2020 NFL Draft: 2-9 Giants hold the second overall pick after Week 12

There was a bit of good news to come out of the New York Giants’ 19-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Well, maybe “good” news is more accurate, because there is little good about a 2-9 record and a seven-game losing streak, but be that as it may, the Giants now hold the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

If this holds true thru the end of the season, it will be the second time in three years that the Giants pick No. 2 in the draft.

What the Giants do with that pick will be the subject of debate for months to come. The most obvious course of action would be to draft Ohio State EDGE Chase Young (assuming he declares for the draft, which seems incredibly likely).

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound 20-year-old (he turns 21 on April 14th) has 16.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for a loss so far this season. He made his return to the field on Saturday following a brief suspension to utterly wreck Penn State’s day, to the tune of 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 4 tackles for a loss, and 9 total tackles.

Put simply: Young is the second-best player in the country behind LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, he plays a premium position, and has the potential to immediately upgrade a weakness on the Giants’ defense.

However, the Giants do have other options. They could select Georgia left tackle Andrew Thomas to upgrade one of their offensive tackle positions and (hopefully) improve their pass protection.

They could also trade back with a team looking to add the mythical “final piece” and pick up a player like Tristan Wirfs (RT, Iowa), Alex Leatherwood, (LT, Alabama), Jedrick Wills (RT, Alabama), Tyler Biadasz (C, Wisconsin), CeeDee Lamb (WR, Oklahoma), Henry Ruggs III (WR, Alabama), or Grant Delpit (S, LSU), as well as additional draft captial.

After the game, Ed asked me for my thoughts on potential ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ to come out of the game, and one of my suggestions was a “Kudos” to the Washington Redskins for beating the Detroit Lions and climbing to a 2-9 record. Thanks to tie breakers, that puts the Giants in the drivers seat for the non-quarterback prospects, which is preferable to letting a division rival have their choice and being limited to whoever is left. This also sets up the Giants’ Dec. 22 game against Washington in FedEx Field as the “Chase Young Bowl.”

Current top 10

1. Cincinnati Bengals (0-11, .581 strength of schedule)
2. New York Giants (2-9, .466 sos)
3. Miami Dolphins (2-9, .503 sos)
4. Washington Redskins (2-9, .509 sos)
5. Denver Broncos (3-8, .537 sos)
6. Atlanta Falcons (3-8, .574 sos)
7. Detroit Lions (3-7-1, .480 sos)
8. Arizona Cardinals (3-7-1, .552 sos)
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7, .472 sos)
10. New York Jets (4-7, .480 sos)