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This week’s New York Giants mock draft tracker continues to show that the NFL Draft community believes wide receiver will be a primary focus for the New York Giants in the 2023 NFL Draft.
There are 70 mock drafts listed in this week’s tracker, all of which were done during the month of April. Thirty-six of those (51.4%) have GM Joe Schoen selecting a wide receiver in the first round. Twelve mock drafts (17.1%) chose a center, 11 (15.7%) chose a cornerback and another 11 chose from other positions, what I will call “outliers.”
Let’s break it down.
Wide receiver (36)
Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers [Prospect Profile] is the most-often selected player overall. He was the choice in 13 mock drafts (18.6%). USC’s Jordan Addison was chosen in 10 mocks (14.3%). Quentin Johnson of TCU was chosen seven times (10.0%).
There were no selections of Ohio State Jaxon Smith-Njigba as mock drafters don’t expect him to be available to the Giants.
Flowers, Addison and Johnston are all polarizing prospects. Flowers and Addison largely because of their diminutive stature, and Johnston mostly because of inconsistencies in how he catches — or doesn’t catch — the ball.
Center (12)
John Michael Schmitz of Minnesota [Prospect Profile] was chosen 10 times. Joe Tippmann of Wisconsin [Prospect Profile] was selected just twice.
The consensus seems to be that Schmitz is OC1 and Tippmann OC2 in this draft class. In an episode of the ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast this week, Chad Reuter of NFL.com chided me for trading up in Round 2 of last week’s 7-round Giants mock draft and selecting Tippmann over Schmitz. He said that in his view you only trade up to get Schmitz.
Center might not look like the best value pick at No. 25, but if the Giants select one and he turns out to be a two-contract starter there is nothing wrong with that.
Cornerbacks (11)
By consensus, there are four top cornerbacks in this draft class — Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon, Deonte Banks and Joey Porter Jr. Mock drafters see only a slim chance that Banks (two selections or Porter (one selection) might be available to the Giants at No. 25.
Beyond that, it becomes a case of choose your flavor. Emmanuel Forbes of Miississippi State and Cam Smith of South Carolina [Prospect Profile] were each chosen three times.
Outliers (11)
It is entirely possible that the best value at 25 will come from a position other than wide receiver, cornerback or center. Eleven such outliers were chosen in the mocks listed below, with Alabama safety Brian Branch [Prospect Profile], Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence [Prospect Profile] and TCU guard/center Steve Avila [Prospect Profile] each being selected twice.
By now, you know I am a Branch fan and would be OK with him being selected at 25. If the Giants, as GM Joe Schoen has indicated, truly believe that Ben Bredeson or someone else on the current roster can be a starting center, perhaps selecting Torrence or Avila becomes a more realistic possibility.
2023 NFL Mock Draft Tracker
Date | Mock | Round 1 (No. 25) |
---|---|---|
Date | Mock | Round 1 (No. 25) |
4/27 | ESPN (Kiper) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/27 | ESPN (McShay) | Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame |
4/27 | NFL.com (Schrager) | Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama |
4/27 | San Diego Union Tribune (Brown) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/26 | NFL.com (Jeremiah) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
4/26 | Pro Football Focus (Collinsworth) | Luke Wypler, C, Ohio State |
4/26 | 33rd Team (Meirov) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
4/26 | NFL.com (Davis) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/26 | The Athletic (Staff) | Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia |
4/26 | Yahoo Sports (McDonald) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
4/26 | Heavy (Lombardo) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/26 | Draft Network (Melo) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
4/26 | Draft Network (Parson) | Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina |
4/26 | Draft Network (Fowler) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/25 | Walter Football | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/25 | Tankathon | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/25 | FOX Sports (Klatt) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
4/25 | CBS (Schneier) | Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland |
4/25 | CBS (Prisco) | Jakorian Bennett, CB, Maryland |
4/25 | Outkick (Salguero) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/25 | Pro Football Network (Hasan) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
4/25 | NBC Sports (Florio) | Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame |
4/25 | LA Times (Farmer) | O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida |
4/25 | Touchdown Wire (Farrar) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
4/25 | NFL.com (Brooks) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/25 | Walter Football | Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa |
4/25 | NFL Trade Rumors (Ulrich) | Joey Porter, Jr., CB, Penn State |
4/24 | 33rd Team (Tannenbaum/Spielman) | Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland |
4/24 | Draftwire (Risdon) | Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa |
