It feels like it's been said every year of his tenure, but this is the most important draft for Joe Schoen to date. The New York Giants' general manager barely survived following another brutal season for the franchise. But pieces are falling into place.
John Harbaugh and a new coaching staff have entered the building; Jaxson Dart looks to continue his success in his sophomore season; young standouts Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers will be back from injury; and the defense has some real players to be among the best in the league. There are still holes to fill, however, and that's where Schoen needs to make his mark.
In his latest mock draft, NFL's Daniel Jeremiah has Big Blue taking wide receiver Carnell Tate with the No. 5 pick. If Schoen truly wants to help fill in these gaps, he'll take Jeremiah's advice. Tate is an absolute monster on the field. In his past two seasons at Ohio State, he accounted for about 100 catches for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns, which is a big reason why he's the No. 1 receiver prospect to many people.
Giants need a playmaker first and worry about the rest later
Tate is about as can't miss as you can get, and with how loaded this receiver class is, that's saying something. He would be the perfect player to amp up this offense and give Dart more weapons to play with. Plus, he's a perfect complement to Nabers. Tate has experience being a Robin as he was to Jeremiah Smith's Batman with the Buckeyes. There's no reason he can't be that for Nabers.
Adding in the fact that they expect Nabers back for the beginning of the season, there's no guarantee he'll be at 100 percent. This makes Tate's addition to the team crucial. We all saw what the offense looked like following Nabers' injury, and while it had its moments, it wasn't like the receiving corps was striking fear into opponents.
Tate is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound beast who catches pretty much everything thrown his way. He is a great route runner and has the needed instinct to find soft spots when the quarterback scrambles. With Dart as the quarterback, this will be an important skill for the receivers.
The Giants need to get help in multiple places this offseason, but if someone like Tate falls into your lap at the No. 5 pick, you can't pass that up.