NY Giants football: 5 draft moves Big Blue should make
By Matt Clark
4. Rebuild the offensive line
Adding the picks from Miami and Las Vegas will allow the NY Giants to address a number of needs early in the draft. Most important is their need to address an offensive line that was amongst the worst in the NFL this season.
The upcoming draft is flush with talent at the tackle position. Despite likely missing out on Andrew Thomas by moving back in the draft, the Giants will have no issue still drafting a future franchise tackle later on.
A number of tackles such as Austin Jackson of USC, Jedrick Willis of Alabama, Mekhi Becton from Louisville, Tristan Wirfs out of Iowa, and Trey Adams from Washington will likely still remain on the board when the Giants select at number 12. In fact, a number of these top talents would likely remain at 19 or with the Houston pick, should the NY Giants value another position of need more or if a top talent should slide.
By adding the other first-round picks, the Giants could address needs while using their late first-round or early second-round pick to get top center prospect Tyler Biadasz from Wisconsin to couple with a top tackle to assure that they quickly shore up their offensive line woes now and for the foreseeable future.
The Giants could have a franchise tackle, guard in Will Hernandez and center in Biadasz all on rookie contracts and have three extremely talented young players protecting franchise quarterback Daniel Jones for a number of seasons.
The Giants have long neglected the offensive line. The team has not had continuity along their line since the days of Shaun O’Hara, Chris Snee, David Diehl, Rich Seubert, and Kareem McKenzie in the mid-2000s. With these additions coupled with Hernandez, Kevin Zeitler and a combination of Nick Gates and Nate Solder, the Giants suddenly have a deep line on paper.
By accumulating more draft capital, the NY Giants can address their offensive line as well as other needs. If they were to do that in their current position, they would have to draft Andrew Thomas with the 4th pick and Biadasz with their 2nd round pick and then would not have another pick until their compensatory pick late in the 3rd round.
This scenario allows them to add more high caliber players on inexpensive rookie contracts, rather than filling the majority of holes with high dollar free agents.