2022 NFL Draft –  NY Giants 

By Jeff Knapp

The 2022 NFL draft is over and Georgia’s Travon Walker went #1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, while QB Brock Purdy from Iowa State was Mr. Irrelevant and went to the San Francisco 49ers.

This year the NY Giants had 11 picks including 5 in the 1st three rounds. There were plenty of holes to fill along the offensive line, all along the defense and the need to add a few weapons to Daniel Jones, who had his 5th year option declined just before the draft.

The Giants had the 5th and 7th picks in the 1st round. Some were saying they might trade back with their 7th pick but that never happened and thankfully so.

The major glaring needs the Giants had were a great pass rusher and a solid stud up front to protect whomever is the QB in 2022 and beyond. They had many great players to choose from and with the 5th pick, the Giants took edge rusher from Oregon, Kayvon Thibodeaux, followed by one of the 2 top offensive linemen in the draft, Alabama’s Evan Neal. 

In the 2nd round, the Giants traded back twice with the Jets and the Falcons and went from the 4th pick in the 2nd round to the 11th pick in the 2nd but picked up an extra 4th and 5th round pick. With the 2nd round pick, the Giants acquired Kentucky WR Wan’Dale Robinson.

In the 3rd round, the Giants had 2 picks and used them to fill holes on both sides of the ball and selected Guard Joshua Ezeudu out of North Carolina and with their next 3rd round pick with was from a trade last year with Miami, they picked up CB Cordale Flott from LSU

In the 4th round they had 2 picks and once again selected for both sides of the ball by acquiring TE Daniel Bellinger from San Diego State and Safety Dane Belton from Iowa.

On to the 5th round where the Giants had 3 picks, two in a row and selected Indiana LB 

Micah McFadden, Arizona State DT DJ Davidson and North Carolina Guard Marcus McKethan.

With their final pick in the draft, the Giants took Cincinnati LB Darrian Beavers in the 6th round.

After the draft, the Giants signed the following undrafted free agents:

Tight End Austin Allen, Nebraska

Cornerback Darren Evans, LSU

Running Back Jeremiah Hall, Oklahoma

Defensive Tackle Tyrone Truesdell, Florida

Defensive Tackle Christopher Hinton, Michigan

Defensive End Jabari Ellis, South Carolina

Defensive End Tomon Fox, North Carolina

Safety Yusuf Corker, Kentucky

Running Back Jashaun Corbin, Florida State

Offensive Guard Josh Rivas, Kansas State

Safety Trenton Thompson, San Diego State

Cornerback Zyon Gilbert, Florida Atlantic

Defensive Tackle Antonio Valentino, Florida

Draft Analysis 

Kayvon Thibodeaux is an absolute beast. There were concerns about his personality and other issues, but the Giants must have thought of that as just smoke and mirrors. This man has all the tools to become the next big thing on defense for the Giants. He has an explosive first step to go along with strength and his athleticism. 

Evan Neal is one of the best linemen in the draft and has spent time on both the left and right side of center. His natural fit is on the right side. He has great hands and amazing footwork. His strength and agility will make him a mainstay on the O-Line for years to come

Wan’Dale Robinson isn’t the sexiest pick when it came to receivers in the draft, but Robinson is tough, competitive, can play in the slot and come out of the back field. Has great quickness and has incredible change of direction. The downside is his potential dropped passes, and possible lack of strength to get through press coverage, but that can improve with pro level strength training. 

Joshua Ezeudu is large and athletic and can play both guard and tackle. His hands and technique will need work to keep lengthy blocks and to cut down on holding calls.

Cordale Flatt is tall with long arms. Has great quickness and plays every down and has great discipline. He will need to add some strength and weight during the offseason and training camp. He will have to work on anticipation when the receiver is going for breaks.

Daniel Bellinger has quick hands and can catch and run pretty fast. Tall and strong, but will need to work on his blocking ability.

Dane Belton has great size and is a very physical player. He is better when he’s closer to the line of scrimmage. Can be used to shoot the gap, but will need to work on his ability to track deep targets and his play awareness.

Micah McFadden has great field awareness and great technique. He has the ability to read misdirections and screens. He lacks size and has been knocked around on the field by bigger teams like Michigan and Ohio. Although he isn’t the most athletic and fastest player, he is well-prepared and can exploit many soft spots in blocks to make great tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He is a lunch box player and will be that working man’s player.

Many people are saying at this point that DJ Davidson, Marcus McKethan and Darrian Beavers will also battle for roster spots. Good luck everybody signed by the NY Football Giants.