Two Giants land on Chad Reuter's favorite picks of draft
The Giants have been receiving praise for their 11-person draft class.
While a lot of the recognition has revolved around first-round picks Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal, Joe Schoen and Big Blue have also been lauded for several of their picks on Days 2 and 3.
The latest to toss some high marks in the Giants' direction is NFL.com's Chad Reuter. This week, the draft analyst ranked his favorite picks from each round of the 2022 draft.
The Giants had two representatives on Reuter's list, one from Round 3 and the other from Round 4.
Here are the Giants' picks that made NFL.com's list for favorite picks from the draft.
G Joshua Ezeudu, North Carolina (Round 3, No. 67 overall)
"Ezeudu did not receive a lot of publicity coming into the draft, but I thought he was going to be a solid Day 2 pick. Though the Giants signed veteran guards Mark Glowinski and Max Garcia in the offseason, I expect this rookie will earn playing time by the end of the year. He's not an elite athlete, but he is a smooth mover who possesses nice length. Ezeudu also displayed versatility shifting between tackle and guard in-game when North Carolina struggled finding a fifth reliable lineman."
S Dane Belton, Iowa (Round 4, No. 114 overall)
"Belton is very much a Jabrill Peppers-type hybrid defender who can work in the box yet still make quarterbacks pay for mistakes in the intermediate passing game. The team frankly needed any warm body at safety, but Belton was the best fit on Day 3."
View photos from the college careers of the Giants' entire 11-player draft class
The Athletic's Dane Brugler looks at Giants' draft class
The week after the NFL Draft is the time when draft analysts reveal their draft grades for each team across the league.
While this is a popular exercise for many in the media, some experts go a different route than the traditional grades.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler, one of the best in the business, decided to rank each draft class from 1 to 32 instead of handing out grades. While the Giants landed at No. 12 in his rankings, Brugler was very complimentary towards Big Blue's draft haul.
For their two first-round picks, Brugler thought the Giants "knocked it out of the park adding two cornerstone players in the top 10."
However, his favorite Giants pick was Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal at No. 7.
"My No. 3 overall player, Neal is a ready-made lineman with functional experience at left and right tackle, giving the Giants options as they find the best fits for him and Andrew Thomas," writes Brugler.
In addition to his favorite pick from each team, The Athletic's NFL draft analyst also chose a Day 3 pick from each team who could surprise many people and outperform his draft position.
For the Giants, Brugler chose fifth-round pick (No. 146 overall) Micah McFadden, the linebacker out of Indiana.
"Indiana was a tough watch last season, but McFadden was one of the few bright spots," says Brugler. "Though I have some questions about him in coverage, he has outstanding downhill instincts and is arguably the best blitzing linebacker in this class. It also helped that he posted a 6.88 three-cone and 4.62 40-yard dash at Indiana's pro day."
Giants Huddle | Rick Serritella on Giants' draft haul
John Schmeelk is joined by Rick Serritella on this week's huddle to break down all of the Giants' picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.
1:17 - Day 1 Picks
5:48 - Day 2 Picks
8:34 - UNC Guards
13:38 - Cor'Dale Flott
17:58 - Later rounds