Giants Draft: The Pass Rush

The greatest passrusher in Giants history was ROLB Lawrence Taylor, who played DE in UNC's 4-3, then OLB in the Giants 3-4. Their second greatest passrusher was Michael Strahan, who played strong side end when the Giants switched to a 4-3. The Giants' greatest pass rushing 3-4 end was Leonard Marshall, who should probably be in the Hall of Fame but isn't. So everyone thinks the Giants will take a pass rusher at 6 or 17, let's take a look.

Ohio State's Nick Bosa is the top pass rusher on most boards and will probably be off the board no lower than 2nd or 3rd, so probably not an option for the Giants without a trade up.

Next up is either Kentucky's Josh Allen or Mississippi State's Montez Sweat.  Allen is 6-4, 262 and ran a 4.62 at the Combine.  Some people think he needs to develop more passrush moves, but those can be learned. Sweat destroyed the Combine, running a 4.41 at 6'6" and 260.  But, and to me, this is a huge but, he has a heart condition. It seems that whenever the Giants take a kid with a pre-existing condition - it acts up. See David Wilson for a recent, yet almost forgotten, example.  Cedric Jones was blind in one eye and thus Strahan had to switch to the strong side.  To get either Allen or Sweat the Giants would have to take them at 6, and I don't think they can afford to take a guy with a pre-existing condition there.

The next group of passrushers are Clemson's Clelin Ferrell, who is 6-4 and 262.  He ran a 4.77 at the Combine, but could be a great value at 17.   Florida State's Brian Burns has also been climbing the charts and could have legitimate helium come Thursday. He's lighter than the other guys at 249 but ran a 4.53 and has big hands and quickness.  Intriguing guy, we'll see how high he rises.

The next pair, that could be available in round 2 are Georgia's D'Andre Walker who is a runty 6'2' and 251 and ran a 4.6. There's also, Louisiana Tech's Jaylon Ferguson who is 6'4 and 256 and ran a 4.72 at the combine.

Other guys who could be in the OLB pass rush role for the Giants are Florida's Jachal Polite, Michigan's Chase Winovich, who I really like and could be a bargain in the third, if the Giants kpee that pick and don't use it in a trade up.

Guys like TCU's Ben Bonogu and Alabama's Christian Miller could also be interesting.  But will they take one or 2.

On the other hand could the Giants want a 3-4 rush end, like Leonard Marshall once was?  They could.

Alabama's Quinnen Williams might be the best player in the Draft, though he could even fall to 6, if there's a QB rush or something.  He's 6'3" and 303 and just really knows how the play the game.  Great football player.

The other guys, like Michigan's Rashaan Gary (6'4" 277 and a tweener in the 3-4), Clemson's Christian Wilkins (6'3" 315) and Dexter Lawrence (6'4" 342) , seem like better values at 17 or even in the second round, than at 6.

The draft is pretty deep in big bodies for to rotate on the DL, so they could find some great values in 4 and 5, if they don't hit it early.