The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft is in the books and it has the chance to be franchise-changing for the NY Giants. It’s the first draft for the new regime in New York. The Giants hit a home run not once but twice. Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have to be thrilled with how it played out. From a personal standpoint, I could not be happier. The two players I wanted most are officially Giants.
The Giants drafted Kayvon Thibodeaux with the 5th overall pick and drafted Evan Neal with the 7th overall pick. Thibodeaux is the pass rusher the Giants have desperately needed. You can make a case he should have been one of the first 3 players selected if not for some unfounded “character issues”.
Evan Neal is expected to immediately start for the Giants at right tackle. If the first 4 picks would have played out differently it’s likely the Giants would have selected Neal at 5th. They gambled and got him anyway.
Neal will pair up with former first-round pick Andrew Thomas who will play on the left side. Thomas made huge strides last year. This is a huge opportunity for Daniel Jones in a make-it-or-break year for the quarterback.
Joe Schoen deserves high praise for a great Round 1 for the NY Giants
Giants general manager Joe Schoen had two picks and some can say how can you mess that up but we have seen it before. We did not see it tonight and Giants fans have to be absolutely thrilled with how things have shaken out for the new regime.
The Giants were linked to multiple offensive linemen but when all of them were still on the board Schoen went with the best defensive player on the board and still got his favorite offensive lineman later on. It was a draft master class.
Tonight Joe Schoen gets an A for his first round in his first-ever draft as the Giants’ general manager. The players still have to pan out and the Giants need to go right but the team finally feels like it is going in the right direction. Long gone is Dave Gettleman and it’s a new day at MetLife Stadium.