Giants pair Kayvon Thibodeaux with star recruit in 2023 mock draft

The New York Giants should be heralded for their quick rebuild under Joe Schoen, as several problem areas have been addressed. Getting Kayvon Thibodeaux with the No. 5 overall pick was a sign that Schoen will not allow New York to head into the season with a subpar pass rush.

While the Giants contended for an NFC East championship in Joe Judge’s first season thanks to Patrick Graham’s defense, Murphy’s Law completely decimated New York’s depth last year. Rebuilding this defense from the ground up with young players is the way to go.

While Thibodeaux by himself profiles as a player that will be able to challenge four double-digit sacks with some degree of regularity, he alone won’t be enough to get the Giants’ defense back to elite levels. Schoen adding one more big-name player might be enough for New York to kick back into high gear.

Tankathon.com’s 2023 NFL Mock Draft, which has the Giants picking at No. 9 overall, has Schoen opting for another defensive end in Clemson’s Myles Murphy. Considering how he came into his own for the Tigers next year, pairing him with Thibodeaux could help New York possess two of the game’s premier young sack artists.

https://twitter.com/ClemsonFB/status/1476330447684657161

Myles Murphy comes to Giants in 2023 Mock Draft.

A 5-star recruit who chose to join Dabo Swinney’s project in the Carolinas, Murphy has amassed 11 sacks over the last two seasons. At 6-5 and a shade under 280 pounds, Murphy brings a surprising degree of burst and speed around the edge for someone listed at that weight.

With Leonard Williams starting to get a little long in the tooth and the lack of solid depth on Wink Martindale’s defense around Thibodeaux, Murphy should start right away and vacillate between multiple different defensive line positions. Players this young and this big should not move like he can.

Murphy is just a touch on the raw side right now, as he needs to work on gaining leverage more consistently and not just winning with upper body strength. That’s still a relatively minor complaint, and pairing him with Thibodeaux would set the Giants up defensively.

New York will likely take a quarterback in the draft if Brian Daboll remains unsold in Daniel Jones’ potential. However, if Jones breaks out or the Giants replace him with a veteran signal-caller, making one of the best young defensive lines in the NFL with Murphy and Thibodeaux at the helm could make a ton of sense.

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