Mock Draft season is well and truly underway. The New York Giants, a team finding themselves in the top 10 selections once again, have already had one wild week of Free Agency.
Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney were lost to NFC rivals. Meanwhile, the Giants managed to swing a long-awaited trade for Brian Burns and found a backup quarterback in Drew Lock. With just a month and a half to go until the 2024 NFL Draft, Free Agency’s first two days are already offering plenty of hints as to where the team from East Rutherford will go in next month’s NFL Draft.
With that said, here is my first mock draft of the 2024 draft season after two days of free agency.
With the 6th Pick in Foster’s 2024 Mock Draft, the New York Giants Select…Rome Odunze, Washington WR
In this mock draft, the top three picks will likely all proceed with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye being the selections. Sitting with the sixth overall pick, the Giants can seek a trade into those top 3 positions, but it is unlikely given the steep cost it may take. Furthermore, the trade for Brian Burns cost the Giants the #39 overall pick.
The Giants in this mock draft will stay and select Rome Odunze with the pick. The 2023 consensus All-American Wide Receiver turned in a stellar final college season to aid Washington in returning to the College Football Playoff. Starting all 15 games for the Huskies, Odunze caught 92 passes for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns.
For comparison, the Giants have not had even a 1,000-yard receiver since Odell Beckham Jr.’s final season in New York in 2018. The only 1,500-yard season any Giants WR has ever completed was Victor Cruz in 2011, while the team was en route to their Super Bowl 46 triumph over the Patriots.
Round 2, Pick 47: Michael Penix Jr., Washington QB
Penix may find his way into the back end of the first round. While the Giants did lose that 39th overall pick to the Panthers, the team still possesses the 47th and 70th overall pick and could seek to make it back into the first round to take Penix or his Pac-12 rival in Bo Nix.
In this mock draft, Penix, who will enter the league as a 24-year-old rookie with a notably concerning injury history, still falls to the 47th pick. But overlooking the injuries, Penix offers many upsides. In his final college season, Penix teamed up with Odunze and the rest of Washington’s offense to throw for almost 5,000 yards against 36 touchdown passes.
Penix’s upsides include his massive hands, offering the ability to control and maintain the football when he breaks out of the pocket. He also possesses the ability to fling it deep downfield without needing much effort in his throw. For a team seeking to move on from Daniel Jones, Penix will fit right in and offer immediate competition, or start behind Drew Lock if Jones is still not ready by then.
Round 3, Pick 70: Calen Bullock, USC Safety
The Giants did fill the gap left by Xavier McKinney by signing Jalen Mills away from New England. However, the deal for Mills is only for one year, and the seven-year veteran can just as easily leave again next offseason. The Super Bowl 52 champion, therefore, will have an understudy with the Giants taking Calen Bullock in the third round of this mock draft.
Bullock stands in at 6’3, an impressive height for a player of his position. An athletic ballhawk, Bullock has seen time all over USC’s secondary, a prospect that should be quite enticing for new DC Shane Bowen. However, Bullock’s notable weakness of being unable to keep opposing receivers and running backs may not quite match the physical style of play Bowen seeks to bring to New York.
Regardless, Bullock’s size and athletic prowess will be enough to warrant consideration at the 70th pick in this mock draft, compared to some of his peers at the position.