Grading every NY Giants first-round pick since 2013
NY Giants 2019 first-round pick: Daniel Jones, B+
At this point, the only knock you can make on the Giants for taking Daniel Jones is that they might have taken him too early. However, with the way the rest of this draft went, it's hard to complain. The first three years of Jones's career weren't pretty, but after his performance in 2022, it seems like the Giants actually found their franchise QB.
Last season, Jones completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Alongside this, Jones was one of the deadliest QBs on the ground, running the ball 120 times for 708 yards and seven touchdowns. Keep in mind, he did all of this with an incredibly poor receiving core and offensive line. Now, entering 2023, the offensive as a whole has improved drastically.
The way in which Jones improved in nearly every aspect of his game in 2022 isn't talked about nearly enough. If he keeps this up, the Giants could very well be pushing for an NFC Championship Game appearance before you know it.
NY Giants 2019 first round pick: Dexter Lawrence, A+
With the other pick they had in the first round this year, the NY Giants selected Dexter Lawrence. Since being drafted, Lawrence had been one of the more solid interior defensive lineman in the NFL until 2022, as he took the leap to be a no-doubt top-three player at his position.
In 2022, Lawrence was an absolute force, posting 7.5 sacks and 68 total tackles. This led to him making the Pro Bowl, plus taking home Second Team All-Pro honrs. Oh, and Lawrence landed a $90 million extension this offseason.
If there's one thing we can thank Gettleman for, it's bringing the Giants one of the best nose tackles in the NFL. The position may have been dead for a while, but players like Lawrence, Jeffery Simmons and Quinnen Williams are bringing life back to the interior defensive line.
NY Giants 2019 first-round pick: Deandre Baker, F-
After making two very good picks in the first round, Gettleman decided to trade back into the first and select Georgia CB Deandre Baker with the 30th overall pick. However, unlike the previous two selections, Baker ended up being an absolutely disastrous pick and cost the Giants a ton of draft capital.
In his first and only season with the Giants, Baker racked up 57 tackles while allowing 49 receptions on 79 targets for 808 yards and eight touchdowns. In addition to this, Baker was flagged in the secondary a whopping nine times.
Not only was Baker one of the worst corners in the NFL right out of the gate, but some off-the-field troubles caused him to last just one season with the Giants, and three seasons total in the NFL. Honestly, there may not have been a worse pick made in the first round of this draft than Baker.