John Harbaugh and the New York Giants must tread carefully in the NFL Draft.
John Harbaugh will now be leading the New York Giants' roster-building process this offseason, and that is certainly great news.
After all, Harbaugh did a tremendous job of building a nearly perennial playoff team with the Baltimore Ravens, so you would imagine he could rebuild the Giants in the same sort of fashion.
Given New York's unfortunate lack of cap space, the Giants will need to mostly rely on the NFL Draft to plug some of the biggest holes on their roster, and it starts with who Big Blue selects with the fifth overall pick.
Hopefully, New York can find a way to trade down and collect some more draft capital to more properly address the squad's most prominent needs, but if the Giants stay put at No. 5, they need to avoid one massive trap.
That trap? Selecting Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs.
More and more mock drafts (and even Giants fans) are linking New York to Downs with its top draft choice, and that would be a colossal mistake.
Downs is a terrific player. He is unquestionably one of the top talents in this entire draft class. But are the Giants really about to take a safety inside the top five?
Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs. Credit: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.New York needs help at defensive tackle, cornerback, wide receiver and along its offensive line. As much as I would love to see the G-Men upgrade from Tyler Nubin, safety should be very far down the Giants' list of priorities.
Just like every other NFL team.
If you are taking a safety that high in the draft, you are essentially banking on the fact that he has Hall-of-Fame potential. Can we say that about Downs? Perhaps, but with so many other significant holes, taking best player available is a massive pitfall.
That strategy works for a team like the Los Angeles Rams, for example, who own the eighth overall pick in the draft courtesy of a trade with the Atlanta Falcons. The Rams are Super Bowl contenders. They can afford to go best player available.
A club in the Giants' position, however, shouldn't be following that model.
New York has had plenty of success selecting safeties on Day 2 in the past. Landon Collins and Xavier McKinney are prime examples. There really is no need to take one in the first round ... especially with a top-five pick.
Now, if the Giants were to trade down and pick up an extra first-rounder, that changes things. Suddenly, Downs becomes a possibility. Even then, though, New York would probably be better off addressing its most glaring problems.
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