The Chris and Joe Show: Talking 2020 draft with Ben Solak

It might be too early for some people to want to talk about the 2020 NFL draft, but for many — starting with NFL teams — every season is “draft season.”

So we decided to take advantage of the New York Giants bye week to start taking a peek ahead at the upcoming draft. Of course there are still plenty of moving parts with the draft: from underclassman declarations, to pre-draft workouts, to potential coaching and front office changes around the league, to free agency. Things are obviously very fluid, but considering if we profiled a prospect each day from now to the end of the draft, at best we would still miss 98 players, better to get an early start.

For an outside perspective on not only the top of the upcoming draft, but also on the Giants and their potential needs and targets, we invited Ben Solak on the show. Ben is not only the deputy editor for Bleeding Green Nation (which we won’t hold against him since he was kind enough to make the time to join us), but also a senior draft analyst for The Draft Network. For those who are not yet familiar with it, The Draft Network is a phenomenal resource and their entire crew puts out some of the best scouting reports you are going to find.

Ben gave us his perspective on not only a wide variety of players, but his early take on where the strengths and weaknesses of the draft lie, and which players the Giants should be targeting.

In this podcast

• Quarterback

Starting off, we wanted Ben’s take on whether the upcoming quarterback class could create the possibility of trade scenarios as teams look to move up to secure “their guy.”

From there we wondered whether the Giants would be involved in any of these trades — or if it would even be a good idea for the Giants to trade down — or simply be spectators.

• Top targets

Right now Ohio State EDGE Chase Young and Georgia left tackle Andrew Thomas are considered two of the three main non-quarterbacks at the top of the draft. Which should the Giants target if they have their choice? Should they count themselves lucky if either is available?

And which would have the biggest, and most immediate, impact if he is the Giants’ pick?

• Giants’ needs

The Giants have needs all over their roster, but which position, or positions, should the Giants target in the draft, and which should they target in free agency?

Which positions have the most dire need for an infusion of talent over the long term?

• Players to know

We will hear plenty about Young and Thomas over the coming weeks and months. But it is also possible that the Giants slip out of the top three or top five and no longer have access to one of the elite, blue chip players. If that happens, which prospects should we start getting familiar with?

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