Every swap seemed to tilt away from the Giants, and the value they bled adds up to real damage. The warnings were there, and the F is the bill.
Whatever Caleb Williams becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. The Smith pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with interior defensive lineman, edge rusher and other spots still on the board. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
Reaching for Nubin left real value on the table behind him. The Paul pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
In the end, a class that has to defy its grades just to matter.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.1
· Pick 1
· Caleb Williams
· QB
· rank 2
In pick No. 1 they get a franchise quarterback at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
R1.2
· Pick 2
· Marvin Harrison Jr.
· WR
· rank 1
In Round 1, Pick 2 they get a home-run threat at receiver. The biggest hole, addressed.
R1.21
· Pick 21
· Kool-Aid McKinstry
· CB
· rank 25
In pick 21 they get a potential shutdown corner at fair value. A real need, handled.
R1.31
· Pick 31
· Tyler Nubin
· S
· rank 39
Tyler Nubin at the 31st overall pick jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R2.32
· Pick 64
· Xavier Worthy
· WR
· rank 56
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Xavier Worthy in the 64th pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R3.6
· Pick 70
· Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
· LB
· rank 59
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in No. 70 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R3.32
· Pick 95
· Patrick Paul
· OT
· rank 67
Patrick Paul in the Round 3 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R4.8
· Pick 108
· Maason Smith
· DT-EDGE
· rank 107
A want over a need in slot 108: Maason Smith adds a DT-EDGE while interior defensive lineman, edge rusher and other spots keeps waiting.
R5.24
· Pick 160
· Beau Brade
· S
· rank 139
Beau Brade at pick 160 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R6.1
· Pick 176
· Isaiah Davis
· RB
· rank 164
Isaiah Davis slipping to the 176th pick is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R7.39
· Pick 257
· Daijahn Anthony
· CB
· rank 243
Daijahn Anthony at the Round 7 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It fills a real need, too.
