It’s early in the Draft Process, but a clear trend has already emerged for the New York Giants at fifth overall: wide receiver to help Jaxson Dart.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com, however, has bucked that trend in his Mock Draft 1.0. Rather than build around Dart, he opts to add to the Giants’ secondary with LSU Monsoor Delane.
5. New York Giants – Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU
The Giants could add a receiver later in the draft since there is a deep class at the position, but Delane would immediately be their most talented cornerback.
Chris’ thoughts
Delane was pretty easily the best cornerback in college football this year. While that comes with an asterisk due to Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy’s injury, Delane has the traits and production (18 passes defensed and 6 interceptions over the last two years) to warrant a high first round selection.
Delane has experience in a pretty wide variety of coverages at Virginia Tech and LSU, and should be able to execute whatever Dennard Wilson calls. He would also almost certainly be an upgrade over Cor’Dale Flott across from Paulson Adebo, though I wouldn’t crown him the Giants’ best CB before he takes the field.
Stepping back a bit, the fact that free agency comes before the draft both complicates things and could clarify the Giants strategy. If the Giants don’t re-sign Cor’Dale Flott, it would likely signal that they’re pursuing a cornerback in the draft. However, they can’t know what the three teams drafting between ahead of them will do, and they could be left scrambling if they’re targeting Delane and he’s drafted ahead of them.
On the other hand, if they re-sign Flott and draft Delane, they could be left with an expensive surplus of corners and not enough room on the field. That isn’t a bad problem in and of itself, but it would be a waste of resources.
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