D-
New York Giants
Daniels is the Giants' new face under center. Grade: D-.
by jkase ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 30 picks
· 15 steals
· 9 reaches
Nobody had Jontrey Hunter this high, and it is not close. The Giants reached 60 spots to get him at Round 7, Pick 13. The math is unkind, and the D- follows.
The Latu steal is the beam this whole class leans on. So much rides on Jayden Daniels that the rest of the class almost grades on a curve behind him. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong.
Job largely done: interior defensive lineman settled and 9 of 9 of the wish list covered.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
Jayden Daniels in the 6th pick is fair value, right on his grade. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
In No. 11 they get a matchup problem out wide. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In Round 1, Pick 12 they get a double-digit-sack hope at fair value. A real need, handled.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Olumuyiwa Fashanu reach the 39th overall pick and blink. They did not. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Cooper DeJean at pick No. 47 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. The roster fit checks out.
Steal is underselling it; Laiatu Latu at the Round 3 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They robbed the room for Jonathon Brooks here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A need, and now a little less of one.
A TE-EDGE of that caliber at Round 4, Pick 8 is the definition of value, full stop. Need-wise, a curious use of the pick.
They took Sataoa Laumea at par in the 118th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Kamal Hadden at pick No. 119 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It fills a real need, too.
They talked themselves into Fabien Lovett at pick 120, and the board did not agree. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cole Bishop at the Round 4 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Isaac Guerendo in the 140th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach on Anthony Gould in No. 150; the board had better options right there. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They barely believed it either: Matt Goncalves still on the board at Round 5, Pick 17. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Andru Phillips at the 154th overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They paid up for Steele Chambers at No. 177 when waiting would have done the job. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They will replay AJ Barner at pick 181 for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A quiet steal in the Round 6 slot: Ty'Ron Hopper for less than the market said. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Somehow Walter Rouse was still sitting there in pick No. 191, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Josh Proctor. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Joe Milton III in slot 204 lands just on the right side of the ledger. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste at the Round 6 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Erick All in slot 218 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Taking Nick Gargiulo in pick No. 220 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached into another round for Jordan Magee, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Jontrey Hunter at the 233rd pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Bub Means in the 243rd overall pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Trey Knox slid further than he should have, and Round 7, Pick 29 is lovely value for the tight end. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They did well to land Edefuan Ulofoshio in pick 253, just ahead of his grade. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.