The New York Giants’ 2024 draft class has received high praise. Pro Football Focus is the latest publication to give general manager Joe Schoen his flowers for a strong draft class.
Giants’ draft class was named one of PFF’s 10 favorites
PFF’s Sam Monson named the Giants among his 10 favorite team draft classes. He praised the team’s class and highlighted a few of their selections as high-potential contributors.
Monson was a fan of New York’s first-round selection:
“Once the Giants were stuck at No. 6, Malik Nabers was the right pick,” Monson wrote. “An incredibly explosive playmaker, Nabers can function from every receiver alignment at all depths of the defense. He earned a 93.1 PFF receiving grade last season and generated 3.64 yards per route run, an elite figure.”
He also praised their choices on Day 2 and Day 3:
“Tyler Nubin has first-round tape but was available in the second because his 40-yard dash time isn’t exceptional. Andru Phillips at cornerback and Theo Johnson at tight end both have a pathway to significant playing time, and running back Tyrone Tracy in the fifth round has exceptional potential,” Monson wrote. “A former receiver, Tracy is incredibly difficult to get to the ground, having averaged 4.44 yards after contact last season and breaking 46 tackles.”
The critic that Monson had, however, was the lack of movement from the Giants. They did not make a single trade during the draft (although, they did really try to move up in the first round for a quarterback). Their lack of draft capital made New York a prime trade-down candidate, but they ultimately kept the selections they had.
“My only quibble with the Giants’ draft was them not trading down to add more picks than the six they made,” Monson wrote. Ultimately, New York went into the draft with six picks, and left the draft having made six picks.
The Giants’ third-round selection was PFF’s favorite
PFF also praised the Giants’ third-round pick in particular. Trevor Sikkema, the publication’s lead NFL Draft analyst, said he was a “big fan” of the Giant’s selection of Kentucky CB Andru Phillips:
“I was a big fan of the Phillips pick. Not only was it plus value compared to my big board, but it also made a ton of sense stylistically,” Sikkema wrote. “The Giants drafted Deonte Banks in last year’s draft and, now with Phillips in the fold, they have two talented, aggressive press-man cornerbacks to be able to call man coverage on the outside with confidence.”
Phillips is one of Big Blue’s most exciting mid-round selections, but there are other prospects that they took on Day 3 to also be excited about. According to most publications, Schoen did a solid job added talent and depth to this roster through the draft process. Hopefully it translates to more wins for the Giants in 2024.
More must-reads: