Brandon Olsen's 7-Round Giants Only Mock Draft

We end our Giants Country Editorial Team Mock Draft Series with Brandon Olsen's seven-round mock, which includes a trade.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Apr 13, 2023 2:35 PM EDT

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New York Giants

The New York Giants have pieced together their nucleus and exceeded expectations in 2022. And with the 2023 NFL Draft just a couple of weeks away, teams have been finalizing their draft boards, the picture becoming clearer for most organizations.

General Manager Joe Schoen has his work cut out for him but has already gotten off to a strong start this offseason by adding key contributors at major positions of need.

In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Giants selected players with high ceilings who could also immediately step in and play a role on the team. Using that same logic, I tried to conduct my mock draft with a similar mindset.

I used the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator for this mock draft. My selections combined taking the best players available using my draft evaluations while accounting for PFF's evaluation of players.

I used some of my draft preferences in this mock as well, including drafting high-ceiling athletes when they’re available, always drafting a quarterback (spoiler alert), and, in cases where there were clusters of players with similar grades, using team need as a deciding factor.

So let's get to it.

Round 1, Pick 25: TRADE

Giants trade: 25th overall pick to Saints; acquire 29th overall pick, 115th overall pick, 165th overall pick, 2024 fourth-round pick

To start this mock draft, the board fell in a way where none of the top five cornerbacks were available. Instead of reaching for a cornerback or any other player, I decided to trade down with one of the most historically aggressive trade-up teams in the NFL: the Saints.

It might not be the sexiest move to add Day 3 picks into the mix , but given that the Saints are moving up just four spots and not adding a premium to draft a quarterback, it seemed like fair value without exploiting any simulator.

R1, No. 29 : LB Drew Sanders

Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 235lbs. | Class: Junior | Age: 21 | School: Arkansas

With the addition of Bobby Okereke during free agency, the weakness at off-ball linebacker isn’t as glaring as it previously was. Still, with how this mock draft worked out, Sanders was the best player remaining in the first round, playing a position that just happened to address a need.

The edge rusher-turned-off-ball linebacker is an elite athlete who could immediately step in on this Giants' defense as a contributor at multiple spots in the front seven. Sanders is about as high-ceiling as it gets in the 2023 linebacker class with his athletic profile and film that shows flashes of what he could look like with more than one year at linebacker.

I’ve been the conductor of the “Drew Sanders to NYG” hype train, and the train is going full steam ahead. Sanders' skillset as a positional convert in a defense that asks linebackers to rush the passer frequently allows Wink Martindale to use Sanders as a blitzer while using Okereke in coverage.

R2, No. 57: IOL Joe Tippmann

Height: 6-foot-6 | Weight: 313 lbs. | Class: Junior | Age: 22 | School: Wisconsin

Few interior offensive linemen have the sheer size that Tippmann has--size that puts him in the 97th percentile for centers in NFL Combine history.

While Tippmann is coming out of Wisconsin, generally considered a breeding ground for run-blocking offensive linemen, he’s done a great job in pass protection, allowing just one sack in his two years as a starter in Madison.

At his height, Tippmann needs to put in added effort to make sure his pad level is low enough consistently, but his issues are fixable. As a run blocker, Tippmann fits what Brian Daboll will continue looking for in his offensive linemen athletically and skillset-wise.

With the creative run schemes that head coach Brian Daboll runs, having a center as athletic as Tippmann would allow Daboll to keep those same schemes working consistently. Tippmann should be an immediate starter for the Giants with the potential of being a decade-plus starter in the long term.

R3, No. 89: DB Jammie Robinson

Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 191 lbs. | Class: Senior | Age: 22 | School: Florida State

There are few defensive backs in the 2023 NFL Draft that offer the positional versatility that Jammie Robinson does. Robinson made his living in Tallahassee, working all over the back seven as a deep safety, nickel corner, and box defender.

While he doesn’t have ideal size, he plays (and lifts) larger than his size suggests as a downhill, attacking defensive back that could eliminate a slot receiver as well as be a reliable run supporter. Robinson has over 2,900 snaps of experience at the college level, having played for South Carolina in 2019 and 2020 before wrapping up with Florida State in 2021 and 2022.

The Giants have invested plenty into versatile defenders in recent years, and 2023 should be no different, especially after the injuries the Giants secondary ran into in 2022.

R4, No. 115 (via NOLA): IOL Andrew Vorhees

Height: 6-foot-6| Weight: 310 lbs. | Class: RS-Senior | Age: 24 | School: USC

The 2023 NFL Draft has probably the most older prospects we've ever seen due to the pandemic and the decision to grant college players another year of eligibility. USC offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees is a prime example of a player that used that extra eligibility. He was a five-year starter and six-year player at USC.

Vorhees has experience playing left tackle, left guard, and right guard for the Trojans but will likely be limited to just playing guard in the NFL. I don’t think Vorhees is as high-ceiling as the other players in this mock, but he’s as consistent as draft prospects can be and will likely be an above-average starter in the NFL for a long time.

Unfortunately for Vorhees, he did tear his ACL at the NFL Combine, which will likely cause him to miss his rookie year, but on the bright side, athleticism wasn’t his biggest selling point. Assuming he gets close to what he was pre-injury, he will still be reliable.

R4, No. 128: TE Zack Kuntz

Height: 6-foot-8 | Weight: 255 lbs. | Class: RS-Senior | Age: 23 | School: Old Dominion

Let me introduce you to the most athletic tight end of all time, according to his NFL Combine performance. Kuntz posted a relative athletic score of 10.00, the best possible score, and his RAS card has a lot of green.

Kuntz will probably be limited as a contributor early on. Still, he’d be in a unique situation where he would sit behind Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger if drafted by the Giants.

Waller is the big name as a pass-catching tight end and gets paid a lot of money to do that at a high level, but he’s also dealt with injuries of his own in recent years.

Drafting Kuntz and allowing him to develop as an athletic freak of a tight end with a high ceiling could give the Giants some freedom with handling Waller’s contract in the future.

More Mock Drafts from Giants Country's Editorial Team

R5, No. 160: RB Kenny McIntosh

Height: 6-foot | Weight: 205 lbs. | Class: Senior | Age: 23 | School: Georgia

Kenny McIntosh shouldn’t be the pick at 160 because I don’t think he should be there this late. Running backs are hard to gauge regarding the value, but McIntosh’s skillset is about as modern as possible.

A pass-catching specialist that can create explosive runs in a hurry gives the Giants a cheap alternative to Matt Breida when his contract expires after this season.

McIntosh will never be a Saquon Barkley replacement, but his skill set provides a quality rotational piece for a committee.

Round 5, No. 165 (NOLA): SAF Trey Dean III

Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 200 lbs. | Class: Senior | Age: -- | School: Florida

At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Trey Dean III is an intriguing physical prospect who has had a rough pre-draft process with poor testing at the Combine, which he improved upon at his Pro Day. Dean did impress scouts and NFL coaches, including Bill Belichick, at the Shrine Game and practices in late January/early February.

For years, I’ve talked about Dean as a “better pro than college player,” That hasn’t changed, mostly because of his scheme fit in Gainesville compared to what he brings to an NFL team. If any team can get the most out of Trey Dean III, it’s a defense that will allow him to play man coverage against tight ends (hello, Wink Martindale).

Dean has his flaws, mostly with communication errors causing confusion in the secondary, but that could easily be negated by not having him be the primary communicator. In my opinion, Dean's poor testing doesn’t matter much, just given that his tape shows his athleticism more consistently.

R5, No. 172: WR Matt Landers

Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 200 lbs. | Class: Senior | Age: -- | School: Arkansas

For three years, Landers struggled to find the field with any sort of consistency at Georgia before deciding to drop down a level, joining the Toledo Rockets in the MAC. In his one year with the Rockets, Landers had 514 yards and five touchdowns on just 20 catches before returning to the SEC with the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The road hasn’t been easy, but Landers dominated the MAC, then went back to the SEC to prove that he wasn’t just dominating lesser competition. His technique is still a work in progress, but he’s consistently improved year after year and has shown the ability to be a vertical threat.

Landers may not be a major contributor early in his career, but he’s a height/weight/speed prospect that can win jump balls down the sideline.

R6, No. 209: TCU QB Max Duggan

Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 207 lbs.| Class: Senior | Age: 22 | School: TCU

Team “Always draft a QB” stand up! If you’re going to take a quarterback late on Day 3, I think Max Duggan is the one that you draft and hope to develop.

Duggan spent the first three years of his college career being thought of as a bad quarterback before Sonny Dykes brought a modern offense to the table, and Duggan erupted onto the national scene with a Heisman-candidate campaign and a College Football Playoff berth.

"Texas Tebow" had made strides year after year, even before Dykes’ offense allowed him to thrive. There might not be a more enticing quarterback for Daboll and Schoen after day one than Duggan, who has a skillset to be thought of as a poor man’s Daniel Jones.

R7, No. 240: LB Mohamoud Diabate

Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 222 lbs.| Class: Senior | Age: -- | School: Utah

Like first-round pick Drew Sanders, Diabate is an edge rusher that moved to an off-ball linebacker role. Diabate’s transition wasn’t as smooth as Sanders’, but he also won’t be asked to play as large a role in his rookie season as Sanders might if drafted.

Diabate brings a skillset to contribute immediately as a depth or rotational player in the front seven that could play a bit more in a pinch if injuries pile up. When looking for depth pieces, versatility is key, and few players are as versatile as Diabate on Day 3.

Diabate has starter experience at multiple positions in multiple schemes and the ability to contribute as a special teamer from Day 1.

R7, No. 243: DL Dante Stills

Height: 6-foot-3.5 | Weight: 286 lbs.| Class: Senior | Age: 23 | School: West Virginia

Two years ago, Dante Stills was thought of as the next big thing as an interior pass-rusher. Clearly, things haven’t panned out as expected, but he still holds the same tools that gave him that praise, he just never developed the way that many pundits thought he would.

Stills could step in as a rotational piece along the defensive line, one who will likely never be asked to contribute much as a nose tackle due to his lack of functional strength in the middle. Stills also has experience playing special teams, even blocking a few kicks at West Virginia.

R7, No. 254: CB Nic Jones

Height: 6-foot | Weight: 189 lbs.| Class: Senior | Age: -- | School: Ball State

Another one of those “he has no business still being here” selections is Ball State'sNic Jones. The 2023 Draft class is stacked at corner, and Jones probably doesn’t make it past the fifth round in a normal year.

Adding a physical press-man cornerback on day three for Wink Martindale’s defense could be huge for not just the depth of the position but also giving the room an immediate contributor.

Jones took a little while to break out at Ball State but, as a senior starter, he allowed a passer rating of just 67.6 on 68 targets, (30 completions and 349 yards for a completion percentage of just 44.1%).

Jones could play early on the outside as well as contribute immediately on special teams.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I was happy with the way this mock turned out. I was hoping to add a cornerback earlier, but for the first three rounds, there wasn’t an option that I felt comfortable with.

In the first round, the top four corners were off the board before the original 25th pick, Kansas State’s Julius Brents went shortly before the 57th overall pick, and South Carolina’s Darius Rush went the pick before I drafted Jammie Robinson.

Adding a mix of players that should be immediate starters, immediate role players, and long-term developmental prospects was the game plan going in, and I think that was what this class is.