New York Giants, NT, Dexter Lawrence (No. 17 overall)
Purely logically, the Dexter Lawrence pick doesn’t make sense. Not to rag on Dave Gettleman but this was redundant. The Giants had one of the best nose tackles, Damon Harrison, on the roster last season and traded him for a fifth-round pick mid-season only to take a nose tackle with the No. 17 pick.
Their jobs are important, especially in the style of defense James Bettcher runs. Nevertheless, the nose tackle position, while important, doesn’t hold the type of value that should warrant a first-round pick. As a matter of fact, the last two nose tackles who were taken inside the top 20 haven’t lived up to expectations.
Both Danny Shelton and Vita Vea were taken 12th overall. We’ll see what Vea has in the 2019 season after recovering from injury, but Shelton is currently still looking for work.
Additionally, Dalvin Tomlinson was a one-year starter before taking over as the head nose tackle for the Giants. The third-year pro is thickly built with a strong bull rush and fast hands. He still has room to grow as a player, but he also has a solid floor.
The Giants really needed a pass rusher and Montez Sweat was readily available at No. 17. Of course, protecting Eli Manning (and Daniel Jones) and helping Saquon Barkley would have been wise. Moreover, taking any of the top offensive linemen made more sense. Players like Andre Dillard, Jawan Taylor or Garrett Bradbury would have made excellent additions.