Giants' biggest remaining need after the 2023 NFL Draft
The New York Giants knocked their first three picks out of the park in Deonte Banks, John Michael Schmitz, and Jalin Hyatt. That was after they made big-time free-agent moves for players like Darren Waller and Bobby Okereke. But one problem still persists, and it is a glaring need that plagued the team throughout much […]
The New York Giants knocked their first three picks out of the park in Deonte Banks, John Michael Schmitz, and Jalin Hyatt. That was after they made big-time free-agent moves for players like Darren Waller and Bobby Okereke.
But one problem still persists, and it is a glaring need that plagued the team throughout much of last year, and still may even follow the signing of one aforementioned free agent.
So what position you ask? You guessed it, inside linebacker. Let's see why this position is still the problem child of the defense and what, if any solutions are in store for the Giants,
There was considerable talk that New York may target a standup linebacker at some point in the first two days of the draft. But come the end of Friday night, no such pick was made.
But that was ok considering the haul they received in their first three selections, and the fact that they had four remaining. But issues arose quickly when you realized that after they traded up to pick Jalin Hyatt with the 73rd overall selection, they wouldn't pick again until nearly 100 picks later at 172 overall of the fifth round.
And similar to the picks before that one, they selected a good player in Eric Gray, an value pick at running back in the fifth round. But you can see where I'm going here. Slowly but surely, the draft carried on and after all seven selections, no linebacker was taken.
And to their credit, the Giants were busy in the pool of undrafted free agents, adding Troy Brown from Ole Miss and Dyontae Johnson from Toledo. But the truth is that undrafted free agents are seldom a fix, especially when you have only one truly special contributor in Okereke. For reference, here's what I project the Giants' inside linebacking unit to look like on opening day:
- Bobby Okereke
- Jarrad Davis
- Cam Brown
- Micah McFadden
Sorry, but the three names after Okereke don't exactly scratch my itch if you catch my drift. Say Okereke sustains an injury at some point, and now this unit is back to being one of the worst in the league.
So maybe Johnson from Toledo or Brown from Ole Miss will turn out to be steals off the undrafted market, making plays on Sundays and overcoming the odds. I know one thing, Giants fans had better hope so.
