The New York Giants have many needs as they enter the offseason, and will spend a large amount of time trying to plug those holes through free agency and the draft.
In the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Matt Miller, he has the Giants addressing two of those issues over the first two rounds.
In Round 1, the Giants add a top-end wide receiver in Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt.
If you watch a couple of games from the Giants’ 2022 season, it’s painfully obvious the team’s biggest need is at wide receiver — as long as quarterback Daniel Jones is either franchise-tagged or re-signed. The signal-caller took a huge step in his development but now needs help around him to further that growth. The only players on the roster to catch more than 50 passes in 2022 were a running back (Saquon Barkley, 57) and a journeyman receiver (Richie James, 57).
Hyatt exploded onto the scene in Tennessee’s vertical tempo offense, catching 67 passes for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns, all while averaging a clean 18.9 yards per catch. He is a certified deep threat, with one area scout telling me at the Senior Bowl that he’ll likely run in the low-4.3-second range in the 40-yard dash. The Giants are desperate for a receiver who can stretch the field and be Jones’ version of Stefon Diggs, whom coach Brian Daboll used so well while in Buffalo. Hyatt has the vertical speed to fit that role.
In Round 2, Miller has the Giants addressing their interior offensive line with Wisconsin center Joe Tippmann.
Tippmann can be coach Brian Daboll’s New York version of Mitch Morse as an agile center who can pull, trap and lead block in the run game while captaining the offensive line. Tippmann could be drafted higher than this in April based on team need, as he’s my No. 2-ranked center in the class.
How would you feel about these picks, Giants fans? There seems to be some mixed opinions on Hyatt, while many Big Blue fans also want to see Nick Gates at center.
Let us know in the comments section below.
