With the tenth pick in the NFL Draft, the New York Giants will likely look to bolster their league-worst defense. Many analysts have edge rushers like Noah Spence or Shaq Lawson slotted to the Giants, but could Jerry Reese look to add a dominant inside presence to pressure the quarterback?
Louisville’s Sheldon Rankins is a dominant defensive tackle and a projected pick for the Giants in Todd McShay’s mock draft. Even though he’s not an edge rusher, he can collapse the pocket and could be a cornerstone on the defensive line for years to come. Rankins was explosive and dominant in one-on-one drills during Senior Week before he was sidelined with a knee injury.
Rankins is being compared to the Rams’ Aaron Donald which is enough to make a GM’s ears perk up. Much like Donald, Rankins is an obvious talent, but he’s slightly undersized which may cause a slide on draft day. But as Chris Pflum of Big Blue View writes, “because of Donald’s explosion onto the NFL scene, the scouting community seems to be much more readily accepting of Rankins as a first-round prospect than they were of Donald.”
Reese is certainly looking for a proven defensive end in free agency and may be willing to draft an interior lineman to play alongside Johnathan Hankins. Hankins has agility and power that would pair well with Rankins’ explosive burst off the line. Not to mention, Hankins excels at holding blockers to allow linebackers to make plays in the run game. Anything to help the Giants’ struggling linebacking corps has to be a plus for Reese.
The knee injury is something that will be examined at the combine. As Mel Kiper said, “I want to see what the knee injury is. He had it at Louisville at the beginning of the year and had it at the Senior Bowl. The knee, to see how that checks out, will determine if he’s in that mix…remember last two years he got after the quarterback and he did it on a pretty regular basis.”
Reese may be targeting an impact edge rusher at 10, but if his top choice is off the board, Rankins would be a solid pick. He may be a bit of a reach where the Giants are selecting, but he’ll surely be off the board in the second round. If the Aaron Donald comparison is accurate, he will be worth the reach.