For many fans of the New York Giants, this first mock draft has come far, far too soon. After all, the NFL season only half over, and most teams in the league are still playing meaningful football. As well, there’s a natural rhythm to the football calendar, and draft season follows football season.

For some of us, however, every season is draft season. And, like it or not, the Giants’ season is once again effectively over before Halloween.

We have been keeping an eye on college football with our regular weekly preview posts, but with the Giants (mercifully) on a bye week, it’s time for our first mock draft in advance of the 2019 NFL draft.

This is technically a three-round mock draft. But as it so happens, the Giants have the first pick in the second round and their third round pick has already been made, so I only have to make one round’s worth of picks for the entire league.

So, let’s get to it.

The Draft

Day 2

33) David Edwards (OT, Wisconsin)

65) Sam Beal (CB, Western Michigan)

The Giants’ picks - explained

I can hear it now from everyone who looked at the first pick then jumped down to this subhead “What!? Chris passed on Justin Herbert!? rabblerabblerabblerabble!”

Okay, let me get this out of the way right now. I’m operating on the supposition that Herbert will return to school and not be available in the 2019 draft class.

I haven’t seen anything definitive regarding his plans for the future, and the chance to be the number one overall pick is enticing enough.

However, in the course of reading up about him, the reports that he is leaning toward staying in Oregon make sense to me. First and foremost, he is a long-time fan of the Ducks. He grew up blocks from the stadium in which he now calls home, and from what I can gather, loves life in college. Furthermore, his younger brother is a highly recruited tight end who will be playing for Oregon next year. The chance to take the team he loves to the National Championship game while playing with his little brother is something you can’t easily put a price on — if you can at all. And finally, Herbert has aspirations toward being a doctor when his playing days are over. Staying in school and continuing to work toward that goal makes sense.

So, with that said, let’s get on to the picks I DID make.

Round 1 - 1st overall - Nick Bosa (EDGE, Ohio State) - With Justin Herbert off my board until he declares for the draft, Nick Bosa is the obvious choice of the options Dave Gettleman would likely consider. I believe the SMART choice here would be to trade down, maximize the value of the pick, and hopefully acquire multiple pieces for the rebuilding effort. But, Gettleman has never traded back, and Nick Bosa is the hands-down best prospect in this draft. He is a physical clone of his older brother (Los Angeles Chargers EDGE Joey Bosa), and is a little further along in his development than Joey was at this point. He might also be more athletic, as he has shown more flexibility around the edge. Nick can play on the edge or as a DT on passing downs. He would immediately help the Giants’ anemic pass rush and would also make moving on from Olivier Vernon a more tenable proposition.

My other options were Ed Oliver, Quinnen Williams, or Jonah Williams. Oliver is likely too small for Gettleman, and with Dalvin Tomlinson, Mario Williams, and B.J. Hill, the Giants are in a good place at defensive tackle. Jonah Williams is likely the top offensive lineman in the draft, but taking him first overall feels like a reach at this point, considering the other options available at high leverage positions.

Round 2 - 33rd overall - David Edwards (OT, Wisconsin) - The Giants need offensive line help in the worst way. Even so, I couldn’t justify picking Jonah Williams first overall with Nick Bosa on the board. Unfortunately, they are stuck with Nate Solder for at least another season, so instead of worrying about transitioning a player from one position to another, I picked Wisconsin’s right tackle. He would have a minimal learning curve jumping from that offense to the NFL, and would be playing his natural position.

Edwards is a beast of a run blocker and has the movement skills to hold up in pass protection. He could well be the second best OT in the draft behind Williams, but thanks to the zombie-narrative that right tackle is somehow “less important” or “easier” than left tackle (It isn’t. There’s no significant correlation between side and pressure, and sacks, fumbles, or injuries. Also, RTs face just as many talented rushers as LTs do), he slips to the top of the second and the Giants are able to get a steal.

Round 3 - 65th overall - Sam Beal (CB, Western Michigan) - As things stand now, the Giants won’t have a pick in the third round in April, but that’s because they already used it on Beal in the supplemental draft. This pick could wind up being a steal for the Giants, if Beal plays up to his potential when he eventually makes his return to the field. He has the length that James Bettcher needs in his DBs, as well as impressively quick feet and hips to stick in tight man coverage. If he were in the 2019 draft, he could have been a high second or even a fringe first round pick. However, there is some risk with Beal going forward that puts the value in question.

First and foremost, the Giants will only have Beal for what amounts to a three-year rookie contract due to his shoulder surgery. The hope was that by getting him in-building a year early, they could get a jump-start on his development in their defense and come out ahead of the game in 2019. However, his injury throws a monkey wrench into those plans. Physically, he needs to add some mass and strength to hold up against bigger, stronger receivers in the NFL, and his shoulder could present an obstacle to that.

All things considered, had he come out in 2019 after missing his 2018 season with this injury, the top of the third round feels about where he would go.

So then, Giants’ fans ... What would you accept this draft?