This Giants offseason has received extensive attention due to HBO’s Hard Knocks effort, and parts of other teams’ processes have come into focus as well. Components of two other teams’ draft chapters emerged, with the Giants receiving what turned out to be significant interest in their No. 6 overall pick.
Going into the draft, Joe Schoen said he would be comfortable with Marvin Harrison Jr. or Malik Nabers at No. 6 — after efforts to trade up with the Patriots (at No. 3) failed. But the Colts and Jets gauged Schoen’s interest in adding draft capital to slide down the board. Both teams made offers for No. 6.
Chris Ballard said he made big offers to move up, with a skill-position player rumored to be the target. As it turns out, the Colts offered the Giants their second-round pick (No. 46) and their 2025 second-rounder to climb from No. 15 to No. 6. Schoen deemed dropping from 6 to 15 as too far, leading Indianapolis to make other attempts. The Colts ultimately failed and chose Laiatu Latu at 15. With Samson Ebukam sustaining a torn Achilles early in training camp, Latu is poised to play a bigger role as a rookie.
The Colts circled back to their skill spots in Round 2, trading down and drafting Texas’ Adonai Mitchell, but pre-draft reports had them linked to Brock Bowers and this draft’s high-end wide receiver prospects. Harrison was off the board by this point, but Nabers and Rome Odunze were available. Chosen 45 spots before Mitchell, Nabers carried significant appeal after a dominant LSU junior season. The Colts have not used a first-round pick on a skill player since then-GM Ryan Grigson chose Phillip Dorsett in 2015.
The Jets have been connected to Odunze for months, and ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini speculates the team targeted the Washington wideout with its trade-up attempt. After Odunze went off the board at No. 9, the Jets traded down (via the Vikings) to 11 and drafted Olu Fashanu. Gang Green addressed the receiver position atop Round 3, selecting Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley. Odunze, however, would have represented a big-ticket addition alongside Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams. He instead joined a similarly structured Bears offense, which houses D.J. Moore and ex-Williams teammate Keenan Allen.
Additionally, the Giants saw their Brian Burns trade wound their ability to land one of their preferred cornerbacks. The team targeted Kool-Aid McKinstry and Kamari Lassiter in Round 2. The Giants traded No. 39 to the Panthers in the Burns deal but still held No. 47. Schoen, however, did not want to include a fourth-round selection to move up due to the team having just six picks in the draft. The Hard Knocks: Offseason finale corroborates a report from the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy, who recently indicated the Giants sought McKinstry or Lassiter. The Alabama and Georgia prospects ended up going to the Saints and Texans at Nos. 41 and 42.
The Giants had identified corner as a key need, and while the team did draft Kentucky’s Andru Phillips in Round 3, it is counting on 2022 third-round pick Cor’Dale Flott to make a successful transition from slot defender to outside corner post-Adoree’ Jackson. Flott joins Deonte Banks as the team’s expected outside CB starters. Had McKinstry or Lassiter been on the board at No. 47, it is worth wondering if Flott would remain Big Blue’s preferred slot defender. Eventual Giants second-round safety Tyler Nubin was identified as the team’s backup plan if Lassiter and McKinstry were gone.
