of every play regardless.

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