Although the Giants made a surprising voyage to the divisional round last season, they are still a team featuring some clear needs heading into the draft. A No. 1-caliber wide receiver is one of them.
The Giants have done their homework on this year’s wide receiver crop leading up to pre-draft visit season, spending time with each of this year’s top-rated wideouts previously. But they will continue to exhaust resources to gauge pass catchers’ viability. USC’s Jordan Addison will meet with the Giants next week, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt is also headed to New York for a Wednesday visit, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
One of the fastest receivers in this year’s class, Hyatt said his hamstring tightened up before he ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash time at the Combine. He did not run at Tennessee’s pro day. While both NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah and ESPN’s Scouts Inc. have Hyatt outside the top 40, ESPN.com’s Matt Miller views the 176-pound burner as a potential top-25 selection. The Bills, Cowboys and Saints have met with Hyatt as well.
Hyatt broke through for a stunning performance against Alabama — in Tennessee’s October win — with a 207-yard, five-touchdown display. Hyatt rode that outing to the Biletnikoff award. Last year represented Hyatt’s only notable run of production with the Volunteers; prior to his 1,267-yard season, the 6-foot target did not top 300 receiving yards in 2020 or ’21.
The Giants, who hold the No. 25 pick, dined with Jaxon Smith-Njigba ahead of the Ohio State alum’s pro day last month. While they are looking into Addison, Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano adds Smith-Njigba is the receiver the Giants most likely view as this class’ top prize. A hamstring injury nagged Smith-Njigba throughout last season, but his 2021 — when the slot player’s 1,606 receiving yards dwarfed the totals of first-rounders Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave — still has his stock high. Smith-Njigba might not be available when the Giants pick, and his skillset might not be ideal for a team hoarding slot types already (Sterling Shepard, Parris Campbell, Jamison Crowder to go with Wan’Dale Robinson). A number of teams are looking into the latest draft-eligible Buckeyes receiver talent.
New York is also doing work on front-seven prospects. Defensive lineman Bryan Bresee and edge rusher Will McDonald are on the radar, with SI.com’s Albert Breer indicating (via Twitter) the Iowa State edge visited Monday while the Clemson interior defender is in town today.
Once a top-five national recruit, Bresee bounced back from an injury-plagued 2021. Grading as Jeremiah’s No. 37 prospect, the 298-pound D-tackle could profile as a late-first-round prospect. McDonald saw action in five Cyclones seasons and finished two of them (2020, 2021) in double digits for sacks. The 6-foot-4 edge combined for 26 tackles for loss in that span as well. Both Scouts Inc. and Jeremiah slot McDonald — the Cyclones’ all-time sack leader (34) — 26th in this class.
The Giants are fairly well-invested on both their defensive line and at outside linebacker. They used the No. 5 overall pick on Kayvon Thibodeaux last year and have former second-rounder Azeez Ojulari going into his third season. Up front, the team has Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence. Both players are going into contract years, though Lawrence extension talks have begun. A Williams extension also would reduce his mammoth 2023 cap number ($32.26MM).