D-
New York Giants
The Giants finally solved quarterback, and it carried them to a D-.
by jkase ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 33 picks
· 10 steals
· 9 reaches
The Giants treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending Round 5, Pick 25 on Caedan Wallace a full 52 spots early. The board pushed back all weekend, and the D- is the result.
That Thrash pick is the receipt they will wave around later. Jayden Daniels is the bet, and the class will be judged on how it pays off.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. Interior defensive lineman is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 12 they get the arm they will build around. A clean fit for the roster.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Rome Odunze in pick 13. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
In the 24th pick they get a matchup problem out wide at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Nate Wiggins in No. 43 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Graham Barton still on the board at slot 47. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They let Chris Braswell come to them and pounced at Round 2, Pick 19. A need, and now a little less of one.
Payton Wilson in Round 2, Pick 20 is fair value, right on his grade. It adds depth where they could use a little.
No edge and no loss on Braden Fiske in pick No. 53; it is a wash and a sensible one. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let a linebacker like Junior Colson reach the 70th overall pick and blink. They did not. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A slide stopped in pick 76, with Xavier Worthy worth more than the price. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A straight-up fair deal on Renardo Green at No. 87, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Dadrion Taylor-Demerson. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
No drama and no debate, Trey Benson went about where he belonged in the Round 3 slot. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They will replay Jonah Elliss at the 108th pick for years; that is how good the value is. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 112 with a little surplus value in Zak Zinter. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Maason Smith at slot 120 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the DT-EDGE. It does not line up with the team's obvious holes.
They paid up for Anthony Gould at pick 129 when waiting would have done the job. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Ray Davis at No. 141 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
By-the-book stuff, Brennan Jackson at the 148th overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
They talked themselves into AJ Barner at the 150th pick, and the board did not agree. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value with a capital V on Nehemiah Pritchett in the Round 5 slot, a genuine coup. It fills a real need, too.
They reached into another round for Caedan Wallace, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Kamal Hadden at slot 168 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Steele Chambers this early at the 170th overall pick. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Jordan Travis at the 175th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Joe Milton III in the Round 6 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Fabien Lovett in Round 6, Pick 9 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A reach for Erick All in pick No. 190; a little patience would have been rewarded. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Trey Knox well ahead of where he belonged. The roster fit checks out.
A real head-scratcher, Gabe Hall in No. 198 is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jalyx Hunt in the 199th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It fits a board better than it fits this team.
Josh Proctor at pick 200 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board fumbled Jamari Thrash all the way to the 204th overall pick, and they scooped it up. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.