RD 2 (36th): Lloyd Cushenberry – C, LSU
I had back-to-back picks in the second round thanks to the earlier trade with the Los Angeles Chargers. I decided to fill two huge needs for the New York Giants with those two needs. The first of the two picks was Lloyd Cushenberry III, a center out of LSU.
Honestly, I was hoping that Cesar Ruiz of Michigan made it to the second round for me to pick. Ruiz is one of the top-rated centers to enter the draft in recent memory. However, the general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Ruiz in the first round with the 20th overall pick.
Despite missing out on Ruiz, Cushenberry is no slouch at center. Cushenberry is an athletic center who was a focal point along a stout offensive line ahead of Joe Burrow last season. He is an incredible upgrade over Jon Halapio and Spencer Pulley of recent years and should make a massive difference along the offensive line for the Giants while playing between Will Hernandez and Kevin Zeitler.
GMEN HQ’s own Charles Vitolo has done an excellent job of breaking down Cushenberry’s game if he is as good as advertised, then Big Blue significantly improved its offensive line with this pick. I easily could have gone with a tackle here, but given that I had back-to-back picks, it was a moot point and so I opted to go Cushenberry III here.
That said, the offensive line remained my priority with the 37th pick because I knew the Giants wouldn’t select again for another 62 picks due to the fact that their actual general manager traded away the 68th overall pick to the Jets for Leonard Williams, leaving Big Blue with only the 99th overall selection (a compensatory pick) in the third round.
With the 37th overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, the New York Giants selected: