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The New York Giants addressed a trio of needs in the first wave of free agency. By signing Brandon Marshall, they added a big-bodied receiver who can threaten the readzone and aid perimeter blocking.
They opened free agency proper by signing blocking tight end and full back Rhett Ellison to upgrade their blocking from that position, and then they finished up by signing D.J. Fluker, the a big tackle/guard to add competion (and hopefully an upgrade in play) to the right side of their offensive line.
What they haven’t done is add any dynamic weapons to an offense that had a serious shortage of dynamic plays last year.
Dan Kadar addressed that need for the Giants in his first mock draft of the new league year.
23. New York Giants: David Njoku, TE, Miami
The Giants may have given Rhett Ellison a four-year contract, but he’s not the pass catcher Njoku can be. Saying Njoku can be the next Jeremy Shockey is a little hyperbolic, but he can give the Giants’ offense a dimension it currently does not have.
Raptor’s Take: I’d have a hard time arguing with this pick and it does make sense. Njoku is a young, dynamic play-maker with rare athleticism — so pretty much the definitive Jerry Reese first rounder. He is just scratching the surface of his potential, and I don’t think the presence of Ellison nor Marshall would keep the Giants from selecting him if they fall in love.
I find it interesting that Christian McCaffrey falls out of the first round in Dan’s mock, because if I were Jerry Reese and set on adding a play-maker, the offensive weapon from Stanford would weigh heavily on my mind.
My other option would be to continue to upgrade the offensive line. Both Garett Bolles and Forest Lamp are still on the board, and either would be welcome additions. Ed drafted Bolles in the first round of his own mock draft, and the incredibly versatile Lamp would provide competition for Fluker and Bobby Hart to upgrade either right guard or right tackle.
But any way you slice it, this draft worked out very well for the Giants and they had plenty of good options.