The New York Giants and general manager Joe Schoen face an interesting decision as they head into the 2023 NFL draft. With needs at wide receiver, cornerback and center, which position do they address in Round 1?
Most experts and prognosticators have stuck with wide receivers while a few outliers have gone center. But in the latest mock draft from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, he has the Giants going in a completely different direction.
Feldman actually projects that the Giants trade up with the Houston Texans and select Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez at No. 12 overall.
In a deal to move up 13 spots, the Giants know there’s a run on top corners coming very soon, and they swap first-rounders with Houston (plus some later picks) to grab Gonzalez before Bill Belichick or Mike Tomlin. The 6 feet 1, 197-pounder, who began his career at Colorado, has ideal size and length. Gonzalez is a Freak athlete who ran a 4.38 at the combine, broad jumped 11-1 and vertical jumped 41 1/2 inches. He might not be quite as instinctive as Witherspoon but he’s much bigger, and in a division with A.J. Brown on the top team, that matters.
Interestingly — and perhaps somewhat ironically — Feldman then has the Texans selecting TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston, who the Giants are very interested in, at No. 25 overall.
Feldman also doesn’t detail the ins and outs of the trade but it’s a move that would likely be quite expensive for the Giants.
