NFL Draft 2020: Can Giants still get defensive star at No. 4 even if it’s not Chase Young? | Latest mock proj - NJ.com

The Giants’ defense struggled in 2019, when it finished 27th in Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings.

So how can general manager Dave Gettleman fix this defense in the 2020 NFL Draft, if he’s unable to pick Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young?

The latest mock draft from SB Nation’s Dan Kadar offers Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons as a solution at No. 4.

Here’s Kadar with more on why:

Simmons officially joined the draft pool on Saturday and is poised to be a high pick. He can dominate games from various parts of the field and was arguably the best player in the national title game last week after Burrow.

Burrow, of course, is LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who goes first to the Bengals in this mock draft (and probably every mock draft, and also the real draft).

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Second and third in Kadar’s mock draft — Young to Washington and Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown to the Lions.

The Giants have a lot of issues on defense, and Simmons is the type of player who can help at multiple spots.

Consider this:

The Giants in 2020 are expected to have holes or question marks at free safety and middle linebacker, since Antoine Bethea and Alec Ogletree could both be cut. They have no sure-thing solutions right now at slot cornerback, with Corey Ballentine and Grant Haley.

It’s not clear if the Giants will be able to re-sign outside linebacker Markus Golden (their top pass rusher in 2019), so they could have a hole there, too.

So the Giants might be an ideal landing spot for a versatile guy like Simmons.

If the Giants picked Simmons at No. 4 (or anywhere in Round 1), it would mark the second straight year they selected a Clemson player in the first round. They took defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence at No. 17 last year, with their second of three first-round picks.

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NFL analyst Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater.

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2020-01-25 11:01:00Z
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