NFL training camps open this week, so hopefully this will be the end of 2024 mock drafts. But until the 2023 regular season news cycle kicks off, we will continue to entertain these exercises.
In a recent seven-round 2024 mock draft from Pro Football Network, one in which has the New York Giants selecting 20th overall (which means they qualified for the postseason this year), Big Blue is expected to continue to augment their passing attack.
20) New York Giants: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
The Giants have assembled a respectable weapons corps for Daniel Jones. Darren Waller and Jalin Hyatt, in particular, should be very important additions from the 2023 offseason. But Parris Campbell is on a one-year deal, Isaiah Hodgins could be prone to a regression, and Wan’Dale Robinson hasn’t proven himself effective at the NFL level just yet. New York could use a true three-level threat to underpin the unit, and Malik Nabers fits the bill.
Though he weighs under 200 pounds, Nabers is one of the most effusive three-level threats in the 2024 NFL Draft WR class. Before the catch, he can offset and stack DBs with his combined lateral agility, foot speed, and explosiveness. At the catch, he’s a bird of prey with his reach, flexibility, and coordination. And after the catch, he has the speed and unnatural size-relative contact balance to consistently extend plays.
The analysis is pretty much spot on. The Giants do have a group of unprovens at the wide receiver position and if none of them can earn the respect of the team, they’ll likely be looking elsewhere for solutions.
With their second pick (No. 53 overall), PFN predicts the Giants will go back down to Maryland for another defensive back in safety Beau Brade.
Brade is another riser to keep an eye on as the 2024 NFL Draft progresses. Already, his strong 2022 tape has gone under the radar, but the 6’0″, 201-pound safety is an incredibly dynamic and versatile defender. He’s very natural roaming in coverage, explosive and energized when attacking downhill, a willing blitzer, and can make plays on the ball.
Not out of the realm of possibility given they could walk away from Xavier McKinney if he cannot overcome his hand injury and/or grasp the mantle as the leader in the secondary this year.
In the third round, PFN has the Giants taking Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams.
Williams is a unique prospect. He’s 6’3″, 320 pounds, and has the strength to encumber blocks and prevent displacement, but he also shows flashes of surprising one-on-one pass-rush proficiency. The Giants like those types of larger interior linemen.
The rest of the draft unfolds as follows:
- Round 4, Pick 116 — Darian Chestnut, DB, LSU
- Round 5, Pick 148 — Walter Parks, G, Clemson
- Round 6, Pick 180 — Cedrick Gray, LB, North Carolina
- Round 7, Pick 212 — Danny Stutsman, LB, Oklahoma
