The 2022 NFL Draft, which begins this Thursday in Las Vegas, could be the most important day in NY Giants history since February 5, 2012, when the Giants shocked the Patriots with a 21-17 win in Super Bowl XLVI, to win their second championship in four years.
The last decade has been filled with turmoil in East Rutherford and the pressure is on first-year general manager, Joe Schoen, to come away from this year’s draft with multiple impact players for the future.
There are many ways in which the front office can choose to attack the draft as the Giants need help at the offensive line, linebacker, defensive end, secondary, and even punter positions. With so many needs across the board, Schoen can afford to be patient in some spots, and draft the best player available on the Giants board in round one.
In the first round, there is elite, blue-chip talent, at all of the weakest spots on the current Giants’ roster. Evan Neal, Ikem Ekonwu, or Charles Cross, could all pair with Andrew Thomas and give the Giants two formidable tackles.
Derek Stingley Jr. or Sauce Gardner could give the Giants a lockdown corner, which is of immense importance in Wink Martindale’s defense where corners are left on islands. At defensive end, Aidan Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Travon Walker would instantly upgrade the Giants pass rusher group, giving the Giants a star in that position for the first time since Jason Pierre-Paul was traded.
If Schoen gets an offer good enough to trade down, he could target Nakobe Dean or Devin Lloyd to play linebacker, forming a formidable duo on the inside with Blake Martinez. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how the top four will shake out in the draft, which will obviously affect who is available for the Giants to draft at 5 and 7.
Here’s how I see the first four picks in the 2022 NFL draft shaking out.
1-Jacksonville, Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan
2-Detriot, Travon Walker, DE, Georgia
3-Houston, Ikem Ekonwu, OT, North Carolina State
4-NY Jets, Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon
I am highly confident Aidan Hutchinson and Travon Walker will be the first two picks in the draft. Jacksonville would love the leadership and innate abilities Hutchinson would bring as he is the safest pick in the draft.
Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions would fall in love with Walker’s freaky athleticism and his potential. Houston is pretty hard to pin down, as Sauce Gardner and pass rushers have also been linked, but they are trying to evaluate how good Davis Mills is, and you can’t do that properly without protection, so they may opt for Ekonwu, regarded by most as the best offensive lineman in the draft.
The Jets will then look to add to their pass rush for second-year head coach Robert Saleh and try to fortify a defense that was one of the worst in the league last year and take Kayvon Thibodeaux. I think the Giants would be pretty happy if the top four shook out like this. The Giants are left with great options at cornerback and in the secondary.
Neal and Cross would be available at offensive tackle and Gardner and Stingley Jr. would be available at cornerback. Offensive tackle is the most pressing need on the Giants and with Carolina, picking at number 6, between the Giants’ two picks, likely selecting an offensive tackle, the Giants will likely decide to pick an offensive tackle at 5, as both corners will still be available at 7.
With the fifth pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the NY Giants select…
NY Giants Draft Prediction: Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
Neal, the only 6’8, 337-pound lineman with a full six-pack of abs, would be perfect to fill the longtime right tackle void. There are many reasons why Neal is the perfect pick for the Giants. He is the most developed, NFL-ready offensive tackle in the 2022 draft class, even more developed than Ekonwu, who I predict the Texans will select at number three.
Playing in the SEC, Neal has been going up against NFL size and physicality the entirety of his college career, including the last two years when he has been going up against outside linebacker, Will Anderson Jr., the likely number one pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, in practice every day.
Neal has some beautiful tape, where his physicality and elite technique are both on display. Neal also has a tremendous amount of versatility as well. In his three years at Alabama, Neal started one season at left guard, one season at right tackle, and one season at left tackle, earning awards for his play at all three.
Versatility is something the Giants have long craved on the offensive line, and Neal can give above-average play, if asked, at all five spots. The Giants would finally be able to give Daniel Jones the protection he deserves with two bookend tackles in Thomas and Neal.
With the seventh pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the NY Giants will select…
NY Giants Draft Prediction: Sauce Gardner, DB, Cincinnati
After the Giants have selected Evan Neal, the Panthers will take Charles Cross to help fortify their offensive line, leaving the two best corners in the draft for Joe Schoen, who will opt for Gardner over Derek Stingley Jr.
Stingley Jr., who likely has a higher celling than Gardner, has been knocked down the board due to injury concerns, but if Schoen is willing to take the risk, he would also be a phenomenal pick. While there is a chance Gardner gets selected by Detroit, Houston, or the Jets, all teams who have been linked to Gardner, the Giants will sprint to the podium to announce this pick if is still on the board.
In his three years at Cincinnati, Gardner did not allow a single touchdown to be scored on him, despite the fact that he was a starter in the Cincinnati secondary since the start of his freshman season. Gardner also picked off nine passes in college.
In the 14 games Cincinnati played in 2021, Gardner surrounded just 18 catches on 37 targets, for 122 yards. He helped lead Cincinnati to an undefeated season and to their first ever group of five to make the college football playoff, where they lost to Alabama despite the fact that Gardner allowed just 14 yards on four targets in the game.
Gardner is 6’3, 190 pounds, a long corner who would fit new Giants defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale’s, defense perfectly. Martindale deploys a 3-4 base defense which is regarded as a blitz-happy defense that loves to bring pressure, leaving his cornerbacks on islands.
Gardner has elite eyes and speed and his length makes him the perfect shutdown corner to be left one on one against the other team’s best receiver. Gardner will be the perfect replacement for James Bradberry, who will likely be traded this week as a cap causality.
I do not think the Giants will trade down because there will not be a suitable trade partner, and, since the Giants need elite talent, picking at 5 and 7 offers the chance to grab two elite talents. While it is said, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” the Giants hope the optimism and buzz around their 2022 draft will carry from Vegas into years of success. The pressure is on for the nine new additions to the Giants to alter the course of Giants history.