NY Giants 7-round mock draft: Big Blue gets their QB but it's not Caleb Williams

The New York Football Giants were embarrassed by their rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, 49-17 on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas. Sunday's loss dropped the Giants to 2-8. If New York's season wasn't over before Week 10, it is now.

The rest of the 2023 season is about developing the Giants' young core, and it should also be about losing. Yes, you read that right; the primary goal for New York for the rest of the season should be to lose football games. Tank season is officially here.

If the Giants get a Top 3 pick, they are guaranteed one of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Marvin Harrison Jr. So, who will the G-Men land? As of this writing, NY is projected to have the No. 2 overall pick. We have that selection and more in our latest mock draft:

NY Giants first-round pick: North Carolina QB Drake Maye

With the second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New York Football Giants select Maye. If this scenario occurs in April, fans of Big Blue will be ecstatic.

Maye, a North Carolina native, is the complete package. He has a cannon for an arm, absurd athleticism, the ability to beat defenses with his right arm and legs, and he's a clutch player. Through 2.5 seasons as a college starter, Maye has completed 580 of his 878 pass attempts for 7,555 yards and 60 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions.

The Tar Heel quarterback has posted a 157.9 passer rating despite being sacked 65 times in college. It's sad to say, but learning how to succeed as a quarterback despite being constantly pressured is critical to surviving as the Giants QB, and Maye has that experience.

Maye truly makes plays that coaches cannot teach. All of those plays happened in Saturday's win over Duke. The two-point conversion in double-overtime, the play at the end of that montage, is truly insane. The quarterback ran straight at two defenders and, in mid-air, threw a no-look pass to the back of the endzone.

One underrated aspect of Maye's game is his how clutch he is. North Carolina's defense is not very good, and they are always in close games, but Maye delivers almost every time for his squad in the fourth quarter. The 6-4, 230-pounder gives off shades of Justin Herbert but with wheels. That is a franchise quarterback. 

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NY Giants second-round pick: Miami S Kamren Kitchens

The jury is still out on young safeties Jason Pinnock and Dane Belton, and given his recent stupid post-game comments, it is safe to assume Joe Schoen will let Xavier McKinney walk this offseason. The Giants need to add to the safeties room. 

Kamren Kitchens, a potential first-round pick, would be a big-time addition. The 6-0, 205-pounder has a ton of experience playing both in the slot and as the deep safety. Thanks to his six-interception season, the Miami Hurricanes star recorded an elite 90.0 PFF grade in 2022. He has continued on the upward trajectory, recording 43 tackles and four interceptions so far in 2023. 

Adding Kitchens to a secondary with Deonte Banks and Cor'Dale Flott would give New York a tremendous young back-four nucleus with a high ceiling. 

NY Giants second-round pick: Kansas State G Cooper Beebe

The Giants seem set at tackle and center, at least entering next season. They could opt to start Ben Bredeson and re-sign Justin Pugh, but I would not be surprised if Schoen went young on the interior. Cooper Beebe, ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s No. 2 ranked interior lineman, would be a good selection with the second-round pick Big Blue got from Seattle for Leonard Williams. 

The 6-4, 335-pounder has versatility the Giants would love. Beebe, a fifth-year senior, started his career at right tackle, then moved to left tackle, right guard, and left guard. In 2021, he played 734 snaps at left tackle, 919 at left guard in 2022, and has predominately played left guard in 2023 but started the first two games at right tackle and left tackle.

NY Giants third-round pick: Texas DL T'Vondre Sweat 

You can never have enough defensive linemen, especially in a division with the Cowboys and Eagles. T'Vondre Sweat has been a nightmare for Big 12 offenses in 2023, stuffing every running play that comes his way.

Sweat has a 91.2 PFF grade this season, which ranks first out of 904 eligible defense linemen. Sweat, a 6-4, 362 pounder, is a massive human being. Sweat would be a starter from the first day he steps foot in the Giants facility in East Rutherford.

It would be difficult for opposing offenses to run the football through the middle of Wink Martindale's defense with Dexter Lawrence and Sweat lined up next to each other on the interior.

NY Giants fourth-round pick: Georgia WR Ladd McConkey

The Giants need more options on the outside. Wan'Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt are roster locks for 2024, while Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, and Isaiah Hodgins are all question marks. That group just isn't going to cut it.

Ladd McConkey would instantly improve the receiving corps. The Georgia star wide receiver has caught 115 passes for 1,627 yards in his three-year college career despite playing sparingly as a freshman. McConkey catches everything that comes his way and has deceptive athleticism. He's also a tremendous route runner.

The Giants need winners, and McConkey is undoubtedly a winner. The Chatsworth, Ga., native has won two National Championships in his career and has lost just one game. He got his start at Georgia by excelling as a gunner, and the Giants always love players with a special teams prowess.

NY Giants fifth-round pick: North Carolina WR Tez Walker

New York needs more than one new face in the wide receiver room. Quarterbacks love excellent offensive lines, but their best friends are big-time playmakers. Maye's best friend at North Carolina this season is Tez Walker. 

To make the young quarterback comfortable, let's draft his friend. We have seen elite college connections like Jalen Hurts to Devonta Smith, Joe Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase, and Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle work at the pro level, so Schoen could opt to replicate that formula.

Walker has only played in six games this season but has 35 catches for 600 yards (17.1 yards per catch) and six touchdowns. Walker had seven catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns in North Carolina's big-time win over rival Duke on Saturday night.

NY Giants sixth-round pick: UCLA DE Gabriel Murphy 

Outside of Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants have no pass rusher they can count on. Azeez Ojulari is an excellent player, but given his injuries, Big Blue can not pencil him in as any every-game starter.

They will look to add to that room in free agency and the draft. Gabriel Murphy would be a quality rotational pass rusher. Almost through his fifth college season, the first three at North Texas and the last two at UCLA, Murphy, whose twin brother Grayson will also be drafted in April, has recorded 150 pressures, 100 hurries, 29 hits, and 21 sacks.

Nine of those 21 sacks have happened at UCLA in the last two seasons. Murphy lives in the opponent's backfield and is ranked by PFF as the fourth-best pass rusher in the nation this season.