The Giants, as some expected, traded down from the #11 pick. After receiving a call from Chicago that they would be willing to part with two first rounds for the 11th pick, Dave Gettleman knew he couldn’t refuse, and decided to move back. One of picks that the Bears gave up was the 20th overall selection in the first round of the 2021 draft. It was known that the Giants were high on multiple wide receivers, but following the Eagles trading up over New York to steal Devonta Smith, it was a smart decision for Big Blue to trade down. Everyone can agree that trading down was a smart move, but taking Kadarius Toney at #20 was definitely a surprise to many fans across the NFL.
There are some Giants fans who think this pick was reach, while there are others who think Toney was a steal at #20. Whatever the case may be, Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge both believed that Toney was the best player available, and that there was a good enough margin between Toney and other guys on the draft board that Gettleman could’ve went with. It seems that many are still confused as to why the Giants picked Kadarius Toney, so here are some of the positives of the pick for the G-Men.
The really good thing about the pick is that Kadarius Toney is a speed demon. The Giants have not had many guys with this amount of quickness recently, so adding an explosive guy like him will be a big help. Last year the Giants offense was ranked as one of the worst in the league, while that was due to multiple things, including Saquon Barkley being out for 14+ games. Now, with Barkley back, along with Toney, Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay, Darius Slayton, John Ross, who ran the fastest 40 yard dash time in NFL history, Evan Engram, and Kyle Rudolph, all in the mix and Daniel Jones’s disposal, this offense has the potential to be deadly.
It is going to be really tough for opposing coaches to scheme against this Giants offense. The selection of Kadarius Toney just adds another weapon for Jason Garrett to use when attacking opposing defenses. Additionally, Toney played some snaps as a returner while at Florida, and there is a good chance that he is returning punts or kickoffs by Week 1. Toney’s speed and elusiveness should be valuable to New York’s return game.
So, while the Kadarius Toney pick was a headscratcher for some, I believe Dave Gettleman and the Giants offense will really benefit from this acquisition.
