The New York Giants hold the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft and will surely land a generational player such as Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter, Colorado’s multifaceted Heisman Trophy winner.
That will be the easy part for general manager Joe Schoen and his staff. The hard part comes on Day 2, where the Giants have three picks — Nos. 34, 65 and 99.
Few expect the Giants to be overly aggressive and trade up, unless there is a player who they see as a an exceptional value. So Day 2 will be a pivotal one for Schoen and the Giants. They need to nail all three picks by finding players who will become key contributors.
Who those players could be is anyone’s guess. The folks at Pro Football Focus recently identified the best Day 2 fits for all 32 NFL teams. For the Giants, they chose Toledo defensive lineman Darius Alexander.
Although the Giants‘ interior houses one of the best defensive linemen in the game, Dexter Lawrence, there isn’t a lot outside of that, evidenced by the team’s 46.1 PFF run-defense grade on the interior after Lawrence went down in Week 13 in 2024. At 25 years old, Alexander possesses the strength to excel against the run, charting a 90.3 PFF grade in that facet last season.
The Giants could surely use more depth in their defensive line rotation. They noticeably struggled when Lawrence was not on the field and it was a priority for Schoen this offseason to find help in free agency.
The Giants added veterans Roy Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter to the roster, but that won’t preclude Schoen from dipping into this very deep class of defensive linemen.
The Giants have not formally met with Alexander in the pre-draft period. They did see him at their favorite recruiting venue (the Senior Bowl), however, where Alexander had a strong week.
According to Walter Football, the only interior defensive lineman the Giants have met with this offseason is Florida State’s Joshua Farmer.
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