Tag: 2024 nfl draft

Giants’ Andru Phillips best pick in third round of 2024 NFL draft

The New York Giants are widely regarded as having conducted a successful draft in late April.

General manager Joe Schoen made six picks and addressed multiple areas of need, most notably selecting a true No. 1 wide receiver with Malik Nabers in Round 1. But he’s drawn praise for several other picks as well.

Running back Tyrone Tracy has been the focus of much hype and tight end Theo Johnson has also warranted some attention.

Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus recently broke down his best picks from each round and honed in on cornerback Andru Phillips in Round 3 as a steal.

PICK 70. NEW YORK GIANTS: CB ANDRU PHILLIPS, KENTUCKY

The Giants drafted Deonte Banks in the first round of last year’s draft and now add more youth to that group early in the third round this year. His career-best 23 defensive stops led all SEC cornerbacks in 2023, and his 72.9 PFF coverage grade was also the best mark of his career.

The issue facing Phillips and the Giants is the uncertainty of where he’ll play. Schoen left the door open for him to play outside but also suggested moving him inside and allowing Cor’Dale Flott to swing out alongside Deonte Banks.

The Giants need another outside cornerback capable of locking down opposing wide receivers and if Phillips can become that player, Schoen did find himself a steal in Round 3.

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Did New York Giants misstep by passing on QBs in NFL draft?

This week on the Giants Wire Podcast, we recap the 2024 NFL draft and discuss the six selections made by New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen.

The Giants reportedly attempted to trade up for a quarterback but fell short. Did Schoen make enough of an effort? Was Malik Nabers over J.J. McCarthy the right pick at No. 6 overall?

How will the rest of the team’s draft class impact the 2024 regular season?

Additionally, former Giants general manager Dave Gettleman emerged from his hiding spot to throw some shade. What do we make of his “clown” comments? Did he have a point?

And then there’s Saquon Barkley… Upset that Giants fans boo the Philadelphia Eagles? It’s a strange issue to have.

Those topics (and more) are discussed in the latest episode of the Giants Wire Podcast, which is hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanO_Leary on X) and joined by site editor Dan Benton (@TheGiantsWire).

The Giants Wire Podcast will air every week during the regular season and occasionally throughout the offseason. You can listen below

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Giants’ Malik Nabers projected to finish rookie year with 1,032 yards

When was the last time the New York Giants had an impact rookie on their roster? 2018 with Saquon Barkley? 2014 with Odell Beckham Jr.?

This year, with Malik Nabers — the LSU star receiver the Giants selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft — they could finally have another one.

Mike Clay of ESPN is predicting a productive season from the fleet rookie this fall.

Clay is projecting that Nabers and Marvin Harrison, Jr (taken fourth overall by Arizona) will both follow the path of several other wideouts taken in the top 10 and put up big numbers as rookies.

Clay predicts Harrison will post 1,116 receiving yards and Nabers will be right on his tail with 1,032 yards.

I’m placing these two together because the evidence for why these prop lines are too low is roughly the same for both players. Take a look at the production of wide receivers who, like Harrison and Nabers, were selected with a top-six draft pick over the past decade: Amari Cooper (1,070 yards, 16 games), Sammy Watkins (982, 16), Ja’Marr Chase (1,455, 17), Corey Davis (375, 11), Jaylen Waddle (1,015, 16).

It’s a small sample, but four of the five wideouts produced at least 982 yards, with Davis (who missed five games) the only one to fall short. If we include all rookie WRs during the 10-year span, 16 reached 851 yards, and nine of them cleared 1,000. And several of those performances came prior to the league expanding to a 17-game regular season.

The eight rookie WRs picked in the top 10 who appeared in 12-plus games over the past decade averaged a 24% target share (seven of eight in the 22-25 percent range), which suggests both Harrison and Nabers — who have minimal target competition — will be heavily utilized right out of the gate.

Other analysts and experts are waffling on Nabers’ rookie production citing the Giants’ uncertainty at quarterback. Daniel Jones has not passed for more than 3,205 yards in a season and backup Drew Lock has not passed for over 3,000 yards in any of his four seasons in the NFL.

But Nabers could benefit from being the Giants’ top outside and deep threat as well as an increased number of targets with Saquon Barkley gone and tight end Darren Waller’s possible retirement.

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Is New York Giants’ receiving corps among the league’s most improved?

The 2024 NFL draft saw several teams upgrade their receiver rooms. Are the New York Giants among the teams that improved the most?

Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus believes so:

Darius Slayton’s ongoing contract discussions combined with the Giants having the worst receiving grade in the league last year left the team in need of some juice at wideout. The team got exactly that in LSU’s Malik Nabers, who led the FBS in receiving grade in 2023 (minimum 15 targets). A staple of Nabers’ game is slipperiness after the catch, as reflected by his 30 missed tackles forced last year.

If Slayton does remain in blue and red, he’ll form a potent one-two punch with the 20-year-old Nabers. Regardless, Nabers provides real insurance, given the inconsistent production of Wan’Dale Robinson and Jalin Hyatt, who each tallied less than 530 yards in 2023.

Beyond Nabers, general manager Joe Schoen was proactive in finding a new tight end. Veteran Darren Waller continues to seriously mull retirement, so the Giants snatched Penn State’s Theo Johnson at 107th overall. Not only did Johnson test incredibly well — with a 9.93 Relative Athletic Score — but he was also a red-zone weapon for the Nittany Lions. His seven touchdowns in 2023 tied for a team high.

Daniel Bellinger projects as TE1 for New York, but Johnson should feature in 12 personnel, which offensive coordinator Mike Kafka ran on 23% of plays in 2023 — the 12th-highest rate in the NFL.

Assuming quarterback Daniel Jones remains under center, both the explosive Nabers and Johnson should augment a poor group from the year before. Both could go a long way in returning the Giants’ offense to its efficient 2022 form.

New York went into the 2023 season with one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL. It was highlighted by Darren Waller, Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell and Wan’Dale Robinson.

Waller was in the back end of his career and not very productive, and it was clear that Slayton, Campbell and Robinson should not be top receiving options on the team. This resulted in the Giants passing for only 3,351 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The deficiency was clear, and the front office decided to address it with a premium draft pick by selecting wide receiver Malik Nabers sixth overall.

In his collegiate career, Nabers totaled 189 receptions for 3,003 yards and 21 touchdowns (14 in his final season). Nabers should be an instant winner on the outside as he is an elite space creator and is electric with the ball in his hands.

The Giants also drafted tight end Theo Johnson, who racked up 77 receptions for 938 yards and 12 touchdowns (seven in his final season) in his collegiate career.

The two rookies totaled more touchdowns last season than the Giants’ entire receiving corps. Only time will tell if the team has really turned the receiving corps around but as of now, it looks good.

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The hype train continues for New York Giants rookie RB Tyrone Tracy

The New York Giants made six selections in the 2024 NFL draft. Some of the choices were obvious and filled immediate needs and others were based on value and guilty pleasures.

One pick — fifth-rounder Tyrone Tracy Jr., a wide receiver turned running back from Purdue by way of Iowa — is being called a sleeper pick by some experts.

Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team has also identified Tracy as a rookie who can make an instant impact.

Tracy started his career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, appearing in 38 games as a wide receiver. But after modest production, he transferred to Purdue and started five games at receiver (2022). Ahead of the 2023 season, Tracy transitioned to running back, which likely saved his career. In his first year playing the position, Tracy led the Big Ten in yards per carry (6.3) and scored eight rushing touchdowns.

While Tracy isn’t ready to be a full-time running back (146 career carries in college), he is an incredible athlete who is a threat to score on any play. He posted a 9.78 RAS score, which ranks 42nd all-time (out of 1,903 running backs) after posting a 40-inch vertical jump at 209 pounds.

Tracy will be in a mix with veteran Devin Singletary and second-year back Eric Gray in a committee that will try to help Giant fans move on from Saquon Barkley.

“Now, he’s not going to fill Saquon’s shoes for that offense, but Tracy is an ultra-smooth runner with good vision,” writes Frank Cooney of NFL Draft Scout. “He’s going to surprise and impress the more touches he gets and can be a nice piece for this offense.”

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Tyrone Tracy named New York Giants’ best sleeper pick in NFL draft

The New York Giants made six selections in the 2024 NFL draft, starting with LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers in Round 1.

Nabers figures to follow in the footsteps of the the other great wideouts to come out of Baton Rouge in recent years such as Odell Beckham Jr., Ja’Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson.

But the Giants may have stumbled on another productive player in their fifth-round selection, Purdue running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., whom TouchdownWire’s Doug Farrar calls the sleeper of this Giants’ draft class.

With Saquon Barkley out of the picture, the Giants had a pre-draft running back rotation of Devin Singletary, 2023 fifth-round pick Eric Gray, and a bunch of “meh” after that. Which means that anyone coming in from the draft would have an opportunity beyond the preseason.

