2018 NFL Mock Draft: Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen top first round
By Brad Weiss
Orlando Brown
Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma
The New York Giants head into the 2017 season with arguably the best defense in football. Two years ago, the defense for the Giants was a joke, but the organization went out and spent a ton of money to bolster the unit. Now, they appear headed for the playoffs for the second straight season, this after missing out on the postseason for five years.
The problem with the Giants roster is that is going to be hard to win consistently with the offensive line they have in front of Eli Manning. Manning has been an iron man at quarterback for the team since coming into the league, but he is going to get killed with Ereck Flowers as his left tackle. There is such elite talent at wideout for this team, but if Manning does not have time to throw, what does it matter.
With their first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Giants should look to bring in a left tackle. Orlando Brown has been tasked to protect Baker Mayfield’s backside at Oklahoma, and has done a phenomenal job at doing so. He is going to be able to stay on the left side at the NFL level, and the Giants need an offensive lineman that they can start building the unit around.
The Giants have enough talent up front to win games, but they are never going to reach their full potential with Flowers playing such an important role. Manning is getting up there in age, but he has proven that he does still have a lot left in the tank. However, when quarterbacks get older, it starts getting harder to get off the turf, so protecting Manning has to be priority one heading into the next draft season.