NFL Draft: Who Giants could select if they traded down

Here is what John Mara said last month when asked about the possibility of trading out of the No. 2 selection in the upcoming draft:

“Tell me who we’re going to get with these other picks and compare it with the person we could have gotten with the second pick and then let’s see which scenario is going to make us better,” he said. “That’s the way I look at it.”

So let’s look at it that way.

The Giants could trade back and land in any of a number of different places in the first round. While most of us are familiar with the names that have been bandied about as potential Giants if they use the No. 2 pick — the quarterbacks along with Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb and maybe Quenton Nelson — here is a look at some possibilities that could be available to the Giants depending on how far back they decide they can afford to go.

PICKS 3-5

We’ll assume that if they stay in the top 5, the same crop of player options will be on the board. If the Giants do trade back, it most likely will be with a team looking to select a quarterback. That could mean three passers going in the first three picks and the best of the non-quarterbacks still available. If they can land this player and get a few more picks elsewhere, all the better.

Rock’s Mock Trade-Down Pick: Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

PICKS 6-10

If Nelson is still available at this point, and that’s a possibility, great. Even for a potential Gold Jacket guard, taking him here rather than at No. 2 is a lot more palatable. But if the big three position players — Barkley, Chubb, Nelson — are all off the board, who then? The Giants could look to improve their defense and add a player somewhat similar to the one James Bettcher had in Arizona when he turned Tyrann Mathieu into an All-Pro. Someone in the secondary who can cover, who can hit, and who can make game-changing plays. And also someone who can share stories about Nick Saban practices and Tuscaloosa culture with Landon Collins.

Rock’s Mock Trade-Down Pick: Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB, Alabama

PICKS 11-15

In free agency, the Giants wanted a guard who they thought was the best lineman available and wound up with a pretty good tackle. The same situation could play out for them in the draft. Nelson will probably be long gone here, but he did have a pretty good teammate at Notre Dame who could fit the Giants’ needs. Looking at how they appraised the personalities of their acquisitions so far and listening to o-line coach Hal Hunter talk about his guys’ professionalism and grown-up attitude, they could take a player who could not only make Ereck Flowers expendable but be the heir apparent to Nate Solder a few years down the line.

Rock’s Mock Trade-Down Pick: Mike McGlinchey, T, Notre Dame

PICKS 16-20

The Giants’ new defensive front is starting to come together, particularly at outside linebacker. Bettcher suggested that it may be one of the most important positions on the field for him. So while they have added Kareem Martin in free agency as the guy who knows the system, and they will convert Olivier Vernon to his new responsibilities, they could use a big-time pass-rusher familiar with a 3-4 system (but who also could project to a 4-3 end). The luxury of drafting pass-rushing OLBs is that they don’t have to be on the field for every snap early in their career and can step into a rotation with veterans.

Rock’s Mock Trade-Down Pick: Marcus Davenport, DE/OLB, Texas-San Antonio

PICKS 21-25

Back to the offensive line, and the term “hog mollies” could be used an awful lot if the Giants wind up here. While Nelson is heads above most of the selections in the draft as far as day one possibilities, this is actually a fairly deep draft for interior linemen. The Giants could certainly find a starter toward the bottom of the round (or the top of the second if they are patient enough). This guy may not be as polished as the golden helmet that Nelson wears, but he’s a nasty, gritty player. In any other draft he’d probably be the first guard taken, and if the Giants can grab him here while accumulating other picks it’d be a shrewd maneuver.

Rock’s Mock Trade-Down Pick: Will Hernandez, G, UTEP

PICKS 26-32

Are the Giants going to trade back this far? Probably not. But there’s been a lot of speculation that the Patriots (31) want to jump up and grab a QB of the future, so they could wind up making a deal with the Giants. At this point Dave Gettleman may look at his roster, look at his board, and realize the one thing he is missing from his team is a game-changing running back. It’s one of the few areas of need that were not addressed in free agency (unless you are a believer that Jonathan Stewart can provide something that few 31-year-old running backs ever do), and there is a wealth of talent at the position among guys not named Saquon. Adding a dynamic runner would help everyone on offense, from the quarterback to the receivers to the linemen. It’s a smart pick here.

Rock’s Mock Trade-Down Pick: Sony Michel, RB, Georgia

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.