New York Giants NFL Draft Day 2 Preview

 The New York Giants walked away with their new top wideout, LSU’s Malik Nabers, in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. This came after rumors intensified that the Giants were in talks with the New England Patriots about trading up to No. 3 to get Drake Maye. However, the Patriots, who selected Maye, apparently had no interest in trading out of that spot; otherwise, their reported asking price might have been slightly more reasonable.

Leading up to the draft, there were rumors that six quarterbacks could be selected in the top half of the first round, but many, including myself, didn’t believe that would happen. Now that we’ve seen early runs on quarterbacks, receivers, and offensive tackles, it’s likely that defensive players and interior offensive linemen will fly off the board early on Day 2. 

If you look at the Giants Country Big Board, there are still plenty of talented players that teams will be looking to add to their rosters. Our top safety, linebacker, interior offensive linemen, and nickel are all still available, as are two of our top three interior defensive linemen.

This bodes well for the Giants if they want to add a quarterback like Spencer Rattler, a cornerback like Cooper DeJean, Max Melton, or Kool-Aid McKinstry, or even a 3-technique like Johnny Newton. Depending on how the board in front of the Giants shakes out, there are routes to go off.

While many teams had conversations about trades both prior to and during the first round, most teams decided to stick and pick with their initial spot on Thursday night. That doesn’t mean that on Friday night, teams will do the same; in fact, some teams may be more willing to trade down if they feel comfortable with their first pick, or they may be more aggressive about adding a player that’s falling down the board.

Through the first twenty picks of the night, we should see players like DeJean, Mike Sainristril, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Payton Wilson, and Johnny Newton find out where they’re going to play pro football.

Although six quarterbacks were taken, it wouldn’t shock me to see a team aggressively trade up and draft Spencer Rattler since the position runs dry shortly after his name is called. It’s worth noting that Rattler is the only quarterback remaining in the draft who had a 30-visit with the Giants.

30 Visit Players Remaining 

(* indicates a likely Day 2 pick)

• South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler*
• Notre Dame RB Audric Estime
• Florida State RB Trey Benson*
• UAB WR Tejhaun Palmer
• Kansas State TE Ben Sinnott*
• Kansas State IOL Cooper Beebe*
• Houston OT Patrick Paul*
• British Columbia OT Giovanni Manu
• Illinois IDL Johnny Newton*
• LSU IDL Maason Smith
• Northern Iowa IDL Khristian Boyd
• Virginia Tech EDGE Pheldarius Payne
• UTEP LB Tyrice Knight
• Kentucky CB Andru Phillips*
• Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry*
• Colorado State CB Chigozie Anusiem
• Washington State S Jaden Hicks*

Local Visit Players Remaining

(* indicates a likely Day 2 pick)

• Penn State TE Theo Johnson*
• Colorado State EDGE Mo Kamara*
• Penn State EDGE Adisa Isaac
• Rutgers CB Max Melton*

Six Most Valuable Defenders

• Minnesota S Tyler Nubin
• Iowa CB Cooper DeJean
• NC State LB Payton Wilson
• Rutgers CB Max Melton
• Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry
• Illinois IDL Johnny Newton

On the defensive side of the ball, five players are still available, and they are inside our collective top 32. Two receivers and an interior offensive lineman are also there who likely won’t be available through pick 47 but are also players I don’t think the Giants should seriously consider drafting due to positional value, team need, and best player available.