Mock drafters still think Wide Receiver is the preferred option

This week’s New York Giants mock draft tracker continues to show that the NFL Draft community believes wide receiver will be a primary focus for the New York Giants in the 2023 NFL Draft.

There are 70 mock drafts listed in this week’s tracker, all of which were done during the month of April. Thirty-six of those (51.4%) have GM Joe Schoen selecting a wide receiver in the first round. Twelve mock drafts (17.1%) chose a center, 11 (15.7%) chose a cornerback and another 11 chose from other positions, what I will call “outliers.”

Let’s break it down.

Wide receiver (36)

Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers [Prospect Profile] is the most-often selected player overall. He was the choice in 13 mock drafts (18.6%). USC’s Jordan Addison was chosen in 10 mocks (14.3%). Quentin Johnson of TCU was chosen seven times (10.0%).

There were no selections of Ohio State Jaxon Smith-Njigba as mock drafters don’t expect him to be available to the Giants.

Flowers, Addison and Johnston are all polarizing prospects. Flowers and Addison largely because of their diminutive stature, and Johnston mostly because of inconsistencies in how he catches — or doesn’t catch — the ball.

Center (12)

John Michael Schmitz of Minnesota [Prospect Profile] was chosen 10 times. Joe Tippmann of Wisconsin [Prospect Profile] was selected just twice.

The consensus seems to be that Schmitz is OC1 and Tippmann OC2 in this draft class. In an episode of the ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast this week, Chad Reuter of NFL.com chided me for trading up in Round 2 of last week’s 7-round Giants mock draft and selecting Tippmann over Schmitz. He said that in his view you only trade up to get Schmitz.

Center might not look like the best value pick at No. 25, but if the Giants select one and he turns out to be a two-contract starter there is nothing wrong with that.

Cornerbacks (11)

By consensus, there are four top cornerbacks in this draft class — Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon, Deonte Banks and Joey Porter Jr. Mock drafters see only a slim chance that Banks (two selections or Porter (one selection) might be available to the Giants at No. 25.

Beyond that, it becomes a case of choose your flavor. Emmanuel Forbes of Miississippi State and Cam Smith of South Carolina [Prospect Profile] were each chosen three times.

Outliers (11)

It is entirely possible that the best value at 25 will come from a position other than wide receiver, cornerback or center. Eleven such outliers were chosen in the mocks listed below, with Alabama safety Brian Branch [Prospect Profile], Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence [Prospect Profile] and TCU guard/center Steve Avila [Prospect Profile] each being selected twice.

By now, you know I am a Branch fan and would be OK with him being selected at 25. If the Giants, as GM Joe Schoen has indicated, truly believe that Ben Bredeson or someone else on the current roster can be a starting center, perhaps selecting Torrence or Avila becomes a more realistic possibility.