Players at the same position selected in the same NFL Draft class are always linked.

Take the 2020 class of offensive tackles, reputed to be quite strong. The four players at the top of that heap will forever be compared with each other. The Giants had first crack at the group and surprised many by taking Andrew Thomas, who was not considered the class of the position in many pre-draft rankings, with the No. 4 overall pick. A few picks later, the run on tackles materialized with Jedrick Wills heading to the Browns at No. 10, Mekhi Becton to the Jets at No. 11 and Tristan Wirfs to the Buccaneers at No. 13.

Thomas did not fly out of the gate as a rookie for the Giants, giving rise to an early consensus that the Giants picked first and got the worst of the four. But two years in, that line of thinking maye have been premature. Yes, if there were a re-draft today, Wirfs would go first (although it must be understood he plays right tackle for the Bucs and having Tom Brady get rid of the ball in a scant few seconds helps a young player’s pass protection grades). Rating Thomas second behind Wirfs, however, based on how all four played, is certainly not an outlier opinion.

This brings us to this year’s offensive line crop, which does not appear to be as deep at the top as the 2020 crew. Ikem Ekwonu of North Carolina State and Evan Neal of Alabama were the consensus top two heading into the draft. Charles Cross of Mississippi State was a not-so-distant third, but perhaps the most NFL-ready to step in and pass protect at left tackle. The Giants had all three rated highly. It is believed their order of preference was Ekwonu, Neal and Cross — with just a slight difference between Ekwonu and Neal. That is why, with all three available to the Giants with their first pick at No. 5 overall, Giants general manager Joe Schoen went defense with edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, knowing no matter what the Panthers did at No. 6, Neal or Ekwonu would be on the board for the Giants at No. 7.