Who the New York Giants should avoid at No. 17

The 2019 NFL Draft is just a day away, so let’s take a look at players the New York Giants should avoid with their No. 17 overall pick.

Recently, I wrote about who the New York Giants should avoid with the No. 6 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft. It’s a slight change of pace to the hundreds (if not thousands) of mock drafts that have been released over the last few months, with some mocks getting more ridiculous as we inch closer to draft night.

We shouldn’t put much stock in mock drafts to begin with. They are a fun way to spark debate among fans and give sports networks something to talk about daily, but in reality, no one knows where anyone is going to land. Regardless of all the rumors and “sources,” everyone is just closing their eyes and taking a shot in the dark.

So with that being said, instead of looking at who the G-Men should take at No. 17, we’ll look at the players they should avoid.

The New York Giants acquired the No. 17 pick from the Cleveland Browns as part of the Odell Beckham trade. Having two first round picks is extremely convenient for a team in a rebuild-mode, and this pick holds a lot of value for the franchise and fan base. Many fans and members of the media will look at this pick to help gauge the long-term success of the OBJ trade.

Grabbing another defensive stud or a future franchise tackle would certainly help ease some of the pain and suffering initially caused from losing the star wideout.

There are a lot of names that will be available to bolster the roster with this pick. With the depth of defensive talent this year, guys like defensive end Clelin Ferrell, edge rusher Brian Burns, or defensive tackle Christian Wilkins should be available.

On the other side of the ball, tackles Andre Dillard and Dalton Risner would provide immediate upgrades to the offensive line. These are all great value picks at No. 17, as they immediately improve two weak areas of the roster.

We know and have read about the guys the New York Giants should take, so let’s take a look at a few guys that Dave Gettleman and the front office should stay away from at No. 17.

Daniel Jones – Quarterback, Duke

You knew where this was going. Almost every recent mock draft I’ve seen has penned the former Duke signal caller to the G-Men at No. 17. Some even have the Giants trading up to grab him.

I just don’t get it.

Of all the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class, Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, and Drew Lock are the only legitimate first round talents, with Lock being a later first-round guy. Of course, the market dictates who’s a first-round quarterback, and there are a lot of teams in need of one this year. Although he’s a second round value guy, a team is going to reach on Jones early because you can’t pass up the opportunity to get your next franchise signal-caller.

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NFL teams, including the New York Giants, seem to be a lot more enamored of Jones than a lot of fans and members of the media are. He has a lot of games under his belt, is athletic, and durable. That’s great. But his accuracy, arm strength, and lack of playing elite college defenses (and playing well vs average to below average defenses) are all huge red flags.

Per SB Nation:

"Jones didn’t have a single standout college game against a great defense. His 10 best games by passer rating were against FCS North Carolina Central, Army, Northwestern, Temple, Notre Dame (the 2016 version that went 4-8), Pitt, FCS NC Central again, Georgia Tech, and Georgia Tech again. None finished better than 30th in Defensive S&P+. Most did far worse."

Daniel Jones is this year’s quarterback head-scratcher. I don’t understand why there’s so much hype around him, but it’s there and it’s real.

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe is certainly a reason behind this hype. Cutcliffe’s ties with the New York Giants are why many draft experts are predicting Jones to be Eli’s successor. His reputation as a QB whisperer who helped mold Eli while at Ole Miss certainly gives him some credibility at the discussion table, and Cutcliffe has said nothing but good things about his former QB.

It’s hard to envision basically trading OBJ for Daniel Jones if this pick were to happen, especially considering the quarterbacks that will be available at No. 6 and the defensive talent that will still be on the board.

All we can hope for is that Dave Gettleman is somewhat sane and makes the right decision, and re-reading that just made my stomach drop.

A.J. Brown – Ole Miss, Wide Receiver

I promise I don’t have anything against Ole Miss receivers, as I previously wrote that the New York Giants should pass on Brown’s teammate, D.K. Metcalf, at No. 6 as well. A.J. Brown is by far the more complete receiver coming out of college and is largely seen as the best wideout in this draft class, yet Metcalf’s hype has propelled him into the early-mid first round range.

Brown finished his career with 189 receptions, just under 3,000 receiving yards, and 19 touchdown catches, while earning first-team All-SEC twice. Playing mostly out of the slot, Brown is the better pure receiver right now, while Metcalf is the physical freak with an extremely high ceiling (and with that, a high bust rate as well).

As I said with Metcalf, picking any offensive player outside of a quarterback at No. 6 or a tackle at No. 6 or No. 17 is a wasted pick in the first round. The G-Men have a top-3 running back, a top-10 tight end, and a top-5 slot receiver. With the addition of Golden Tate this off-season, there is no need to use this pick for another weapon for Eli.

This would be a luxury pick that the Giants don’t need right now. Just like you might want that last slice of pizza, but do you need it? No.

If it means anything, this pick is a long shot. Of course it could still happen, but it would be out of left field considering who will still be available that could fill a more immediate need – and the rampant rumors surrounding Daniel Jones.

A.J. Brown is going to be a great receiver at the next level and should be taken in the first-round, but not by the New York Giants.

I know you’re tired of all this pre-draft nonsense by now, but don’t worry. The draft is so close I can already hear the crowd booing Roger Goodell. Just a few more days of all this speculation and guessing before we get to start arguing about who the G-Men actually drafted.

Isn’t the off-season fun?

There are a lot of players that would make this No. 17 pick a great one. Hopefully we hear their names called instead of the ones listed above.