Four-round Giants Mock Draft Addresses Three Key Needs

The simulator gave us a C+ for this grade, suggesting we should have gone with receiver Carnell Tate, Downs’s teammate, at this spot. We declined to do so for two reasons. 

One, Downs is a playmaking, versatile safety whose skill set can elevate the Giants' defense to a whole other level. And two, the receiver class this year is pretty deep–you’ll see that later on, we were able to address the need.

Getting back to Downs, again, he can be plugged into a variety of different roles, and he has traits that can’t be taught, such as awareness, instincts, and quickness. At 6-0 and 205 pounds, he’s not afraid to pack a punch when he hits, and he can fit in nicely into either a man or zone scheme.   

The Giants have a solid front seven; they just need a little more firepower on the back end of the defense, and Downs, whose father, Gary, was a third-round pick by the Giants back in 1994 who actually had two stints with Big Blue as a running back (the second stint coming in 1996), is a guy who can bring that.

Round 2, Pick No. 37: CB Keith Abney II, Arizona State

The word “scrappy” comes to mind when it comes to Abney, who, per PFF, has 17 pass breakups and has allowed just 51.3% of the pass targets against him to be completed over the last two seasons as an outside cornerback.

He does have a grabbiness to him, which has led to 13 penalties over those two years, so that will obviously need to be cleaned up.

Otherwise, he’s been a productive cornerback who has just eight career missed tackles and 27 stops among his college stats, is a solid run defender, and can operate in both man and zone schemes. 

He is not a tall cornerback, but he is someone who can also give you snaps on special teams, given his physical style.

Round 4, Pick No. 105: WR Cyrus Allen, Cincinnati 

Allen, who has played for three schools,  isn’t a big X-receiver type, but he is a better-than-average route runner.

Allen’s 13 touchdowns scored led the Bearcats last season, while also leading the Big 12 conference and ranking third nationally. 

He also drew praise for his showing at the Senior Bowl for his polished showing against elite-level talent, where he particularly stood out on Day 3 of the Senior Bowl week for his ability to separate as well as come down with the pigskin in tight windows and on contested catches.  

The Giants can certainly use another twitchy, athletic receiver who has good explosiveness and bend in his movement, and who has shown an ability to hold his own against taller, more physical receivers.  

Interestingly, Allen, who projects more as a slot receiver at the NFL level, was not among those invited to the combine.

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