Thursday, April 22, 2010

Giants: draft thoughts from a blog follower

I got an email from a friend who is a faithful follower of the Giants (and this blog). I cleaned it up a little bit, edited it and am posting it below:

BIG BLUE 1ST AND EARLY 2ND ROUND TARGETS:
This is a compilation/summary of the different thoughts and prognostications on who the Giants may pick in the first round. I have read through profootballtalk.com, mike mayock and his colleagues at the nfl.com, sportsline, the 3 stooges at foxsports.com, and even the used car salesman and Ellen Degeneres of espn. I threw in my own thoughts where noted (I watch an unhealthy amount of college football so only about 90 percent of what I think is pulled out my rear end as opposed to the typical 98 percent)....I have mentioned ten players, which means the Giants will likely draft no one from this group. In no particular order...

The Two GIFTS:
Rolando Mclain: When I first started paying attention to the mock drafts everyone had him top 4. He has played under Nick Saban in a pro style defense, and has been compared to Antonio Pierce from a football intellect standpoint. He can play right away and fills the obvious gaping hole the giants have at linebacker. The Giants typically don’t trade up, however Mike Mayock in a radio interview yesterday said he heard the Giants were sniffing around about moving up to 9 or 10 as they thought Denver may snag him at 11.

CJ Spiller: He has been compared to Chris Johnson and seems like a freakish all around athlete. I mentioned to wolfman at the end of last year that he would be a great target for the Giants, and he correctly pointed out that the Giants just don't draft running backs in the first round. As much as I would love to see a playmaker of his caliber, it is highly unlikely he will drop to the giants and if they do move up I think it will be for Mclain. I would love to see them take Dexter Mcluster in the second round if they fill a defensive need in the first round.

The Five Best Left:
These are the guys that everyone is slotting in to the Giants assuming they dont move up or get lucky and have Mclain drop to them.

Jason Pierre Paul: RED FLAG, a lot of people are high on him and frankly I know nothing about scouting, but all I keep hearing is he has freakish physical abilities and may be missing something in terms of football IQ. To me this screams VERNON GHOLSTON. Also remember, the Giants really need an immediate impact player out of their first round pick, not someone to groom.
Mike Iupati: He has been compared to Alan Faneca, and is said to have fantastic technique. What confuses me is that more then one of the big analysts have worded it that they would draft him and groom him to take over for Seubert down the road. Although Giants O-line did very poorly last year, again if he is not an immediate starter I really think the Giants would be better served drafting this spot as a “need” spot in one of their second round picks. Maybe a 3rd....
Joe Haden: Although a lot of big boards have had him free falling I can't see him falling to 15. The Knock on him is that his 40 time at the combine was less than impressive. I think he dominated in the SEC and frankly game speed is way more important then combine speed. It would be interesting if he, Earl Thomas out of Texas or Kyle Wilson out of Boise were still available if the Giants would draft a corner to shore up the secondary.( Earl Thomas can play safety or corner, which may be a nice safety if Kenny Phillips knee is a chronic problem).
Brandon Graham: He is one of those hybrid lineman/linebackers. He played on a Michigan team where he had no help but still showed dominant games. He supposedly has a great work ethic and great locker room leader type. I would love this guy, I am just not sure he really fills the biggest need. The same thought applies to Jerry Hughes of TCU and Sergio Kindle of Texas, both look like studs; just may not be filling the biggest need. (They say draft talent not need , so who knows)...
Dan Williams: This is the mammoth tackle the giants desperately need. This would allow Tuck to more freely move and stay outside, and I think take a lot of pressure off of him. As well if the Giants grab a guy who can really plug up the run game, it would allow Osi to only worry about being a straight pass rusher which seems to be his true skill set. Mayock thinks there is a lot of Tackle talent later in the draft, so maybe it is better value to take a tackle at a later spot?

The defensive players-picks to look out for: (early second rounders?)
Sean Lee- injury problems, he is a perenial pro bowler waiting to happen
Brian Price- One of those other big tackles who present great value..(won't be on board by their second round pick.
Sean Witherspoon and Ricky Sapp- dont know much about them other than some blogs have mentioned the Giants may try and move up early second round if they are still on the board...
Terrence Cody- Another mammoth tackle, you can't teach size like this. That said, supposedly takes off a lot of the time.
Brandon Spikes has fallen drastically, but on the field in college was a beast, and is likely on steroids, that or he has the craziest natural rage I have ever seen. May be worth the risk in a later round...

As a side note: This may be the most fascinating draft we see in a long time. Between waiting to see where Tebow is drafted and seeing if there are going to be any big trades go through( more rumors than I have seen in recent years)

ALSO: I heard a great point , dont remember who...The teams that normally draft really well and make great draft day trades as a result of being quick on their feet, lose some luster because the draft is broken up over 3 days and gives the poor drafting teams time to re-evaluate the board and who is available...

Comments anyone?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I would hate it if the Giants take Jason Pierre Paul. He is a great athlete who has limited on-field experience and moderate results when he played. He is wowing everyone with his eye popping, athletic performance at the combine. He is sleek, athletic, can do somersaults, but unless we are competing on dancing with the stars, I'd rather have a football player for my team.

I know lots of people love McClain, but I am not sure if they love him because he is the best ILB in the draft, or if they love him because he truly is a great NFL talent.

As far as CJ Spiller, I never like taking RBs in the first round, but there is an exception to every rule. I haven't seen him enough to know if he is that special player that you break the rule for.

I think Iupati might be available later in the first round, so it might be interesting to see the Giants trade down and nab him. Giants OL was poor last year. While it might be attributed to injuries to Seubert and McKenzie, they could be slipping and an upgrade might be in order. Otherwise, if the Giants trade up, I would rather see them grab Derrick Morgan as DE rather than McClain. There is more talent at ILB later in the draft.

Ira said...

Hopefully we can turn back flips into 6 points:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4-1e6Faglw

Unknown said...

Ira: let's hope. see my next post on JPP

BTW - don't you think with a last name like "Pierre-Paul", his first name should have been Jacques, Jean-Louis, Philippe or Marcel?