The New York Giants got off to a deliberate start at free agency and now that things have moved along, the team has added a number of quality players in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Rashad Jennings and heading into the draft, players like Mike Evans, Eric Ebron, CJ Mosley, Taylor Lewan, Jace Amaro, Justin Gilbert and Timmy Jernigan are possible targets.
The Giants had a number of holes to fill this offseason and that is why the team allowed Justin Tuck, Linval Joseph and Hakeem Nicks to leave without much of a fight, as they needed to keep that money free to find players for those needs. So far the team has done a great job at overhauling the secondary and the rushing game, as they added Rodgers-Cromartie along with Walter Thurmond and Quintin Demps and they also added Rashad Jennings to make up for the potential loss of David Wilson if his neck injury continues to crop up. The team signed Geoff Schwartz and JD Walton, but they have big needs on the offensive line and at tight end, wide receiver and defensive tackle and that is where the draft may come into play.
Jerry Reese and the Giants usually do a "whoever is the best player available on our board" style of drafting, but this year the plan may be a bit different. The team started 0-6 last year before bouncing back to a 7-9 start and because of that, Reese may look at the draft as more of a "need" based event this year than simply for the best player available. In some mock drafts, writers have the Giants taking various names, including Mike Evans, Eric Ebron, Taylor Lewan and CJ Mosley at number 12 and all those names would fit needs for the team heading into next season.
The tight end position has never been one of great focus for the Giants, as they have run through names like Jake Ballard, Bear Pascoe, Jeremy Shockey and Martellus Bennett over the years, but this time around the team could look at someone like Ebron or Austin Seferian-Jenkins from Washington as a perfect pick for the team. Eli Manning could greatly benefit from having an athletic tight end in the same vein of Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski and with new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo coming in, that would be a great weapon to have.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was a huge signing for the Giants after they had some massive issues in the secondary last season and now he joins Thurmond and Price Amukamara as the corners this season and that means the team may wait a bit before taking another CB in the draft. Ebron is an athletic freak and he put up a 4.6 forty time and had 62 catches last season for 973 yards and three touchdowns and he has gotten high marks from scouts already after his combine workouts.
Many see the Giants taking Mosley since linebacker has been an issue for years, but after signing Jon Beason and Mark Herzlich back, they may avoid that. Mike Evans will be the pick if he is there at 12, but no one expects that to happen after the amazing season he had last year. Evans is the one player I could see jumping into the top 10 and if the Giants have the chance to draft him they should go after him right away, as he could replace Hakeem Nicks in the offense.
