The New York Giants will make their first selection in the 2023 NFL Draft this Thursday. Here is all of their selections in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Round 1, P25: WR Quentin Johnston, TCU
Johnston was appearing as a top-ten, top-fifteen draft pick in the offseason, but has lately been slipping into the late first round. The Giants cannot pass this player up if he is available at 25. Others like Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison may be gone by then, this would be a great opportunity to amplify a stagnant offense with the Giants. Johnston is coming off his best season at TCU with 1,069 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He would be a big-body threat on the outside standing at 6’3.
Round 2, P 57: CB Tyrique Stevenson, Miami (FL)
The Giants need an answer at corner opposite Adoree Jackson. Fabian Moreau was a plug-in starter that will not be there this season. The Giants could always turn to Cor’Dale Flott, but he is also undersized for the outside. Stevenson is coming off his best coverage grade of 79.5 according to PFF and a 76.6 rating on defense. He has 21 passes defended and 3 interceptions in his college career. His stats may not blow you away, but that is because of his “shut-down corner” abilities he has, where the ball isn’t thrown his way often. This would be a big upgrade in the secondary for the Giants.
Round 3, P89: LB DeMarvion Overshown, Texas
The Giants acquired Bobby Okereke this offseason, but they can still use some upgrading at this position. He logged a 72.2 defensive grade with a 73.8 grade against the run, 66.0 in coverage. Overshown had a career-high 96 tackles last year, ten tackles for loss and four sacks. He seems to be a player that can help in the run game, something the Giants struggled with last year.
Round 4: P128, LB Ivan Pace Jr., Cincinnati
Giants get two line backers back-to-back, but it is a key position of need for them. Pace logged an overall defensive grade of 93.2, with a 90.7 run defense grade and 70.6 coverage grade. He also logged a 93.3 pass rush grade. Pace logged 136 tackles last season, with 20.5 tackles for loss and 9 sacks. The last two seasons he has a total of 260 tackles. He is a key player against the run but can also cover against the pass, and can even be utilized in the pass rush. He’s an all-around player that Wink Martindale could utilize for the Giants defense.
Round 5, P160: RB Sean Tucker, Syracuse
My 366 sports colleague Noah Love just did a backflip. Many are thinking why draft a RB this high when we have Barkley? Well, we see that contract talks have stalled and that there has been no progress. The Giants have Brightwell and brought back Breida. However, Sean Tucker is a player that can make an immediate impact. He is coming off two straight 1,000 yard rushing seasons and has 23 rushing touchdowns in the last two seasons. He shows great speed for his size at 210 pounds and is a great athlete.
Round 5, P172: S Anthony Johnson Jr., Iowa State
With the Giants losing Julian Love in free agency, the Giants look to add another safety to rotate in the mix. Johnson is a corner turned safety who has had a 72+ grade in coverage in 4 of his 5 college seasons. He has 164 total tackles in those 5 seasons, 28 passes defended with just 2 interceptions. The key area of improvement for him is tackling, with having just one season with a 70+ overall grade.
Round 6, P 209: DI Jonah Tavai, San Diego State
The Giants interior line is pretty solid, but they can always add an extra piece, especially with Leonard Williams contract ending soon. Tavai finished 2022 with a career high grade of 92.0 in overall defense, an 87.9 grade against the run and a pass rush grade of 92.2. Tavai logged 14 tackles for loss in 2022 with 10.5 sacks. In his 4 college seasons he has 37 tackles for loss and 25 sacks.
Round 7, P 240: C Brett Neilon, USC
Giants fans are about to call me crazy that they selected an offensive lineman for the first time this late, but this guy is worth the wait. Neilon has a 90.2 overall PFF grade in 2022 and 86.2 in 2021. He has allowed one sack in three seasons and 3 hits in the same time frame. His run blocking grade in 2022 was 89.6 and the pass block grade was 90.5. Ben Bredeson may see snaps at center, but this guy may be able to take that step to be their center this season.
Round 7, P 243: G Caleb Chandler, Louisville
It was a rough season for Chandler in 2022 with a 60.4 overall grade. The season before he registered an 87.7 overall grade. He is stronger in pass blocking than run blocking, and is likely a backup for this Giants team that can always use depth on the offensive line. He played all of his snaps in three seasons at LG.
Round 7, P 254: WR Justin Shorter, Florida
Shorter isn’t very short, standing at 6’4. He isn’t very flashy and his numbers don’t blow you away, but he is a great contested catch player who attacks the ball high and brings it down. He has an 81.5 grade against man coverage which is great with a vertical receiver like him. Shorter logged 1,552 receiving yards in his 5 seasons in college with eight touchdowns. He will be a good depth piece that may find his way onto the field with this wide receiving corps that has been decimated by injuries in the last few seasons and that is searching for playmakers.