The NY Giants possess a highly coveted fourth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, we examine their top five options for the pick.
After a dismal performance in the regular season by the NY Giants, attention has been diverted to the upcoming 2020 NFL draft. The Giants possess the number four overall pick in the draft and have a plethora of options available to them at their respective draft slot.
Unfortunately, teams who are selecting in the top five of the draft are typically dearth of the level of talent needed to be competitive in the league. The Giants certainly have no shortage of holes in their roster in which to fill this offseason through the draft and free agency.
As a result, there are a number of highly viable options that Big Blue should be considering when their team is on the clock in April’s draft. New York’s offensive line was abysmal this past season and is no doubt in need of significant upgrades.
In addition, the linebacking corps is extremely thin on elite talent and the pass rush had significant difficulties getting to the quarterback. The Giants may also decide to add to their secondary, which is laden with young talent but could use additional depth at both the cornerback and safety positions.
Big Blue could also determine that they need to add to their wide receiving corps, especially if they decide to make Golden Tate III a salary cap casualty in the offseason. Doing so would effectively leave them with only Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton as their primary receiving options.
With all of these deficiencies in mind, here are the top five options for the New York Giants with the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft:
5. Jerry Jeudy
The Giants may decide that providing quarterback Daniel Jones with another elite weapon is the best course of action with the fourth overall pick. If they do, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy out of the University of Alabama should be their pick.
This past year at Alabama, Jeudy would have 77 receptions for 1,163 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns for the Crimson Tide. Those numbers are even more impressive when consideration is given to the fact that two additional top 10 wide receivers in this year’s draft were sharing the field with Jeudy.
Henry Ruggs would have 40 receptions for 746 receiving yards and seven touchdowns for the Crimson Tide, while Devonta Smith would catch 68 passes for 1,256 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. Taking this into account, one would see why Jeudy’s numbers weren’t more mind-boggling than they were.
Jeudy is a big-play receiver who has no issue beating double coverage. In addition, he possesses solid blocking ability and is an excellent route runner. While his speed is not elite, it is good enough to consider him a legitimate vertical threat in the passing game.
With his uncanny ability to pick up yards after the catch, Jeudy is a threat to take short and intermediate passes and turn them into big gains. Some experts consider him to be the best wide receiver to ever come out of Alabama, which is telling considering that it is the school that produced the likes of Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Amari Cooper.
While Jeudy is undoubtedly an elite talent at the wide receiver position, the Giants likely have more pressing needs than wide receiver. Also, this year’s draft is loaded with talent at the wide receiver position, making it unlikely that the Giants opt to select Jerry Jeudy.
4. Andrew Thomas
Upgrading the offensive line and specifically, the left tackle position is certainly a priority for the NY Giants this offseason. The Giants felt they had the left tackle position addressed when they signed Nate Solder to a four-year $62 million contract in 2018. However, Solder has wildly underperformed, leaving the Giants in desperate need of an upgrade at the position.
Enter the University of Georgia’s Andrew Thomas. Thomas is the highest-rated tackle in an extremely deep tackle group entering the 2020 NFL draft. If the Giants want the best at the position, Thomas would be their guy.
At 6’5″ and 320-pounds, Thomas definitely has the tall, girthy frame of an NFL tackle. Currently, he possesses elite run blocking ability and projects as a franchise left tackle in a power blocking scheme. However, while his pass blocking isn’t poor, there are concerns about him in pass blocking situations in a system with a quarterback needs additional time in the pocket.
Thomas needs to improve on his footwork in pass blocking and can have issues with better pass rushers. This would serve as a concern for the Giants who have a quarterback with a tendency to hold on to the ball a bit too long, as they would likely want Thomas to start at left tackle immediately.
That said, Thomas does project to be an excellent tackle in the NFL. He has quick feet, fluid hips, and is extremely athletic. Thomas does an excellent job with framing blocks well in pass blocking situations, has precision timing and a very high football IQ.
The player comparisons given to Andrew Thomas by draft experts should leave Giants fans excited about the possibility of drafting him. The player comparisons that he has drawn most are to Ronnie Stanley, Jason Peters and Trent Williams, all of whom are Pro Bowl tackles.
As good as Thomas may be, and as much as the Giants need a significant upgrade at left tackle, Thomas might not represent the best option for the Giants with the fourth pick. This is less of an indictment about the abilities of Thomas and is strictly in regards to the fact that the tackle position is so deep that quality franchise tackles are expected to be available in the second round of the draft or later. As a result, the Giants would be wise to explore other options.
3. Jeff Okudah
The only NY Giants cornerback with an interception in 2019 was Janoris Jenkins, who had four. Unfortunately for the Giants, Janoris Jenkins was cut by the team in week 15 of the season after making insensitive comments to a fan on social media.
As a result, the Giants could look to add to their cornerback corps in this year’s draft, after adding Deandre Baker in the first round and Corey Ballentine in the sixth round of last year’s draft. This is in addition to the 2018 third-round supplemental draft pick Sam Beal playing for the first time last season.
If the Giants choose to add to their cornerback group with the fourth overall pick, Jeff Okudah from Ohio State University would be the perfect fit. Okudah possesses elite man coverage unlike few cornerbacks to ever enter the league.
In addition to his excellent cover skills, Okudah has elite quickness, a high football IQ, is physical and has very fluid hips. His recovery skills in coverage are extremely advanced, he possesses great body control and excellent hands.
The 6’1″ and 200-pound Okudah possesses excellent leadership skills and is an extremely driven and self-motivated player. He is lauded to be the best cornerback draft prospect to come into the league since Jalen Ramsey, who along with Patrick Peterson, Okudah draws the most comparisons to.
While Okudah has the mix of size and ability to potentially become the NFL’s best cornerback, the Giants may not end up announcing him as their fourth pick in the 2020 draft. Part of this is due to the expectation of the Detroit Lions to select him one pick before the Giants. The other reason is the fact that the Giants recently spent draft capital in the previous draft and may see other areas of need as more pressing than cornerback.
2. Isaiah Simmons
The linebacker position has long been neglected by the NY Giants. The last impactful linebacker that the team had on its roster was Antonio Pierce and he retired over a decade ago. Giants fans have been clamoring for the team to draft a talented linebacker for years and perennially are disappointed by the Giants’ failure to do so.
That could change this year if the Giants opt to select Isaiah Simmons out of Clemson University with the fourth overall selection of the draft. Simmons has been described by many as a unicorn at the linebacker position. His freakish athleticism could make him the first linebacker drafted by the Giants in the first round since Carl Banks in 1984.
Simmons, who is a converted safety, possesses the versatility to play a number of positions at a high level. This past season at Clemson, he regularly played cornerback, linebacker, deep safety as well as playing on the defensive line.
He played all of these positions with frequency and did so at an elite level for the Tigers. In doing so, he exhibited off-the-charts football IQ that is needed to understand what it takes to excel at such a variety of positions on the field.
In addition to his intelligence, Simmons is a high-motor player with a giant wingspan. He possesses elite speed and athleticism for a player with a 6’4″ and 230-pound frame. As a result, he has excellent sideline-to-sideline tackling ability, with the propensity to make bone-jarring hits on the ball carrier.
Drafting Simmons would provide the Giants with a player who is excellent against both the run and in coverage. His coverage ability is less like a linebacker and plays more like an elite cornerback or safety. As a result, Simmons has the ability to cover any wide receiver, running back or tight end on the field with great competence.
Simmons is also an excellent blitzer who has great natural instincts to go with his athleticism and abilities. If selected, the Giants could use him at the MIKE, SAM, nickel linebacker or strong safety positions as their defensive scheme dictates. Having a player with that type of versatility would open up the playbook for new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
While it is difficult to find a comparable professional player who has a skill set that is similar to someone as unique as Simmons, the two that have drawn comparisons are Lavonte David and Deone Bucannon. Although in both instances, Simmons is projected to be much better than either player.
Simmons seems like the slam dunk choice for the Giants with the fourth pick. The only reason that should dissuade them from selecting such a game-changing player would be if someone offered a trade in which they received significant draft capital in return.
1. Trade down
While there are a number of excellent options that are sure to be available to the NY Giants when they step to the podium with the fourth pick, perhaps the best option is to not select anyone with the pick and instead trade back to a quarterback-needy team.
There are at least eight NFL teams that are rumored to be interested in selecting their quarterback of the future in the upcoming draft. Seven of those teams select behind the New York Giants. As a result, the most prudent thing to do with the fourth overall pick might be to find a trading partner who is willing to give the Giants a ton of draft capital in return for their fourth pick.
The most ideal situation would be to convince the Miami Dolphins to give them additional picks to move up one slot in an effort to prevent anyone else from trading with the Giants to select a quarterback ahead of them. If they were able to do this, they would be able to get the 5th pick of the Dolphins plus additional picks and would still likely be able to select Isaiah Simmons if they wanted to.
The fact that the Giants are selecting in the top five of the draft for the second time in three years is a clear indication that their roster needs a lot of improvement. Adding draft capital while still selecting an elite caliber player is the best option for the NY Giants.