2020 NFL Draft: Mekhi Becton to the Giants in Lance Zierlein’s mock draft 2.0

The dust has settled from the 2020 NFL free agency and we can once again turn our attention to the 2020 NFL Draft.

The various free agency moves have filled needs for some teams, while revealing needs for other teams, and the New York Giants will go into the draft with plenty of needs.

NFL.com draft expert Lance Zierlein has released his Mock Draft 2.0 in the aftermath of the second wave of free agency. But unlike most mock drafts, he makes the leap of setting it up with trades. In this case, he includes two trades in the top five, and three quarterback selections.

First he has the Miami Dolphins trade up to first overall with the Cincinnati Bengals and draft LSU QB Joe Burrow.

For the second trade, he has the Los Angeles Chargers trade up to third overall with the Detroit Lions and draft Tua Tagovailoa out of Alabama.

And at fifth overall, Zierlein has the Cincinnati Bengals (who received fifth overall and 18th overall) drafting Oregon’s Justin Herbert.

Meanwhile, the Washington Redskins stay put and select Ohio State EDGE Chase Young at second overall, which brings us to the Giants at fourth overall.

4. New York Giants -Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville

Massive and athletic are descriptors we don’t often see used in the same sentence, but the Louisville left tackle is that guy. The Giants could go with Isaiah Simmons or Jedrick Wills in this spot, as well.

Raptor’s Thoughts: As Ed Valentine put it, the Giants’ moves in free agency have pretty much screamed that they are targeting an offensive tackle at the top of the draft. The intrigue will be which of the Big 4 would be the pick at fourth overall. Obviously people are captivated by Becton’s absurd combination of size and athleticism, as well as the fact that nobody paid much to Louisville this year — so he hasn’t been dissected in the same way that Andrew Thomas, Jedrick Wills, and Tristan Wirfs have.

Dave Gettleman is very much a “size and speed” guy and believes strongly in the “planet theory” when it comes to the draft. (Though with Dexter Lawrence III and Mekhi Becton, the theory is a bit on the nose ... These dudes are massive enough to have their own satellites orbiting around them.)

Personally, I think I might look at Wirfs, who had a historic combine workout in his own right, but can slot in at a position of dire need for the Giants. Yes, the team does need to look for a long-term answer at left tackle, but unless they waive Nate Solder, he will be here in 2020. It doesn’t make much sense to have ask an aging left tackle to suddenly play right tackle and relearn all his fundamentals, and it doesn’t really make much sense to ask a rookie left tackle to do the same if you are going to move him in a year. Instead, I would take someone with experience at the position to shorten the learning curve as much as possible, then address the left tackle position in the future. Wirfs does also have experience on the left side, so that could also give the Giants versatility and a backup plan if necessary.

The other part of this are the three trades in the top five, none of which directly involve the Giants. This, I think might be the scenario we wind up seeing. Gettleman has never traded back, and “sticking to your board” has been Giant’s dogma since the days of George Young, who trained Ernie Accorsi, who trained both Jerry Reese and Gettleman.

This is the Giants’ Way.

I think it is much more likely that we see something like this, where the Giants hold steady and just pick the guy they prefer than try to trade back and hope he drops, or take a second option.