"Make the Case" is back in session on Giants.com.
In this series, we look at projections provided by two draft experts and then ask you, the fans, to weigh in on what the Giants should do in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Giants currently hold 12 picks, beginning with the sixth and 17th overall selections.
Today, we look at two analysts who agreed on taking a quarterback at No. 6 and edge rusher at No. 17. But they differed on the prospects.
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah shook up the quarterback order, slating Daniel Jones of Duke for the Giants at No. 6. Jones was the second of four quarterbacks taken in the first round in Jeremiah's latest projections. Kyler Murray (No. 1 to Arizona), Dwayne Haskins (No. 11 to Cincinnati), and Drew Lock (No. 30 to Green Bay) were the others. Jones has ties to the Manning family through his head coach, David Cutcliffe, who mentored Eli and Peyton in college. Jones started 36 games for the Blue Devils, completing 764 of 1,275 (.599) passes for 8,201 yards with 52 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. At No. 17, Jeremiah picked Mississippi State edge rusher Montez Sweat, who collected 22 sacks in 26 career games for the Bulldogs. He tied for the SEC lead in sacks and tackles for loss in 2017.
"If the Giants want a QB, it makes more sense to secure him at No. 6 than leave it to fate and wait until they're on the clock again at No. 17," Jeremiah wrote. "The Giants end up with their edge rusher and quarterback but in the opposite order from what's been expected. Sweat could end up going later than some anticipate."
In his most recent mock draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has the Giants taking Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, a Heisman Trophy finalist who set 28 program records and added seven Big Ten records, including single-season passing yards (4,831), touchdown passes (50) and total offensive yards (4,939). At No. 17, Kiper projected defensive end Clelin Ferrell, who left Clemson as only the second two-time, first-team AP All-American, the school's first such player since Terry Kinard in 1981-82. Despite playing only three seasons, his 44 starts were the most by any defensive end/outside linebacker in school history. He is tied with William "Refrigerator" Perry for fourth in Clemson history with 27 career sacks.
"I'm sticking with Haskins to the Giants, even though they have a gaping void in their edge rush," Kiper wrote. "I wouldn't be shocked if they didn't take a quarterback in Round 1, though. I gave New York a quarterback at No. 6, which means it has to address its pass rush with its other first-round pick. Ferrell is a prototypical 4-3 defensive end."
