The Giants improve their offense and defense in this week’s mock from Mocking The Draft

The 2017 NFL Draft is only 31 days (or if you prefer, four weeks and three days) away. Until then we will be looking at all the college players we can in the hopes of being at least a bit prepared to welcome the newest Giants by the time April 29th comes to a close.

Part of that is the relentless march of mock drafts, to try to get an idea of which prospects might go to which teams, and when. Today we have our weekly mock draft from our draft-focused sister site, Mocking The Draft.

In a change from previous weeks, Dan put in the work to give us a two-round mock draft.

So let’s see who he picked for the New York Giants.

23rd Overall - Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford

Raptor’s Take: We’ve talked a lot about Mccaffrey around here. He is fairly popularly mocked to the Giants, and he makes a lot of sense. They could use another running back after cutting Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen entering the final year of his contract.

McCaffrey is a damn good running back. What he lacks in bulk he more than makes up in quickness and versatility. McCaffrey posting a lightening 6.57-second 3-cone drill (quicker than Odell Beckham’s 6.69 seconds), and puts that quickness to good use with legitimately excellent patience and field vision. He is able to set up his blocks, wait for them to come to fruition, and then squirt through before defenders know he is there. His balance, agility, and surprising lower body power (as evidenced by a 37.5-inch vertical) makes him tough to tackle and a capable inside runner.

Add to that polished and developed route running — both out of the backfield and as a receiver — and natural hands, and you have one of the most dangerous all-around offensive weapons in the draft. He also offers significant upside as a kick and punt returner.

McCaffrey would be a great pick for the Giants who’s versatility would allow Ben McAdoo to run the shell-game offense he likes while building on the traits that let Paul Perkins be a dynamic weapon down the stretch out of the backfield. The Giants might not have much contrast in their backfield, but they’d make up for it with the sheer number of options for the offense.

55th Overall - Demarcus Walker, DE, Florida State

Raptor’s Take: At first blush, Walker would help with the Giants hot and cold pass rush and provide good depth that would let the Giants rest Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul. After all, his 25 sacks and 33.5 tackles for a loss in the last two years is absolutely gaudy.

But on the field, the player doesn’t seem to match the production.

He is quiet, almost invisible, for long stretches in most games before making a sack or a TFL. Part of that is because despite his size (6-foot-3, 280) he is more of a finesse player who tries to go over blockers with a swim move, rather than an explosive rusher who can go around them with speed or over them with power.

I think the Giants might look closer at Kevin King (CB, Washington), T.J. Watt EDGE, Wisconsin), Antonio Garcia (OT, Troy), or Tarrell Basham (DE, Ohio), all of whom are selected over the next five picks.