Getty The New York Giants can fix their Kadarius Toney mistake by drafting an "electric star."
Kadarius Toney helping the Kansas City Chiefs reach Super Bowl LVII is a what-if moment for the New York Giants, who traded the player they drafted 20th overall in 2021 on October 27, despite an obvious lack of talent at wide receiver.
The Giants got a third and sixth-round pick from the Chiefs, but general manager Joe Schoen can also get an “electric” star to finally replace Toney, by selecting Boston College’s Zay Flowers in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Flowers is a popular pick for the Giants in several mock drafts, with CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli and NFL Network’s Cynthia Frelund both sending him to MetLife Stadium. Flowers is described as “an electric player in space” by Damian Parson of The Draft Network, and his playmaking talents have been likened to Toney.
What’s more, Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll is tipped to use Flowers’ versatility to improve Big Blue’s third-down offense.
Giants Must Fix Kadarius Toney Mistake
No matter whether you agree with the decision to trade Toney or not, his time with the Giants was ultimately a mistake. Injuries and other issues meant the Giants rarely saw the dynamic pass-catcher they drafted, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan: “Toney, 24, missed 12 of a possible 24 games with the Giants because of various injuries and a pair of bouts with COVID-19. During his time with the Giants, Toney dealt with hamstring, ankle, quad, oblique and knee injuries. He also irked the previous Giants regime by not showing up to voluntary OTAs in the spring of 2021.”
Nonetheless, Toney’s performances since joining the Chiefs suggest the Giants may have given up on their first-round investment too soon. He’s been making an impact as both a runner and a receiver, showcasing the after-catch skills the Giants hoped they were getting in 2021.
Toney showed off how fast and physical he’s become with the ball in his hands on this catch and run against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Playoffs, highlighted by Ron Kopp Jr. of SB Nation’s Arrowhead Addict:
Kadarius Toney is relentless after the catch. Does not make it easy to get him down
Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid has found multiple ways to get Toney involved. Those ways have included coming out of the backfield as a runner.
That’s how the Chiefs created this touchdown for Toney against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18:
And on the very next play, @Chiefs get the TD!
📺: #KCvsLV on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/nMh7vXuCB4
It’s not as if the Giants couldn’t have used Toney in as many ways this season. Especially when Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka showed a willingness to unleash Toney in Week 1.
He gashed the Tennessee Titans for 20 yards on a direct handoff, per Bobby Skinner of Talkin’ Giants:
20 yard run for Kadarius Toney on his first touch of the day
The Giants need this level of explosiveness and flexibility at the wide receiver position. It won’t be easy to find when 2022 second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson is recovering from a torn ACL, while Richie James, Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard and Isaiah Hodgins are all free agents.
Drafting Flowers 25th overall would be the right step toward bolstering a problem position and finding the player the Giants needed Toney to become.
Zay Flowers Can Be An Instant Hit in Giants’ Offense
Fornelli believes Flowers would “be what the Giants thought they were getting in Kadarius Toney.” It’s a strong comparison based on the varied ways Flowers attack defenses.
Those ways yielded 78 catches, 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022, per Sports Reference. The numbers are apt for a player Fornelli describes as “electric with the ball in his hands. He’s a receiver with the capability of scoring from anywhere on the field.”
That description fits with Parson’s recommendation for how an NFL team should use Flowers as a rookie: “The plan a team has for him in year one should revolve around pre-snap motion, manufactured touches in space, and quick-hitting routes with run-after-catch opportunities.”
Plays like this 35-yard touchdown against North Carolina State, highlighted by ACC Football, showed how effective Flowers can be when he’s put on the move:
Zay Flowers 🤝 yards after the catch
A 35 yard catch-and-run for the BC score!
Ironically, Flowers wasn’t moved around often at Boston College. Instead, as analytics expert Frelund noted, “Flowers lined up out wide on almost two-thirds of his snaps at BC, and while that may not be how he’s used at the next level, he has the speed and route traits that Giants coach Brian Daboll could use on third down, specifically.”
The reference to the Giants’ third-down offense is telling. Daboll and Kafka’s unit converted 36.8 percent of their third downs, according to Pro Football Reference, 22nd in the league.
This Giants’ passing game was bottom of the NFL standings with just 28 completions of 20-plus yards. Flowers would increase the Giants’ vertical threat after showing a flair for stretching the field at the collegiate level, like for this 57-yard score against Louisville:
October Showers Bring Zay Flowers 🌸
Drafting Flowers would give the Giants a dynamic receiver able to make plays against short, intermediate and deep coverage. He’s also somebody Daboll and Kafka could turn into a roving weapon, in the mold of Toney, who’d add another layer of unpredictability to the offense.
With quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley needing new contracts, the draft represents the most cost-effective way for Schoen to fix the Giants’ receiver problem.