Enter Purdue running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., who at 5′ 11⅛” and 209 pounds, totaled 714 yards, eight touchdowns, 46 forced missed tackles, 14 carries of 15 or more yards, and 36 first downs on just 114 carries. That put Tracy with a yards per carry average of 6.3 — another arbiter of his big-play potential and ability to run with power. Tracy can also catch the ball. In fact, before he was a running back at Purdue, he was a receiver at Iowa, and he actually made big plays in that garbage fire of an offense. Not bad for a guy who was there with the 166th overall pick in the fifth round.

Tracy will have an opportunity to play several roles for the Giants on offense and special teams. The biggest plus, however, is his versatility as a receiver, which hasn’t gotten past head coach Brian Daboll.

“He’s a former receiver. In terms of yards per carry, he’s been pretty good,” Daboll said. “He’s an athlete who has played receiver and then played running back and has some good production. We’ll throw him in the mix. Whether that’s in the kickoff return game or whether that’s at running back or the receiving part of it, we’ve got to do a good job of getting him in here and seeing where he’s at and then trying to fit him into the things that he can do well.”

In the post-Saquon Barley age, the Giants could use some immediate answers in their backfield. It looks like they may have found one.

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New York Giants rookie minicamp dates, offseason schedule announced

The New York Giants will get an opportunity to see their 2024 draft class on the field for the first time when they hold their rookie minicamp from Thursday, May 9 through Saturday, May 11 at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The team will hold their 10 voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) for all players on the following dates:

  • May 20-21
  • May 23
  • May 28-29
  • May 31
  • June 3-4
  • June 6-7

During OTAs, no live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

Mandatory minicamp will take place from June 11-13 which will contain the team’s entire roster from veterans to rookies.

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Giants’ Malik Nabers made Rookie of the Year bet with Jayden Daniels

Malik Nabers and Jayden Daniels grew close as teammates during their time at LSU but now find themselves divisional enemies.

The Washington Commanders selected Daniels second overall in the 2024 NFL draft, while Nabers went just a few picks later, getting taken off the board by the New York Giants at No. 6 overall.

“Having that guy in my corner has been the best. Going against him is going to be fun,” Nabers said during a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast.

The competition between Nabers and Daniels won’t be limited to their two regular season meetings in 2024. The pair have already placed a bet on Offensive Rookie of the Year with the purse set at $10,000.

“We’ve got a bet going for Rookie of the Year,” Nabers said. “Whoever loses has to pay $10,000 cash.”

Pro Football Focus recently released their list of Rookie of the Year candidates with Nabers checking in fourth overall behind Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr. and his good buddy, Daniels.

USA TODAY gave Nabers the fifth-best odds with J.J. McCarthy also ahead of him.

Nabers admits that the bet was placed even before the pair were drafted, which showcases the confidence each has entering the league.

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Giants WR Malik Nabers a top Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate

Following a ton of chatter connecting the New York Giants to a quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft, they ultimately went in a different direction.

In the hours leading up to the draft, there were reports that the Giants were working hard to move up in the first round. Instead of trading up or trading down, the Giants remained at No. 6 overall and took LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.

Pro Football Focus came out with their list of top candidates for the Rookie of the Year Awards and sure enough, Nabers came in at No. 4 on the list.

4. WR MALIK NABERS, NEW YORK GIANTS

Similar to Marvin Harrison Jr. in Arizona, there is a clear path for Nabers to lead the Giants in targets after Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson tied for the team lead last season with only 76. Nabers was viewed by some as the best receiver in this class, as his 30 missed tackles forced after the catch ranked fourth most among draft-eligible wide receivers.

Nabers joins a Giants offense that is lacking playmakers after the departure of running back Saquon Barkley. He will come in as the clear No. 1 receiver and hopefully be Daniel Jones’ primary target.

The last time the Giants selected an LSU receiver in the first round it was Odell Beckham Jr., who did, indeed, win Offensive Rookie of the Year (2014).

The Giants drafted Nabers with high hopes of what he can contribute both immediately and in the future. As the Giants continue to build the roster, Nabers will be a huge part of the team’s plans as time goes along.

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2024 NFL draft grades for all 32 teams: Who got top marks?

The 2024 NFL draft is in the books, and it was certainly a memorable one kicking off with a chaotic first round that featured an historic run on quarterbacks, wide receivers and offensive tackles, along with trades galore and some surprising picks.

While it’s far too early to evaluate these draft classes in full — considering they haven’t yet along played an NFL game — there’s been plenty of reaction to these 2024 rookie classes. There were several teams that were clear winners while others had some questionable moves that garnered early criticism. But we truly won’t know who won or lost this draft for at least three years.

Our NFL Wire editors shared their initial grades for their respective draft classes. See who got the top marks:

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