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New York Giants | 2020 NFL Draft Day 2: Live Blog/Open Discussion Thread

Will it be center? Edge rusher? Something else? And what about the rest of the NFL? How will their picks shape the rest of the draft?
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants | 2020 NFL Draft Day 2: Live Blog/Open Discussion Thread
New York Giants | 2020 NFL Draft Day 2: Live Blog/Open Discussion Thread

Will it be center? Edge rusher? Something else? And what about the rest of the NFL? How will their picks shape the rest of the draft? 

Follow along as our team of writers -- Patricia Traina, Nick Falato and Jackson Thompson, keep you up to date with live reactions throughout the draft.

And feel free to interact with us in our Open Thread. To dive into the conversation, go to the top of the site, and in the bottom right corner of the masthead, click the FOLLOW button.

You can log in with Facebook or Google, and either way, it's free. From there, sound off in the comment section and share your reactions and observations with our staff, subscribers, and fellow members of the Giants Country community as we react to the draft in real-time. 

(From Jackson Thompson): The selection of Andrew Thomas confirmed a commitment to offense for the Giants as they look to build around Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. They can double down on that commitment by getting another young tackle to play opposite Thomas with their 36th pick in the second round. Houston's Josh Jones might be the best offensive player available and could allow the Giants to move on from Nate Solder.

With the Giants' lacking any real playmakers on defense, the 36th pick may be best used trying to fill a need on that side of the ball. With offensive tackle addressed, edge rusher is the most glaring need left on the Giants' roster and with Zack Baun, Yetur Gross-Matos and AJ Epenesa all available at the start of the second round, Gettleman would be very fortunate to bring any of those three to New York at the expense of the 36th pick. The Giants might also have a chance to nab one of the best safeties in the draft with Xavier McKinney and Grant Delpit both falling to the second round as well. 

The Bengals' selection of Tee Higgins works in the Giants' favor if they're looking to add a defensive player or offensive linemen. The possibility of the Giants picking a wide receiver may be hindered slightly, but their bigger needs still have a lot of options. 

Another wide receiver going at the 34th pick just keeps the Giants' options on defense that much more open.

The Detroit Lions' selection of D'Andre Swift has left the Giants with their choice of three pass rushers that all should have gone in the first round. With Yetur Gross-Matos, Zack Baun and AJ Epenesa all available, Gettleman can plug one of the biggest holes on the Giants' roster. 

And the Giants go with arguably the best safety in the draft with the selection of Alabama's Xavier McKinney. Gettleman does add a defensive playmaker but leaves the pass rush un-addressed. Will he have another chance later today?

McKinney, a Nick Saban product from Alabama, might have his coach's connection with Giants' new head coach Joe Judge for winding up in New York. 

Kevin Hanson of Sports Illustrated on McKinney: "An instinctive and versatile defender, McKinney has the skill set to play either safety spot and has no glaring weaknesses when it comes to coverage or run defense. A fluid mover with excellent range, the junior safety tied for the team lead in interceptions (three) in 2019."

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network on McKinney: "When you look at McKinney, he's still the best safety," Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network said. "[He] did not run as well as you would have hoped [at the NFL combine], and they play him a lot more down close to the line of scrimmage."

The Giants had a chance at Yetur Gross-Matos but passed on the Penn State product in favor of McKinney. Now just three picks later Gross-Matos is headed to the Panthers to join Matt Rhule. One less pass rusher left on the board for the Giants. 

The Giants ranked 28th in sacks in 2019, and that was with the presence of Markus Golden who led the Giants pass rush with 10 sacks. Now Golden is gone and all Gettleman has done thus far in the offseason to bolster the Giants' pass rush unit is add Kyler Fackrell who had one sack last year. 

McKinney is a huge boost to the defensive backfield, but merely an extra reinforcement on a unit the Giants' have already invested in, whereas a pass rusher would have been an impact starter for the Giants' most depleted position group. 

General manager Dave Gettleman admitted that if McKinney hadn't fallen to the Giants then they would have traded back, but McKinney's talent was just too good to pass up and that the organization had a first-round grade on McKinney. 

The selection of McKinney also gives the Giants an extra layer of protection against two NFC newcomers that were selected by the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys in the first round. CeeDee Lamb, who was selected by the Cowboys with the 17th pick, and Jalen Reagor, who was selected by the Eagles with the 21st pick, will now lineup against McKinney twice a year starting in 2020. 

The Giants don't pick again until the 99th pick at the bottom of the third round. There are still glaring needs at edge rusher and center which may demand a trade back up into the second round, but in a conference call after the pick, Gettleman said he won't mortgage any picks in future drafts to trade up.

McKinney possesses talents that transcend just football as well. McKinney has had a passion for drawing since childhood and still has it. For McKinney, drawing allows him to calm his mind from the chaos of football. 

The Giants' division rivals add Jalen Hurts, a QB who has had success at Oklahoma and Alabama. Now, Doug Pederson can possibly use Hurts in a similar way to Taysom Hill with the Saints. He's also an excellent teammate, like we saw when Tua took his job in the national championship game back in 2017. His intangibles are off the charts. If Wentz is injured again, now they have a developmental, talented, young QB to step into the spotlight.

The Ravens add another dynamic rusher to their backfield in Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins. He'll join Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and, of course, Lamar Jackson in a backfield that consists of athletic ability, physicality, and versatility. Like most of us believed, the running backs are starting to come off the board in the 2nd round.

Published
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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