D
New York Giants
The Giants drew a line under the quarterback search with Maye: D.
by jkase ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 28 picks
· 14 steals
· 5 reaches
Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Giants spent pick No. 162 on Caedan Wallace, a name most had 51 spots down the list. Hard to defend, and the D reflects that.
Landing Tracy Jr. that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. They have staked the next five years on Drake Maye, which is the only story that really matters here.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
Nice patience on Drake Maye, who had no business lasting to pick No. 17. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
In pick 18 they get a sticky cover corner. A real need, handled.
In Round 1, Pick 19 they get a load in the middle at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the 27th overall pick they get a No. 1 receiver. The biggest hole, addressed.
Chop Robinson in No. 47 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at slot 70 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Fair-plus on Christian Haynes, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 83, where Jaylen Wright graded well above the range. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Renardo Green at No. 87 is money in the bank, a safety taken below his worth. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Javon Baker at Round 3, Pick 25 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They read the board right and Kris Abrams-Draine was the payoff at the Round 3 slot. The roster fit checks out.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in slot 91 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A clean, defensible pick in the 92nd pick with a little surplus value in Trey Benson. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
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.
Austin Booker at pick 107 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Spencer Rattler at No. 108 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A real head-scratcher, Kamal Hadden in the 129th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Somehow Ja'Lynn Polk was still sitting there in the 138th pick, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board fumbled Blake Corum all the way to pick No. 141, and they scooped it up. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Caedan Wallace in the Round 5 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Joe Milton III at Round 5, Pick 29 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A need, and now a little less of one.
They barely believed it either: Luke McCaffrey still on the board at slot 183. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They robbed the room for Sataoa Laumea here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They paid sticker price for Erick All in the 198th pick, and that is fine. It fills a real need, too.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Trey Knox in the 199th overall pick, miles early. It fills a real need, too.
Taking Tyrone Tracy Jr. in the Round 7 slot is close to grand larceny; a wide receiver that good had no business lasting this long. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Kitan Oladapo in No. 240, plain and simple. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Circle this one: Jordan Magee at slot 241 is a fall that decides a draft. A minor need, but a need all the same.