After losing the 68th overall pick in the Leonard Williams trade, the NY Giants 3rd and 4th rounds selections take on more significance. With the 99th and 110th selections, the G-Men need to find players that fill holes and contribute right away. So which players should be targeted in this part of the draft?
I believe the NY Giants should be taking players that have elite traits or production. If a player has elite athletic traits and exceptional production at the college level, they will usually be a first round pick. In the later rounds, the G-Men need to find players that can do something exceptionally well, and then fit those strengths into their system.
Finding great value late in the third and early in the fourth round can be difficult in most NFL drafts. It is usually obvious who the best prospects are in the early rounds. A general manager earns his salary by finding solid contributors deeper in the draft when the bust rate is quite high.
Much of the criticism of David Gettleman is well deserved, but he did draft well in the late rounds of last year’s draft. Oshane Ximines, last year’s third round pick, flashed impressive pass rushing potential as a rookie and improved as the season went along. In the fourth, Gettleman drafted Julian Love, a player that has excellent football instincts and might have played well enough in 2019 to earn himself a starting spot at free safety.
Gettelman’s two fifth round picks were even more impressive. Ryan Connelly out of Wisconsin was by far their best linebacker last season before he tore his ACL. Darius Slayton, the second fifth round pick in 2019, was the most impressive Giants rookie receiver since Odell Beckham in 2014. DG seems to thrive in this area of the draft, and that bodes well for Big Blue in the third and fourth rounds.
It is likely that the front office will target players that the coaching staff is familiar with. During free agency, practically every player that was signed had a connection to someone on the Giants coaching staff. Don’t be surprised if the Gettleman ends up taking a few Alabama players (because of Joe Judge’s ties there).
So who should the G-Men be targeting with the 99th and 110th picks? The players featured in this article are the prospects I think the front office should draft, not who I think they actually end up selecting. I think Gettleman should be focusing on the defense and offensive line.
The following players would step in and contribute right away in 2020. These are the prospects I think the NY Giants should be targeting in rounds three and four of the 2020 NFL draft.