Top 3 positional groups NY Giants must address on Day 2

After a long, almost four months of speculation since the end of the NFL regular season, Day 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft has finally come and gone. It is hard not to feel optimism after general manager Joe Schoen addressed two of the largest needs of the NY Giants, taking Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal with picks No. 5 and No. 7 in the draft respectively.

With edge and tackle addressed in the first round, let’s take a look at the top three positional groups the Giants should target on Day 2 of this year’s draft.

NY Giants Day 2 Target: 3. Linebacker

The Giants’ depth chart at inside linebacker is particularly weak. A look at the current depth chart and you will see the starters are 2020 “Mr. Irrelevant” Tae Crowder and Blake Martinez, who missed the majority of the 2021 season with an ACL injury. While linebacker is not a position that would be the target of picks 5 and 7 overall, it is certainly worth using pick 36 if the Giants’ have a favorite prospect still on the board.

I wrote an article earlier this week which included Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean as one of the top targets if the Giants were to trade back in the first round. On a somewhat surprising first night, he wasn’t selected at all and is now certainly towards the top of Joe Schoen’s Day 2 draft board.

In my opinion, he is the best available player on the board and would be an incredible value pick for the Giants at 36 overall. Outside of Dean, there is also incredible talent such as Leo Chenal still available at the top of the second round.

One thing we know about a Wink Martindale defense is it loves to blitz. His Baltimore Ravens units finished top of the league in blitz percentage three of the past four seasons. Both Chenal and Dean are two of the most exciting blitzing linebackers in the draft and would be incredible additions to the Martindale defense.

With other linebackers available in Rounds 2 and 3 such as Brian Asamoah, Troy Anderson, and Chad Muma, the linebacker position is full of talent on Day 2. This is another situation where the best player available very much could line up with a serious positional need for the team – a perfect draft day situation.

If Schoen and the Giants can back up round one which saw two significant positional upgrades, with any of the above-mentioned linebackers, the roster as a whole has materially improved over the first two days in Las Vegas.