When it comes to getting you ready for the NFL Draft, Chris Pflum does most of the heavy lifting around here with prospect profiles, mock drafts, big boards and more. By extension, the ‘Chris and Joe Show’ is more heavily concentrated on what the New York Giants might do in the draft than is the ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast.
I can’t let Chris and Joe have all the fun, though. With that in mind, I had Scott Wright of Draft Countdown as my guest on Monday’s show. Wright, annually one of the more accurate draft forecasters per The Huddle Report, had Daniel Jones to the Giants pegged months in advance a year ago. Over the years, I’ve learned to give weight to his thoughts about the Giants.
Following is some of what we talked about.
In his current mock draft, Wright has Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas going to the Giants at No. 4.
“Best available offensive lineman I think makes the most sense for the Giants,” Wright said. “You have so much invested in Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones it only makes sense to bring in somebody to open up running lanes for Barkley and to protect Jones.
“I think that clearly makes the most sense.”
Why Thomas rather than Jedrick Wills of Alabama or Tristan Wirfs of Iowa?
“I gave him the slight edge just because I feel he’s the most obvious left tackle,” Wright said.
Like many others, Wright sees a possible trade down scenario for both the Giants and the Detroit Lions, who own the third overall pick.
“They could move down a little bit and probably get one of those blockers a little bit later in the top 10 if somebody wants to come up for a quarterback,” Wright said. “I think there could be a market for those picks and if you’re the Giants I think I’d be listening.”
When it comes to trade-down scenarios, more good news for the Giants is that Wright believes the floor for Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, probably QB3 behind Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa, is No. 6 overall. In his mock draft, Wright has Herbert going to the LA Chargers in that spot.
“He looked like the real deal down at the Senior Bowl,” Wright said.
Wright would not be a fan of using the No. 4 overall pick on Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
“I feel like that would be a little bit early, but he’s a guy with a lot of buzz right now,” Wright said. “Is he a Giants type of player? I don’t necessarily see that
If the Giants don’t go with an offensive lineman at No. 4, Wright offered a surprising option.
“I think a dark horse for the Giants at no. 4 could be Derrick Brown, the defensive lineman from Auburn,” Wright said. “He kind of fits what the Giants look for. He’s a size, speed prospect, outstanding character ... he’s scheme diverse.”
Yes, another big defensive lineman.
“I think Dave Gettleman’s shown he doesn’t necessarily care what the fan base wants him to do,” Wright said. “He’s the type of player the Giants have tended to target over the years and he’s worthy of the no. 4 overall pick.”
Please give the full episode a listen.
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