The New York Giants already have Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. in their running back room, but that hasn’t stopped them from searching for a bigger splash this offseason. Head coach John Harbaugh wants to lean into a more physical offense, and the Giants have been doing their homework on some of the top running back options in both free agency and the draft.
Harby and Co. have been poking around the Kenneth Walker III and Travis Etienne market, but the cheaper answer might be waiting for them in April. Jeremiyah Love is widely viewed as the top back in this draft class, and he’s already gotten on Giants fans’ good side after a strong combine showing and a very public hatred for the Dallas Cowboys.
If you’re confused about why the Giants would pour serious cap space into another running back or burn their top draft pick on one, you’re not alone. But what if this entire thing is smoke and mirrors? Would anyone really be surprised if the Giants “just missed” on Kenneth Walker, only to double down on their love for Love throughout the draft process?
In Dane Brugler’s latest mock draft for The Athletic, the Tennessee Titans bite on the Giants’ interest in Love -- silly Brian Daboll -- grabbing him with the fourth pick and leaving Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles sitting right there for the taking at five.
"For much of the season and pre-draft process, I felt like I had to convince doubters of why Styles deserved to be a top-10 pick. After his workout in Indianapolis, the skeptics have disappeared.
But it wasn’t just what Styles did on the field. His interviews with NFL teams were “phenomenal,” according to a team source, with one team even giving him a standing ovation at the end of a session."
If the board actually falls this way, it would be objectively hilarious that Tennessee fell for the trap and wicked awesome if the Giants walked away with Sonny Styles.
Giants land Sonny Styles after Titans comically fall for draft smokescreen
There’s just no way the G-Men are truly planning to add another running back, right? This feels like a classic draft ploy to get another team to overpay for Walker or Etienne, or pull a Titans and grab Love before New York turns in the card to Roger Goodell.
Related: Giants’ puzzling offseason behavior is turning up pressure on Cam Skattebo
For all intents and purposes, Styles is the guy. Every John Harbaugh defense needs a force to be reckoned with in the middle -- Ray Lewis, C.J. Mosley, Patrick Queen, Roquan Smith -- and the 6-foot-5, 243-pound otherworldly athlete feels like the next one in line.
The 21-year-old turned in the most compelling testing numbers at the NFL Combine last week: 4.46 40-yard dash, 11-foot-2 broad jump, 43.5-inch vertical. He scored an unofficial 9.99 Relative Athleticism Score, ranking fourth among 3,216 linebackers since 1987.
Not only would Styles fill a clear need -- which isn’t always the smartest draft strategy -- he’d also check the best-player-available box. New York just released Bobby Okereke to save $9 million in cap space ahead of free agency, and Micah McFadden is hitting the market, leaving a perfect opening for Styles to step in and finally stabilize the position.