:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71936323/1362572617.0.jpg)
In version 2.0 of our 2023 NFL mock draft tracker for the New York Giants, wide receiver was once again the most popular pick for the Giants. This week, 16 of our 34 mock drafts (47 percent) have the Giants selecting a wide receiver.
This week, though, the receiver of choice is Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, chosen in eight of the 34 mock drafts (23.5 percent). Last week, Jordan Addison of USC was the receiver most often mocked to the Giants.
Smith-Njigba played in only three games in 2022, missing most of the season with a hamstring injury. The severity of that injury was questioned by at least one big-time draft analyst.
Draft Network writes:
Smith-Njigba is an outstanding route-runner and separator where his deceptive footwork, body control, ability to read leverage, make sight adjustments, and run to open space made him consistently available for C.J. Stroud to work him the football in 2021. He’s an extremely intelligent player with exceptional spatial awareness. He does well to continue working in scramble situations and he’s always competing to get open. Smith-Njigba has exceptional hands, ball skills, and focus at the catch point. He is decisive after the catch with excellent field vision. Everything Smith-Njigba does on the field is smooth, focused, and technically refined. He’s found production and is a threat to work all levels of the field. He does well to vary his release package to win early in routes, which allows him to gain leverage and get open.
While Smith-Njigba is an outstanding route-runner and separator, he lacks top-end speed. He is reliant on technique because he isn’t simply going to win foot races to run away from coverage. That explosive top gear is missing from his skill set. Ohio State moves him around the formation and puts him in motion, but he has primarily functioned from the slot and enjoyed free releases. He has the footwork and body control to beat press coverage but hasn’t been challenged much in that regard, so developing and proving his ability to play out wide may remain a question.
Because he wasn’t available, 2022 was a lost year to evaluate Smith-Njigba’s development and questions were left unanswered. Smith-Njigba has the makings of a productive NFL starter but he isn’t striking when the iron is hot when it comes to his last year in college going into the NFL.
2023 NFL Mock Draft Tracker
| Date | Mock | Round 1 (No. 25) |
|---|---|---|
| Date | Mock | Round 1 (No. 25) |
| 4/27 | ESPN (Kiper) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/27 | ESPN (McShay) | Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame |
| 4/27 | NFL.com (Schrager) | Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama |
| 4/27 | San Diego Union Tribune (Brown) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/26 | NFL.com (Jeremiah) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
| 4/26 | Pro Football Focus (Collinsworth) | Luke Wypler, C, Ohio State |
| 4/26 | 33rd Team (Meirov) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
| 4/26 | NFL.com (Davis) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/26 | The Athletic (Staff) | Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia |
| 4/26 | Yahoo Sports (McDonald) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
| 4/26 | Heavy (Lombardo) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/26 | Draft Network (Melo) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
| 4/26 | Draft Network (Parson) | Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina |
| 4/26 | Draft Network (Fowler) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/25 | Walter Football | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/25 | Tankathon | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/25 | FOX Sports (Klatt) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
| 4/25 | CBS (Schneier) | Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland |
| 4/25 | CBS (Prisco) | Jakorian Bennett, CB, Maryland |
| 4/25 | Outkick (Salguero) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/25 | Pro Football Network (Hasan) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
| 4/25 | NBC Sports (Florio) | Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame |
| 4/25 | LA Times (Farmer) | O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida |
| 4/25 | Touchdown Wire (Farrar) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
| 4/25 | NFL.com (Brooks) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/25 | Walter Football | Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa |
| 4/25 | NFL Trade Rumors (Ulrich) | Joey Porter, Jr., CB, Penn State |
| 4/24 | 33rd Team (Tannenbaum/Spielman) | Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland |
| 4/24 | Draftwire (Risdon) | Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa |
| 4/24 | Pro Football Focus (Staff) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/24 | FOX Sports (McIntyre) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/24 | Big Blue View (Falato) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
| 4/24 | NFL.com (Edholm) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC (Trade up to No. 20 with Seahawks) |
| 4/24 | NY Daily News (Leonard) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/24 | NBC Sports (King) | Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame |
| 4/24 | USA Today (Davis) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/24 | NBC Sports (Dvorchak) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/24 | Sun Sentinel (Perkins) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/24 | Pro Football Network (Miller) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/24 | SB Nation (Staff) | Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson |
| 4/24 | 33rd Team (Staff) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/23 | Draft Network (Eisner) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
| 4/23 | CBS (Benjamin) | Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State (Trade up to No. 18 with Detroit Lions) |
| 4/23 | Touchdown Wire (Barbieri) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
| 4/23 | CBS (Hunt) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/23 | AL.com | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/23 | Houston Chronicle | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/22 | NY Post (Serby) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/22 | Pro Football Network (Valentino) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/21 | CBS (Fornelli) | Steve Avila, iOL, TCU |
| 4/21 | Draftwire (Miller) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/21 | NFL.com (Reuter) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
| 4/20 | CBS (Edwards) | Steve Avila, iOL, TCU |
| 4/20 | CBS (Brinson) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/20 | NFL.com (Jones-Drew) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/20 | The Huddle (Hickey) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/20 | Pro Football Focus (Sikkema/Rogers) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/19 | CBS (Jones) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College (Trade up to No. 20 with Seattle) |
| 4/19 | CBS (Trapasso) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/19 | Sporting News (Iyer) | Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson |
| 4/19 | FOX Sports (Staff) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/19 | Pro Football Network (Caplan | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/19 | Draftwire (Popejoy) | Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas |
| 4/19 | Dallas Morning News (Watkins) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/19 | Pro Football Focus (Renner) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
| 4/19 | DraftTek | Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland |
| 4/19 | NFL Trade Rumors (Bouda) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
| 4/18 | Pro Football Network (Hodgkinson) | Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami |
| 4/17 | Draft Countdown (Hallam) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/17 | USA Today (Middlehurst-Schwartz) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
| 4/17 | The Athletic (Brugler) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/16 | CBS (Dubin) | Brian Branch, S, Alabama |
| 4/16 | Chicago Tribune (Biggs) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/15 | Pro Football Network (Mellor) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/14 | CBS (Stackpole) | O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida |
| 4/14 | The Huddle Report (Johannes) | Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi St. |
| 4/14 | Huddle Report (Long) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/13 | The Huddle (Gallo) | Joe Tippmann, C, Wisconsin |
| 4/13 | Pro Football Focus (Brown) | Will McDonald IV, Edge, Iowa State |
| 4/13 | Bleacher Report (Staff) | Steve Avila, iOL, TCU |
| 4/12 | The Athletic (Lee) | Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame |
| 4/11 | Stacking The Board (Marino) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/11 | NFL.com (Lewis) | Jordan Addison, WR, USC |
| 4/11 | Pro Football Network (Pauline) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/11 | Football Outsiders (Robinson) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
| 4/10 | Draft Countdown (Menendez) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/10 | NBC Sports (Rogers) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/10 | Pro Football Focus (Monson) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/9 | Draft Network (McKessy) | Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina |
| 4/8 | Pro Football Network (Cummings) | Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU |
| 4/7 | The Athletic (Baumgartner) | O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida |
| 4/6 | Draft Kings (Gresham) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
| 4/6 | NFL.com (Rank) | Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee |
| 4/6 | Pro Football Network (Broback) | Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee |
| 4/2 | With the First Pick (Matthews) | John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota |
| 4/1 | NFL Spin Zone (Bedinger) | Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina |
| 4/1 | Chicago Sun-Times (Lieser) | Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College |
Loading comments...