B+
New York Giants
The Giants fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B+.
by jkase ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 25 picks
· 20 steals
· 4 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Aaron Lewis at pick No. 246. The Giants jumped the board by 52 and dared it to prove them wrong. More right than wrong, and a B+ to match.
They banked enough surplus on Wiley to cover a lot of smaller sins. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class.
The veteran additions, Roquan Smith chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 32 they get a lockdown presence outside at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
They let Jordan Morgan come to them and pounced at Round 2, Pick 8. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Taking Tyler Nubin in the 47th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A quiet steal in slot 50: Xavier Legette for less than the market said. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
You do not let a cornerback like Ennis Rakestraw Jr. reach the Round 2 slot and blink. They did not. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Trey Benson in pick 89. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Johnny Wilson in the 92nd pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Gabriel Murphy at pick No. 97 is the proof. It fills a real need, too.
Nice patience on Marist Liufau, who had no business lasting to slot 100. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Spencer Rattler slipping to No. 107 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Matt Goncalves at the Round 4 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Circle this one: Roman Wilson at Round 4, Pick 15 is a fall that decides a draft. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A slide stopped in the 125th overall pick, with Ray Davis worth more than the price. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick 126 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Kris Abrams-Draine is a better player than the 135th pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A real head-scratcher, Joe Milton III in Round 5, Pick 7 is miles ahead of his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
Somehow Dallin Holker was still sitting there in No. 163, and they pounced on premier tight end value. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Cedric Gray in the Round 5 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
The board had Braelon Allen higher than pick 172, and the running back fell to them anyway. The roster fit checks out.
They liked Eric Watts enough to skip the value, taking him in pick No. 173. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Gabe Hall in slot 185 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They will replay Javon Baker at the 219th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Omar Speights at pick 223 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Michael Wiley in Round 7, Pick 18 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Aaron Lewis in No. 246, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.