The Giants continued drafting for need to close out their 2024 NFL Draft on Saturday.
They picked Penn State tight end Theo Johnson at No. 107 overall in the fourth round, Purdue running back/ kick returner Tyrone Tracy Jr. at No. 166 overall in the fifth and UCLA linebacker Darius Muasau at No. 183 in the sixth.
Top tight end Darren Waller is considering retirement, so Giants GM Joe Schoen has to plan for life without him. That meant adding Johnson, 23, a 6-foot-6, 259-pound Canadian, who made 34 catches for 341 yards and seven touchdowns for the Nittany Lions last season.
He is a good blocker with size and speed and average hands.
“I give defenses a real problem,” said Johnson, who looks up to great tight ends like Tony Gonzalez and George Kittle. “I’m capable of being a tight end you can’t take off the field.”
Tracy, 24, a 5-foot-11, 209-pound converted wide receiver, was a two-year starter for the Boilermakers after transferring from Iowa.
The Giants needed another running back after letting Saquon Barkley (Eagles) and Matt Breida (free agent) depart. Plus, Schoen was interested in adding a playmaker with return ability due to the NFL’s new kickoff rules.
And Tracy ranked second in the Big Ten in kick-return yardage in 2023, including a 98-yard touchdown return.
Muasau, 23, a transfer from Hawaai, led the Bruins in tackles as their middle linebacker during each of the past two seasons. He projects as a player the Giants hope can contribute on both defense and special teams. Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial coached him at Hawaii.
Johnson, the Penn State tight end, said he knows Brian Daboll’s son, Giants offensive assistant Christian Daboll, from their time together at Penn State. And he liked working with Giants QB coach Shea Tierney at the Senior Bowl.
He said Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, a fellow Penn State product, texted him congratulations when the Giants picked him Saturday. Johnson admitted it would have been nice to play together in New York and maybe they will be teammates down the road, but for now he’s “right where I’m supposed to be.”
Johnson, Tracy and Muasau follow Schoen’s selections of LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers in the first round, Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin in the second and Kentucky corner Andru Phillips in the third.
All of them are intended to plug holes in a roster that needs a lot of help to compete in 2024, although the Giants haven’t landed a quarterback after trying to trade up for North Carolina’s Drake Maye in the first round.
Johnson was the third of Schoen’s top four draft picks this weekend with an arrest in his past, along with Nabers and Phillips.
He was charged with two misdemeanors — one for simple assault, one for criminal mischief — stemming from a Feb. 2023 incident at a fraternity house, according to The Athletic.
Johnson was ordered to complete a six-month, pre-trial intervention program for first-time offenders.
Full Giants 2024 NFL Draft
Round 1 (6): Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
Round 2 (47): Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota
Round 3 (70): Andru Phillips, CB, Kentucky
Round 4 (107): Theo Johnson, TE, Penn State
Round 5 (166): Tyrone Tracy, Jr., RB/KR, Purdue
Round 6 (183): Darius Muasau, LB, UCLA
The Giants didn’t own a seventh round pick on Saturday because they traded it to the Arizona Cardinals last fall to acquire linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who re-signed on a one-year contract this spring.
