The New York Giants have a number of players they are looking at in mock drafts heading into the actual NFL draft on Thursday and in the first round, names like Mike Evans, Eric Ebron, Aaron Donald, Taylor Lewan and Marqise Lee could be in the mix for the team as general manager Jerry Reese looks to rebuild the offense under quarterback Eli Manning and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo.
The Giants struggled on both sides of the ball last season and now Reese is looking to add talent on offense after losing Hakeem Nicks to free agency. The team signed Rashad Jennings to help with David Wilson's neck injury and now wide receiver is one area where the team could use some depth and a trade up for Mike Evans has been mentioned, while Brandin Cooks also could be an option along with Eric Ebron at tight end.
Ebron is an athletic option at the position and while the Giants have never held that position in high regard, bringing in McAdoo could change that. Ebron put up some solid numbers at North Carolina and some other names that could come into play include Jace Amaro, who was basically a WR at Texas Tech, along with Austin Seferian-Jenkins from Washington.
According to ESPN.com, Reese said he wants the team to better with late round picks, as the team has missed on some of those names, as just five players are on the roster from the drafts between 2008 and 2011 that were picks in the second round or later. Mario Manningham signed back after leaving for two seasons, while left tackle Will Beatty and linebacker Jacquian Williams are starters and names like Johnathan Hankins and Damontre Moore along with Rueben Randle could step up even more this season.
The Giants also opted to pick up the fifth year contract on Prince Amukamara, who was a first round draft pick back in 2011 and while he has not been an All-Pro player yet, he has been very good and general manager Jerry Reese said that is why the team picked up the contract. The team now has time to work on a contract extension and if not, the option will be worth around $7 million and that is not too expensive right now for the Giants. The 2011 option is not guaranteed for anything but injury and it helps give the Giants time to figure out what to do and this comes after they signed Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Walter Thurmond in the offseason.
The Giants struggled last season on both sides of the ball and that is why many are wondering what the team will do with the number 12 pick in the draft. Donald could be an option to replace Linval Joseph now that he has signed with the Vikings and he has been moving up draft boards over the past few weeks. The Giants have a number of weak spots and Donald could help with one of those and so could Ebron or Evans.