4/24 | Pro Football Focus (Staff) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/24 | FOX Sports (McIntyre) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/24 | Big Blue View (Falato) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
4/24 | NFL.com (Edholm) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC (Trade up to No. 20 with Seahawks) |
4/24 | NY Daily News (Leonard) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/24 | NBC Sports (King) | Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame |
4/24 | USA Today (Davis) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/24 | NBC Sports (Dvorchak) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/24 | Sun Sentinel (Perkins) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/24 | Pro Football Network (Miller) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/24 | SB Nation (Staff) | Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson |
4/24 | 33rd Team (Staff) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/23 | Draft Network (Eisner) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
4/23 | CBS (Benjamin) | Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State (Trade up to No. 18 with Detroit Lions) |
4/23 | Touchdown Wire (Barbieri) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
4/23 | CBS (Hunt) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/23 | AL.com | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/23 | Houston Chronicle | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/22 | NY Post (Serby) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/22 | Pro Football Network (Valentino) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/21 | CBS (Fornelli) | Steve Avila, iOL, TCU |
4/21 | Draftwire (Miller) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/21 | NFL.com (Reuter) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
4/20 | CBS (Edwards) | Steve Avila, iOL, TCU |
4/20 | CBS (Brinson) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/20 | NFL.com (Jones-Drew) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/20 | The Huddle (Hickey) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/20 | Pro Football Focus (Sikkema/Rogers) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/19 | CBS (Jones) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College (Trade up to No. 20 with Seattle) |
4/19 | CBS (Trapasso) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/19 | Sporting News (Iyer) | Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson |
4/19 | FOX Sports (Staff) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/19 | Pro Football Network (Caplan | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/19 | Draftwire (Popejoy) | Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas |
4/19 | Dallas Morning News (Watkins) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/19 | Pro Football Focus (Renner) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
4/19 | DraftTek | Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland |
4/19 | NFL Trade Rumors (Bouda) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
4/18 | Pro Football Network (Hodgkinson) | Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami |
4/17 | Draft Countdown (Hallam) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/17 | USA Today (Middlehurst-Schwartz) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
4/17 | The Athletic (Brugler) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/16 | CBS (Dubin) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
4/16 | Chicago Tribune (Biggs) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/15 | Pro Football Network (Mellor) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/14 | CBS (Stackpole) | O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida |
4/14 | The Huddle Report (Johannes) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
4/14 | Huddle Report (Long) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/13 | The Huddle (Gallo) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
4/13 | Pro Football Focus (Brown) | Will McDonald IV, Edge, Iowa State |
4/13 | Bleacher Report (Staff) | Steve Avila, iOL, TCU |
4/12 | The Athletic (Lee) | Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame |
4/11 | Stacking The Board (Marino) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/11 | NFL.com (Lewis) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
4/11 | Pro Football Network (Pauline) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/11 | Football Outsiders (Robinson) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
4/10 | Draft Countdown (Menendez) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/10 | NBC Sports (Rogers) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/10 | Pro Football Focus (Monson) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/9 | Draft Network (McKessy) | Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina |
4/8 | Pro Football Network (Cummings) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
4/7 | The Athletic (Baumgartner) | O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida |
4/6 | Draft Kings (Gresham) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
4/6 | NFL.com (Rank) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
4/6 | Pro Football Network (Broback) | Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee |
4/2 | With the First Pick (Matthews) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
4/1 | NFL Spin Zone (Bedinger) | Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina |
4/1 | Chicago Sun-Times (Lieser) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
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