Both the New York Giants and New York Jets went into last night’s Round 1 of the NFL Draft with multiple top ten selections and both appeared to get great value. Now when you’re picking in the top ten, the best talent is available, but both teams were able to tackle major areas of need and make what should be big improvements moving forward.
Below you can find our winners list of which teams performed the best during Round 1 of the draft.
New York Giants
The Giants selected Oregon star pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux with the fifth overall pick and that was a surprise to some, who expected them to lean towards an offensive tackle. They clearly figured they couldn’t pass up on a talent like Thibodeaux, which is completely fair, and that gives them an edge rusher that should put up numbers for years to come.
At one point in the year, Evan Neal, an offensive tackle out of Alabama, was projected to be one of the top one or two picks off the board, and with him falling to seventh overall, this was almost a no-brainer for the Giants who still got their pass protector.
The G-Men were able to get potential difference-makers on both sides of the ball and Joe Schoen knocked it out of the park in his first Round 1 as GM.
New York Jets
Much like the Giants, the Jets were able to get quite the haul in the first round of the NFL Draft, selecting Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner fourth overall and pairing him with Garrett Wilson, a star wide receiver from Ohio State in the top 10. That wasn’t all for the Jets though, as they were able to trade back into the late first round and get a pass rusher at 26 in Jermaine Johnson, a defensive end who continued to fall throughout the night. Some thought Johnson was in play when New York was on the clock at No. 10.
This was the definition of a win-win scenario for the Jets, who got Zach Wilson another weapon on offense, to go along with bolstering a defense that now has a solid foundation to build upon.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles went into the draft and made one of the biggest splashes of the night, acquiring wide receiver A. J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans. Brown gives Jalen Hurts a big weapon on offense and they immediately gave him a four-year extension worth 25 million annually.
That wasn’t all for the Eagles, as they were still able to go out and add standout defensive tackle Jordan Davis from the Georgia Bulldogs, who should give teams fits next season when planning their run game.
Runner up
The Detroit Lions deserve a lot of credit for their first round as well, where they were able to select hometown boy Aidan Hutchinson with the second overall pick and star wideout Jameson Williams 12th overall. Williams has the potential to be the best wide receiver in this class, while Hutchinson was the odds on favorite to go number one for most of the draft season. Both of these two young players should be integral parts of what the Lions do moving forward.
