D-
New York Giants
A passer of the future in McCarthy, and a D-, for the Giants.
by jkase ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 44 picks
· 14 steals
· 12 reaches
The tape said wait; the Giants did not. Caedan Wallace went at Round 5, Pick 5, a good 72 picks before the board was ready. Too much went sideways, and the D- is the honest tally.
Whatever J.J. McCarthy becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down.
They banked enough surplus on Jackson to cover a lot of smaller sins.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 12 they get an island corner. A real need, handled.
In slot 16 they get their guy under center for the next decade, though they paid up to get him. A clean fit for the roster.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 33 with a little surplus value in Bo Nix. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Fair-plus on Tyler Nubin, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Xavier Legette in No. 51 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ja'Tavion Sanders in the 54th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A quiet steal in pick No. 55: Darius Robinson for less than the market said. It fills a real need, too.
A market-rate wide receiver, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Xavier Worthy. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Malachi Corley at pick 58 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No drama and no debate, Renardo Green went about where he belonged in the Round 3 slot. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in the 87th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
By-the-book stuff, Trey Benson at No. 88 squarely in line with his ranking. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board had cheaper options than Zak Zinter at the 89th overall pick, and it noticed. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They did well to land Blake Corum in slot 90, just ahead of his grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid sticker price for Gabriel Murphy in slot 91, and that is fine. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A straight-up fair deal on Brenden Rice at pick 93, value and slot in agreement. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Blake Fisher in Round 3, Pick 32 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A big swing on Theo Johnson at No. 96, well ahead of any board in the building. The roster fit checks out.
No edge and no loss on Cole Bishop in pick No. 101; it is a wash and a sensible one. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Caelen Carson at the Round 4 slot is the proof. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They will replay Jonah Elliss at the 108th pick for years; that is how good the value is. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Maason Smith slid further than he should have, and the 120th overall pick is lovely value for the interior defensive lineman. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Spencer Rattler in pick 126. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Steele Chambers in the 128th overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
A real head-scratcher, Fabien Lovett in slot 134 is miles ahead of his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Caedan Wallace well ahead of where he belonged. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Isaiah Davis a notch or two before his time. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nehemiah Pritchett in the Round 5 slot is fair value, right on his grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They took Kitan Oladapo at par in No. 153, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Leonard Taylor III at Round 5, Pick 20 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Kamal Hadden at the Round 5 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Johnny Wilson at the 158th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Xavier Thomas at pick No. 160 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They took Walter Rouse at par in slot 161, which is nothing to complain about. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Joe Milton III in the 169th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It fills a real need, too.
They barely believed it either: McKinnley Jackson still on the board at No. 171. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Gabe Hall in pick 172, miles early. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Tyrone Tracy Jr. was still sitting there in Round 5, Pick 38, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
AJ Barner at the Round 6 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A need, and now a little less of one.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Cody Schrader at No. 183. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
No edge and no loss on Brandon Coleman in slot 184; it is a wash and a sensible one. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board had Ty'Ron Hopper higher than the 195th pick, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A reach for Jaylen Harrell in the 198th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jordan Travis in Round 6, Pick 27 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.