Best available players for the New York Giants on Day 2 of the NFL Draft

The New York Giants, as expected, selected edge defender Abdul Carter of Penn State in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft. Then, as had been rumored they would try to do, GM Joe Schoen traded up with the Houston Texans to No. 25, allowing them to select quarterback Jaxson Dart, only the second quarterback to come off the board.

On the plus side, the speculation is finally over, and Giants fans can now hope that Brian Daboll can turn Dart into a reincarnation of former Giants QBs out of Ole Miss, Charlie Conerly and Eli Manning.

On the minus side, this article that I agreed to write for BBV on what the Giants might try to do on Day 2 of the draft just became a lot more boring. Instead of picks No. 34, 65, and 99, the Giants will only have one pick, No. 65, on Friday evening. Fortunately their Round 4 pick on Saturday is high (No. 105), only a few slots lower than the No. 99 pick they surrendered as part of the trade-up.

What should the Giants do at No. 65? It’s impossible to anticipate with 32 picks to be made before the Giants come up to the plate again. I’d suggest that with the addition of Abdul Carter and Schoen picking up Kayvon Thibodeaux’s fifth-year option, the Giants are a defensive tackle and a second boundary cornerback away from having one of the most fearsome defenses in the NFL. On offense, the Giants might seek to add another skill player, whether a running back, a wide receiver, or a tight end, but more likely they might seek to add to the interior offensive line first.

This is how the Big Blue View Big Board looks heading into Day 2 of the draft:

Chris Pflum and Nick Falato

Chris Pflum and Nick Falato

Here are some of the players that may interest the Giants on Day 2. As a reminder, extensive evaluations of all these prospects by BBV’s Chris Pflum can be found here. The big question is how many players remaining on the board will still be there by the end of Round 2. One way to get a feel for that is to look at Dane Brugler’s Top 100 from The Beast and see which of the BBV second-third round values are ranked near the end of Round 2 or early in Round 3 (or even later) by Brugler. Here are a few of those, with the number indicating Brugler’s ranking and the text taken from Chris’ evaluation:

Defensive tackle

Darius Alexander (No. 61)

“Alexander is a long, explosive, powerful, and versatile defensive tackle prospect. Alexander played out of a number of alignments in Toledo’s defense, lining up everywhere from 0-technique nose tackle to a stand-up rusher at a 7-technique. He’s best suited to rushing on the interior, though he should be able to play a 5-technique defensive end if necessary.

Alexander might not be a dynamic pass rusher at the next level, but his explosiveness and power will make him a factor on every down and distance. He has the potential to be a problem for offensive lines for a long time.”

Alfred Collins (No. 68):

“Teams that depend on penetration from their front four might view Collins as more of a two-down run stuffer than a three-down defender due to his limited pass rush upside. He’s capable of commanding and controlling double teams, but he lacks the explosiveness or agility to be consistently disruptive on his own.

Conversely, teams that prefer to use defensive linemen to hold blockers and scheme pressure with the blitz will likely find Collins intriguing. He plays with impressive leverage and extension, giving him outsized play strength. And while he generally isn’t able to generate pressure quickly, he can create those opportunities for blitzing linebackers or defensive backs.”

T.J. Sanders (No. 70):

“Sanders wasn’t particularly productive for the Gamecocks this year, but he was disruptive and a consistent presence in opponents’ backfields. The sheer depth of talent in this year’s draft class could make him a great value after the first round.

Sanders might have a relatively narrow scheme fit and might have limited appeal to teams that view defensive tackles as block eaters as opposed to penetrators. Sanders will likely play somewhere around 290 pounds, and he’s at his best when attacking individual gaps and disrupting behind the line of scrimmage.”

Omarr Norman-Lott (3rd-4th round):

“Omarr Norman-Lott projects as an important rotational defensive tackle who has starting upside in the right scheme.

NFL teams might be wary of playing Norman-Lott in short-yardage situations due to his size. However, his sheer disruptiveness will make it hard for coaches to take him off the field in most situations. He’ll be at his absolute best as an interior defender in a one-gap defense that allows him to attack into the backfield. He’s an absolute handfull for individual linemen and is also able to split double-teams when attacking. His athleticism gives him solid versatility and he can play out of a variety of alignments, from 1 to 5-technique, but again, he shouldn’t be asked to two-gap or hold up against double-teams.”

