New York Giants: 7-Round 2018 mock draft in early April

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ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 29: Ronald Jones II #25 of the USC Trojans runs the ball against Jordan Fuller #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the third quarter during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

If the Giants give Eli Manning one last hurrah, he’s going to need an additional weapon on offense to take the pressure off of him. They will need to rely on defense and the running game. They settled the defense with a pass rusher in the first round, and now they settle the running game with Ronald Jones II.

Early on in his college career, Jones was a finesse runner overwhelming defenses with his speed. This year he added another element to his game, power. According to his NFL.com draft profile, he was a “much more assertive runner in 2017.” Even though his yards per carry average has gone down, his total yards and touchdowns have gone up.

The one glaring note on the stat sheet is 32 catches at USC. However, he’s shown to be a capable receiver that just wasn’t asked to do that at USC. That may be something the Giants should use to their advantage. He’s also more than capable at picking up blitzes.

All in all, Jones is the three-down back the Giants need and desire. For Manning to be able to lead this team to one more Lombardi trophy, they will need a guy like Jones to give him a weapon of the backfield.

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