NFL Mock Draft: 3-round predictions for the New York Giants

Round 3 (No. 66 overall): Billy Price, OG, Ohio State

Finally an offensive lineman! I know some of you can’t believe I waited until the third round to address the offensive line but hear me out.

While with the Carolina Panthers, Dave Gettleman drafted Trai Turner in the third round, signed Andrew Norwell after he went undrafted, and signed Mike Remmers after he bounced around practice squads for a few years after going undrafted. Those three all started in Super Bowl 50.

Turner has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons, Norwell was an All-Pro this past season, and Remmers signed a big-money contract with the Vikings last offseason and just started in the NFC Championship Game.

It doesn’t matter where you find talented offensive linemen, as long as you find them.

And the New York Giants are certainly in need of talented offensive linemen. New offensive tackles seem like the more pressing need but as things stand right now, the interior of the line is also unsettled.

According to Spotrac, if you take away the players who recently signed reserve/future contracts (who rarely make the team the following season), the list of guards under contract for 2018 is as follows:

• John Jerry

Yup, that’s it.

Justin Pugh and D.J. Fluker are both free agents, leaving a lot of uncertainty at the guard position. To make things more of a mystery, the Giants also don’t have a single center under contract for 2018 with Weston Richburg and Brett Jones both hitting free agency (Jones is a restricted free agent so he will be back in all likelihood).

Pugh could end up getting re-signed. So could Fluker. However, until that happens, the Giants need help at guard.

The answer here is Billy Price.

Price started at guard for Ohio State for three years from his freshman season to his junior season before moving to center as a senior (the same path that fellow Buckeye Pat Elflein took who’s now the starting center for the Vikings). Having experience at both guard and center is a plus for the Giants as both positions need improving and they love versatile linemen.

The Draft Wire believes Price is ready for the NFL at either interior position:

"A smart, physical player with experience at both guard and center, Price has been the anchor for an Ohio State unit that has been dominant at times throughout the 2017 season. … he’s a plug-and-play starter at either position at the next level."

A plug-and-play starter. That is exactly what the Giants need! No more late-round offensive line “projects”. Find a guy who can start day one and never look back.

Durability is also one of Price’s strengths having started 55 consecutive games, the most games ever played by an Ohio State football player.

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Price is a decorated college offensive lineman. He was First-Team All-Big Ten in 2016 and 2017, Second-Team All-American in 2016, and in 2017 Price was a unanimous First-Team All-American, Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, and won the Rimington Award as the most outstanding center in college football.

The Draftster has a more detailed scouting report on Price if you want to check it out for more breakdowns of his strengths and weaknesses.

There are certain scouts who believe Price could go in the first round but CBS Sports has him ranked 85th (No. 5 OG) so the Giants taking Price at 66 seems reasonable.

The New York Giants need help along their offensive line and Billy Price is NFL-ready. If he’s still on the board when the Giants are on the clock in the third round, Big Blue should be running up to hand their draft card in.

Next: Revisiting the New York Giants 2013 NFL Draft

My first 2018 NFL mock draft is in the books! What did we think?

As I said, I will switch things up as the offseason progresses. I’ll use different strategies and see how many different three-round combinations I can come up with.

Be on the lookout for my next installment of a New York Giants NFL mock draft! But until then, let me know what you thought of this one in the comments below!