2021 NFL Mock Draft: Giants Draft This Wide Receiver at No. 11

Of all the Giants mock drafts we've seen so far, Pro Football Focus's latest has the Giants landing a blue-chip playmaker that the offense desperately needs.

A top offensive playmaker for the Giants at No. 11?

In their latest mock draft penned by Ben Linsey, Pro Football Focus agrees, offer a dream scenario that might please a lot of Giants fans if it were to come to fruition.

That scenario has Alabama's Devonta Smith falling to the Giants at No. 11, Linsey's justification for the pick as follows:

The Giants likely went into the 2020 season feeling content with their offensive weapons and made no real moves to add to their receiving corps. It’s hard to imagine that being the case again in 2021, so Smith falling to 11th overall would be an ideal situation for New York.

Smith's production has been off the charts over the last two years. He led all Alabama wide receivers — a group that included three other first-round talents — in receiving yardage in 2019 and is coming off an even better, Heisman-winning campaign this past season. From his releases to his ball skills, there is a lot to like with Smith, and he would give a much-needed injection of talent to the Giants’ offense.

Again, while there would probably be a little resistance from Giants fans if this scenario played out, let's take a look at how Linsey has Smith, whom several draft analysts think won't get out of the top-10, falling to the Giants.

PFF has three quarterbacks going in the first three picks, including a big trade between the Jets and Texans for DeShaun Watson. PFF then has LSU's Ja'Marr Chase as the first receiver off the board, going to the Bengals at No. 5, followed by Florida TE Kyle Pitts going to the Eagles at No. 6.

While I could see a case where the Eagles grab Putts given their tight end situation, I'm not so sure if Chase, as good as he is, is the first receiver off the board. But moving on--and I think this is the key behind Smith sliding down to the Giants at No. 11, Linsey has the Lions taking a quarterback (Trey Lance) at No. 7 despite their having acquired Jared Goff in a trade with the Rams.

• Get all of Nick Falato's NFL Draft Prospect Profiles in one handy place.

But in explaining Lance to the Lions, Linsey notes, "There is legitimate concern surrounding Lance's accuracy and experience, especially since he's played just one season as a starter in the FCS, but he also has absurd arm talent and gives any team the option to lean on him in the running game. It’s a bet worth taking for Detroit as they look toward life without Stafford."

(I'm not sure I agree with this being a bet worth taking this high in the draft, but that's for the Lions to figure out.)

With the Lions taking a quarterback, this then leaves two defensive players to go at Nos. 8 and 9 (OLB Micah Parsons and CB Caleb Farley, respectively) before the Cowboys go on the clock at No. 10 and grab an offensive tackle (Rashawn Slater of Missouri).

And that leads us to the availability of Smith for the Giants.

The key, then to the Giants having a chance at drafting Smith in this scenario hinges on whether the Bengals like Chase best out of the top three receivers (Smith, Chase, and Jaylen Waddle of Alabama) and the Lions getting another quarterback to develop.

Do I think this scenario will play out this way? Probably not because it's simply too good to be true (plus, regardless of the mock draft presented, very few of them do pan out as scripted).

But if Smith were to somehow slip down to the Giants at No. 11, it would be tough to pass up a chance at adding a big-time playmaker to an offense that's been crying out for one ever since the Giants traded receiver Odell Beckham Jr after the 2018 season.

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