The first round of the 2017 NFL Draft begins tonight in Philadelphia beginning at 8 p.m. The New York Jets hold the sixth overall pick while the Giants will select a bit later at No. 23.
So, who will each team target? That all will depend, naturally, on who is available on the board for them to choose. The Jets have a lot more options than the Giants, but their philosophy of taking the best player on their draft board when their turn comes would make a lot of sense for a team that needs an infusion of talent.
The Jets and their fans are probably hoping North Carolina QB Mitchell Trubisky falls into their lap, but according to a recent report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Trubisky is now the favorite to go first overall to the Cleveland Browns. That would push the other top recruits one slot deeper down the draft order.
Foe GM Mike Maccagnan, that means he could be staring at one of the following players at No. 6: DE Miles Garrett of Texas A&M, Stanford DE Solomon Thomas, Alabama DL Johnathan Allen, RB Leonard Fournette of LSU, Alabama TE O.J. Howard and LSU safety Jamal Adams. Also available will be two Ohio State defensive backs – safety Malik Hooker and CB Marson Lattimore.
So who makes sense for Maccagnan’s barren roster? In my humble opinion, they all would make the Jets better but the best fit would be Adams, the son of former Giants’ first round pick RB George Adams. The Jets need defensive backs (among other things) but Adams may just be the best player left on the board at No. 6. In any case, Maccaganan can’t go wrong here in the first round.
As for the Giants and their GM, Jerry Reese, the options are aren’t as attractive. Fans would love to see them bolder their beleaguered offensive line, especially at tackle but Reese will not reach just to address a need.
The Giants will take the best available player on their board. Now who that might be is debatable. Reese breaks down the draft prospects into rows instead of columns, grouping players by talent level rather than position. How many players are in each of those rows varies from year to year.
At No. 23, you can expect several offensive linemen to be available for Reese to choose from. Wisconsin OT Ryan Ramcyck and OG Forrest Lamp of Western Kentucky will likely be there. So will Garret Bolles, a tackle from Utah. Not sure if any of those would be rated higher then Miami TE David Njoku, LB Haasan Reddick of Temple or Michigan State DT Malik McDowell.
Realistically, they are probably going to be left with either Lamp or Ramcyck. Of the two, it’s a toss up. Ramcyck could be a turnkey solution at tackle as a rookie and Lamp could be inserted at guard pushing the newly-signed free agent D.J. Fluker out to tackle. Fans would like to see Ramcyck because he can unseat the inconsistent former first-rounder, Ereck Flowers at left tackle.