2021 NFL mock draft: New York Giants select WR DeVonta Smith

The New York Giants have the unenviable position of drafting right after their divisional foe Dallas Cowboys. In our Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Cowboys just snagged a top-five talent in tight end Kyle Pitts, which has to sting for the New York Football Giants.

But there is plenty of talent still available for the Giants as we press beyond the top 10. POD commenter SJLIONFAN609 is the acting general manager for the Giants. Here is the big board they are looking at with pick 11.

POD Community Mock Draft picks so far:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
2. New York Jets: Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
3. San Francisco 49ers: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota
4. Atlanta Falcons: Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon
5. Cincinnati Bengals: Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern
6. Miami Dolphins: Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
7. Detroit Lions: Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
8. Carolina Panthers: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
9. Denver Broncos: Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
10. Dallas Cowboys: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

With the 11th pick in the POD Community Mock Draft, the New York Giants select Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith.

Here’s SJLIONSFAN609 with the reasoning for the pick:

The Giants spent big in free agency bringing in WR Kenny Golladay, CB Adoree Jackson, TE Kyle Rudolph, WR John Ross, RB Devontae Booker, EDGE Ryan Anderson, LB Reggie Ragland, and DT Danny Shelton. While some of those are just rotational pieces, it also allows the Giants to go best player available in the draft instead of overreaching for need. After just missing out on a division title last year at 6-10, I believe the Giants will be right in the thick of the NFC East race again this year.

I know the Giants have some holes on the defensive side of the ball, especially at edge rusher, but I just felt this was too early for Kwity Paye or Jaelan Phillips. I also considered Smith’s Alabama teammate Jaylen Waddle here but went with the sure-handed Smith instead. The Giants are invested heavily in Daniel Jones and need to put as many weapons as possible around him to help him succeed, and drafting the Heisman Trophy winner and his 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 receiving touchdowns will help any quarterback.

A lot of people are worried about Smith’s size, or lack thereof (6-foot-1, 175 pounds), but he is one of the best route runners with the surest hands to come out in the draft in a few years. Let’s be honest, the fact that defensive backs can’t even hit receivers coming over the middle like they used to be able to do, and Smith will be just fine.

An offense consisting of Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay, DeVonta Smith, Sterling Shepard, John Ross, Darius Slayton, Kyle Rudolph, and Evan Engram will either allow Daniel Jones to show he is the right quarterback to lead this team for the next decade or if it’s time to move on.

Erik Schlitt’s thoughts:

Another great value pick for a team from the NFC East. I do agree with SJLIONFAN609’s assessment that an Alabama wide receiver is the best value players on the board, and if Smith is the preferred flavor, so be it.

Where I do disagree a bit with SJLIONFAN609, is that I actually do think EDGE will get a serious look (in real life) and believe it’s not too early to target Paye or Phillips. A sleeper EDGE for this spot is Azeez Ojulari (Georgia) who could shine in this scheme.

In the end, it’s a coin toss for me between sticking with Smith or swapping him out for Phillips and I don’t think you can go wrong with either choice.