Cornerback

Shavon Revel Jr. (No. 62):

“Revel projects as a starting cornerback at the NFL level, and should be a first-round selection even with his injury. (Revel suffered an ACL tear in September.)

He has the traits many teams look for in man coverage corners, but he lacks the hip fluidity to excel in an aggressive man coverage scheme. Revel is a much more natural zone defender and should be a Day 1 starter in a defense that’s based on zone principles. His highest upside could be in a Cover 3 defense thanks to his long speed to cover a deep third, but he should be effective in a Cover 2, 4, or 6 defense as well.

Teams will want to do their due diligence on Revel’s knee.”

Benjamin Morrison (No. 69):

“Morrison has experience in a wide variety of coverage schemes in Notre Dame’s defense. He’s played in press-man, off-man, and zone coverages, and executed all of them at a high level. Morrison has the quick feet and fluid hips to routinely play man coverage at the NFL level, as well as the awareness, football IQ, and communication skills to play zone coverage.

He’s a physical cornerback who has no problem matching up with X receivers in tight coverage, and understands how to use his hands to maintain contact without overtly interfering with the receiver. Morrison’s feet and hips are good enough that he can be extremely sticky in coverage and even run routes for average athletes at the receiver position. He also understands how to position himself and influence routes to use the sideline as an extra defender.

Where he’s ultimately drafted will likely depend on how his medicals check out (Morrison had a hip injury), but he has first-round talent. There are still some wrinkles to be ironed out in his game, and he’ll have to work on controlling his aggression to avoid hurting his own team or giving up big plays.”

Interior offensive line

Tate Ratledge (No. 53)

“Ratledge projects as a starting guard at the NFL level, and considering almost all of his collegiate experience at right guard, that’s where he should play.

Ratledge was well coached at Georgia and doesn’t rely solely on his size and strength to overwhelm defenders. He has a solid technical foundation and understands how to rely on it to maximize his physical traits. That, of course, makes it readily apparent on those occasions when his technique fails and he loses leverage or makes an inaccurate block. Those instances are relatively uncommon, but they do show that there’s room for continued growth.

Ratledge may always be vulnerable to defenders with better natural leverage and explosiveness. That said, he also has the potential to be a good starter for a long time in the NFL.”

Jonah Savaiinaea (No. 55)

“Savaiinaea projects as a starting offensive lineman at the NFL level.

If he plays on the outside, he would likely fit best in a down-hill blocking man-gap blocking scheme. That said, most teams could look at him as a high-ceiling guard with the movement skills to play in a diverse blocking scheme. That said, there will likely be teams that are willing to give him the chance to win an offensive tackle job, or at least pencil him in as tackle depth in case of emergency.

Savaiinaea would almost certainly benefit from the chance to play one position and develop without being moved around. If so, he has the potential to be a good starting offensive lineman in the NFL.”

Running back

Quinshon Judkins (No. 60)

“Judkins projects as an important running back in an active backfield rotation. He has the upside to start if a team so desires, but he might be best playing opposite a specialist who can emphasize speed or power.

Teams might be a bit concerned that he lacks the size to be an every-down back, but he handled a heavy workload at Ole Miss before sharing the backfield with TreVeyon Henderson at Ohio State. Judkins should be scheme diverse and able to execute both man-gap and zone runs, and could thrive in an offense with a varied rushing attack that also uses him in the passing game.

Judkins might not do any one thing well enough to truly set himself apart in a deep running back class, but he does so much well that it will be difficult to keep him off the field.”

Dylan Sampson (No. 74)

“Dylan Sampson projects best as an important running back in an active rotation at the NFL level.

He’s an incredibly exciting player and just plain fun to watch, however his exact draft stock will likely depend on the team viewing him. Some teams could consider Sampson to be a starting running back, while others may see a third down or change of pace back within their scheme.

Sampson won’t be a “bellcow” in the NFL, and his utility in short-yardage situations could be limited. That said, his quickness, vision, and burst do give him upside when running between the tackles. He could be a terror if he’s paired with a physical power back or a passing game that spreads out the defense.”