Giants 7-Round Mock Draft 3.0: Major Trade Shakes Things Up

183rd Overall Pick - Tanner McLachlan, Tight End

With one more selection left, the Giants could still fill needs at linebacker, wide receiver, and tight end, but based on how they didn’t approach the former two positions earlier in the draft it seems best to address the third position and bring a pass-catching tight end. Darren Waller still hasn’t provided the Giants with an answer on his future and their free agent signings feature pieces that are more situated to be inline blockers in zone heavy schemes. 

Thus, New York goes and selects Arizona tight end Tanner McLachlan with their 183rd pick to round off the 2024 draft class. By no means is McLachlan in the same class of Brock Bowers or Theo Johnson, who has gone earlier to the Giants in prior mock drafts, but his production was still higher than that of Waller whose career has been jeopardized by hamstring ailments. 

In his second season with the Wildcats, McLachlan collected 45 receptions for 528 yards, four touchdowns and an average haul of 11.7 yards, which marked his fourth season with a double-digit average reception. His statline finished third on the Arizona leaderboards, meaning he is a weapon they relied on to be a difference maker and that is similar to what the Giants thought they were getting out of Waller when they acquired him last offseason. 

McLachlan is a consistent pass catcher when he is targeted and loves to run the intermediate routes, find the holes in the second level and make plays over the top of the defense. He made 81.8% of his targets and was involved in the school’s route tree on over 78% of his passing snaps. His average distance of target has averaged 8.1 yards in four years and he has turned it into over 830 yards after the catch and long hauls of 36 or more yards. 

With Waller having the case of the dropsies in 2023, his potential replacement in McLachlan rarely drops the football in his possession and can fight for the contested balls with a success rate of 44.4% which is respectfully high for a player of the tight end family. It might seem like a selection that’s coming too late for a Giants offense that wants their tight ends to be involved in the scheme, but it doesn’t hurt to wait if they can land a late-round bloomer like McLachlan to compete with his teammates in training camp. 

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