The New York Giants have been connected to Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love throughout the offseason.
While Love is no doubt a special player, the Giants don't exactly have a need at the running back position.
Sure, Cam Skattebo is coming back from a serious injury, but he is expected to be ready by the start of the season, at the latest, and Big Blue also has Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary in the mix.
Essentially Sports' Tony Pauline isn't buying the Love hype.
In his latest mock draft, Pauline pegs Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles to New York instead.
"Love receives consideration at this spot, but the Giants still need help at linebacker despite free-agent signings," Pauline writes.
MORE: NFL mock draft: Full 7-round edition
This pick makes sense for New York, a team that doesn't have the greatest situation at linebacker with Tremaine Edmunds and Micah McFadden, who is coming off a serious injury and is on a one-year deal.
A good pick for the Giants
Styles is widely viewed as one of the very best players in this year's draft because he can really do it all on the football field.
He's a thumper and elite tackler underneath and has sideline-to-sideline speed, which enables him to play the run with the best of them.
Styles is also an effective blitzer and because he's a former safety, he's good in coverage.
Sonny Styles scouting report
Here's more on Styles from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:
"Styles began his Ohio State career as a safety, but he settled in at linebacker in 2024. He’s improved in diagnosing play development. The former Buckeye diffuses block attempts with crisp hand strikes and leverages run fits with force/anchor strength. There are times when he slips back into a containment-based approach, but he has plenty of short-area quickness and pursuit speed to get where he needs to go. He can make an impact from multiple spots on the field and is a plus man-cover talent. Styles is an emerging player with the traits and versatility to garner longer looks by NFL evaluators. He could see his stock soar leading up to draft day.
While we would love this pick for the Giants, the draft is anything but certain to play out like this.
We could definitely see either the Arizona Cardinals or Tennessee Titans taking Styles in one of the two picks before the Giants are on the clock.
If that happens, the Giants could then pivot to Love or trade back.
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