Heavy Mock Draft: Giants Pick ‘Explosive’ Target for Daniel Jones

The New York Giants could pick a blossoming Flowers.

Big Blue added Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers with the 25th overall pick in Heavy Sr. NFL Reporter Matt Lombardo’s 2023 Mock Draft. 

The mock was compiled with information Lombardo gleaned from NFL coaches, general managers, scouts, and front office executives in advance of the first round of the 2023 NFL draft on Thursday, April 27. 

Here’s what “multiple sources” told Lombardo about the Giants and Flowers as a draft fit: 

…The feeling (around the NFL) is if Zay Flowers somehow makes it to the Giants at No. 26, he won’t make it a pick further. After trading for Darren Waller, the Giants drop another explosive weapon into Daniel Jones’ supporting cast with the addition of Flowers, who averaged 13.8 yards per reception and caught 12 touchdowns last season.

New York’s interest in Flowers has remained steady for weeks.

Team executives took Flowers out to dinner in advance of his March 24 pro day, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The team also hosted Flowers in East Rutherford, N.J. for one of its “top 30” visits on April 12, according to NJ.com’s Art Stapleton. 

General manager Joe Schoen could make it three first-rounders in a row by adding Flowers to a Big Blue offense now featuring tight end Darren Waller and receivers like Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell, and Sterling Shepard.

Here’s what else you need to know about New York’s interest in Flowers before Thursday’s draft:

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Zay Flowers: A Popular Giants Mock Draft Pick 

Lombardo isn’t the only mock draftnik who thinks Flowers is a fit in New York. 

The 5-foot-9 receiver is Big Blue’s pick in 108 tracked mock drafts on Mock Draft Database. His average draft grade slots him as the 25th overall pick — exactly where New York sits in the first round. 

Other mock drafts that marry Flowers and the Giants include NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks and Peter Schrager, The New York Post’s Steve Serby, Pro Football Network’s Tommy Garrett, and CBS Sports’ Will Brinson.

Big Blue even trades up with the Seahawks at No. 20 overall — and ahead of the WR-needy Chargers — to secure Flowers’ services in a mock draft from CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.

Here’s what Jones wrote about his projected pick:

I love this pairing so much that I had to make it happen in this mock. Otherwise, the Chargers were going to take Flowers and check-off their need for speed at wideout. Giants have to get ahead of L.A. in this mock to get their guy.

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Zay Flowers’ Draft Stock ‘Surging’ Ahead Of NFL Draft

New York might need to be aggressive if it really wants Flowers. 

Lombardo’s mock slotted Flowers as the draft’s third-best wideout behind two other players the Giants have scouted: Ohio State’s Jaxon-Smith Njigba (mocked to Texans at No. 12 overall) and USC’s Jordan Addison (mocked to the Chargers at No. 21 overall).

But Flowers isn’t guaranteed to be there when the Giants pick at No. 25.

His draft stock is skyrocketing after wowing scouts with a 4.42 40-yard dash and adding 13 pounds of muscle before the 2023 NFL Combine, per Pro Football Focus.

Flowers is connected to other teams like the Cowboys, Steelers, Bills, Ravens, and Seahawks. He even caught passes from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in a pre-draft workout in Texas, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Add it all up and Flowers could leapfrog all other receivers on draft night, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

Wrote Fowler: “In pass-catching buzz, don’t be shocked if Boston College’s Zay Flowers is the first wide receiver off the board. His stock is surging.”

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