CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson releases two-round mock draft
We have entered the part of the offseason where new mock drafts are being published just about every day. This time around though, we're going beyond the Giants' first pick.
CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson released a two-round mock draft that saw the Giants address the offense with both picks, starting with Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round at No. 25.
"Smith-Njigba barely saw the field during the 2022 season because of injuries but he's still one of the top wideouts in the class," writes Wilson. "It's easy to forget that he led the 2021 Buckeyes in receptions and that corps included first-rounders Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, and future first-rounder Marvin Harrison Jr."
As mentioned above, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound receiver had a standout campaign in 2021 while sharing a WR room with Wilson, Olave and Harrison Jr.. His 95 receptions that year were the fifth-most in Big Ten history, while his 1,606 receiving yards stands as the conference's all-time single-season record. Smith-Njigba also found the end zone nine times on his way to being named Third-Team All-American and Third-Team All-Big Ten.
Smith-Njigba set Rose Bowl records with his 15 receptions for 347 yards against Utah to conclude the 2021 season, while also finding the end zone three times. He was named the game's Offensive Most Valuable Player.
A hamstring injury limited the talented receiver to just five receptions for 43 yards as he missed nearly the entire 2022 campaign.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah updated his ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft.
No. 50 Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA
No. 49 Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa
No. 48 John Michael Schmitz, IOL, Minnesota
No. 40 Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin
No. 47 Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
No. 37 Steve Avila, IOL, TCU
No. 46 Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
No. 45 Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson
No. 44 Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa
No. 43 Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan
No. 42 Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee
No. 38 Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State
No. 39 Cody Mauch, OT, North Dakota State
No. 36 Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
No. 41 O'Cyrus Torrence, IOL, Florida
No. 35 BJ Ojulari, EDGE, LSU
No. 27 Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State
No. 34 Joe Tippmann, IOL, Wisconsin
No. 32 Felix Anudike-Uzomah, EDGE, Kansas State
No. 31 Brian Branch, DB, Alabama
No. 30 Quentin Johnson, WR, TCU
No. 29 Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
No. 28 Keion White, EDGE, Georgia Tech
No. 26 Calijah Kancey, DT, Pittsburgh
No. 25 Will McDonald IV, EDGE, Iowa State
No. 33 Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
No. 24 Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland
No. 21 Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson
No. 22 Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
No. 20 Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
No. 23 Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State
No. 17 Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
No. 13 Nolan Smith, EDGE, Georgia
No. 19 Broderick Jones, OT Georgia
No. 16 Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State
No. 18 Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
No. 14 Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa
No. 15 Jordan Addison, WR, USC
No. 12 Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
No. 10 Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
No. 11 Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
No. 9 Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah
No. 8 Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern
No. 7 C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
No. 5 Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
No. 6 Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia
No. 4 Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech
No. 3 Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
No. 2 Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Alabama
No. 1 Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
In the second round, Wilson predicted Wisconsin center Joe Tippmann to the Giants at No. 57. The center landed at No. 27 in Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 draft prospect rankings.
"Tippman is a tall, athletic center," wrote Jeremiah. "He is quick out of his stance in pass protection, flashing the ability to sink and anchor versus power. There are times when he sets too high and will give ground before recovering. He is very aware and redirects easily. In the run game, his athleticism is on display when pulling and working up to the second level. He has the upper torque to turn and dump defenders lined up over his nose. Overall, Tippman is the rare tall center capable of playing with leverage and balance."
Tippman saw his first significant action as a redshirt sophomore in 2021, when he played in 11 games with 10 starts at center. He helped block for the No. 2 rushing offense in the Big Ten with an average of 210.9 yards per game.
The 6-foot-6, 317-pound lineman shined in 2022, starting 12 games at center before declaring for the draft and forgoing the Guaranteed Rate Bowl this past December. He allowed just one sack and five total pressures on 338 pass blocking snaps, which helped him earn a selection as All-Big Ten Honorable Mention for the second consecutive season.
Tippmann was also an Academic All-Big Ten honoree from 2020-2022 as he majored in Consumer Behavior & Marketplace Studies.
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