2022 NFL Draft: Giants, Jets make first round picks

NEW YORK - The New York Giants filled their two biggest needs while the New York Jets added some Big Apple Sauce to their defense and another Wilson to their during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday evening. 

New York Giants

Last year, the Giants finished a turbulent season with a 4-13 record, and as a result, said goodbye to head coach Joe Judge and General Manager Dave Gettleman. 

This year, the first round of the draft was a breeze for new general manager Joe Schoen.

• With the 5th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Giants selected Kayvon Thibodeaux, a defensive end from the University of Oregon.

Thibodeaux finished the 2021 college football season with nine sacks and is highly regarded for his speed, explosiveness, and tackling ability. 

The 6-foot-5, 258-pound mainstay of the Ducks regressed a bit since a terrific freshman season and dealt with injuries.

• With the 7th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Giants selected Evan Neal, an offensive tackle from the University of Alabama

Neal was a starter in all three of his seasons at Alabama and has a reputation as a strong run-blocker who has played on both sides of the offensive line. 

He started 40 games and missed only one in his three-year career, which ended as an All-American.

Neal will be a bookend to Andrew Thomas. Thomas has played the left side since being drafted in 2020, and Schoen said Neal would start working on the right side for new coach Brian Daboll.

"Both are 21 years old, young players," said Schoen, the former Buffalo Bills assistant general manager who was hired to replace Dave Gettleman. "Both still have upside to develop, but you know it worked out great. We’re happy."

New York has had five straight losing seasons and has not been to the playoffs since 2016.

Schoen confirmed the Giants did not pick up the fifth-year option on quarterback Daniel Jones, the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft.

"We really like Daniel and the work he’s been putting in and we’re excited where he is and excited to work with him," Schoen said. "It was just a decision we thought was best the New York Giants at this time."

The Giants will have the fourth pick in the second round and two more in the third. They could use help at wide receiver, safety, cornerback and tight end.

New York Jets

The Jets improved in 2021, but after going 2-14 in 2020, it was almost impossible not to.

First-year head coach Robert Saleh took the team to a 4-13 record, and with picks Nos. 4 and 10, the team brought some swagger and some "Sauce" to Gang Green. 

• With the 4th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Jets selected Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, a cornerback from the University of Cincinnati.

Gardner, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound shutdown cornerback, didn't allow a touchdown reception in his three-year college career. He'll join free agent signing D.J. Reed to give coach Robert Saleh a new-look secondary — with both considered No. 1-type cornerbacks.

Gardner, wearing a diamond-encrusted "SAUCE" medallion and an equally gaudy sauce bottle on a chain around his neck at the draft site in Las Vegas, oozes confidence on and off the field. New York can only hope he can be as dominant a defender as their previous homegrown shutdown cornerback: Darrelle Revis, who went 14th overall in 2007.

"That's the main thing I know — when I think about the Jets, I think about Darrelle Revis," Gardner said during a Zoom call. "He used to be one of my favorite corners in the league. I still watch him to this day."

• With the 10th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Jets selected Garrett Wilson, a wide receiver from the Ohio State University.

Wilson finished the 2021 college football season with 70 catches for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. Wilson is regarded as a big-play threat with top-end speed who can make extremely difficult catches in traffic as well.

"What’s better than 1 Wilson? 2 Wilsons," Zach Wilson wrote on Twitter shortly after the pick was announced. "Let’s gooooooooo!!!!!!!"

The 5-11, 185-pound Garrett Wilson had 23 touchdown catches in 33 career games with 19 starts with the Buckeyes, establishing himself as one of the top wide receivers in the country.

His ability to track passes and work the sideline with excellent footwork were plus tools that pushed him up the draft boards. Wilson joins a receiving group that includes Corey Davis, Elijah Moore, Braxton Berrios and Denzel Mims, along with tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin, both signed in free agency.

This is considered a crucial draft for general manager Joe Douglas, who is overseeing his third full offseason after being hired in June 2019 to replace the fired Mike Maccagnan. The Jets have won only six games the past two seasons, but showed some positive signs last season under first-year head coach Saleh and rookie quarterback Wilson.

The focus this offseason has been on the progress of Wilson, who capped a down-and-up year by not throwing an interception in his final five games. Surrounding last year's No. 2 overall pick with playmakers has been a priority for Douglas and the Jets, who signed tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin, and guard Laken Tomlinson in free agency.

A Draft Lottery?

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the league's competition committee has pondered an NBA-like lottery system for its annual draft but he likes it just the way it is.

In a draft-night interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, host Pat Kirwan asked the commissioner if the league has ever considered a lottery system.

Goodell replied: "Yeah, the competition committee talks about it on a ... regular basis. I haven’t heard it in the last couple years, but I never say never about any of those things. It may come a time where we think it’s appropriate."

Goodell emphasized that the league believes the draft is working fine just the way it is with teams picking in reserve order of finish from the previous season.

Goodell says the NFL's 32 teams are "not into tanking" and that the "league's never been more competitive."

With the Associated Press.