GIANTS' DRAFT: WHAT TO WATCH FOR

GIANTS' DRAFT: WHAT TO WATCH FOR

"Draft day is finally here. Soon the unpredictable will happen and the draft
madness will begin tonight.

It’s hard to say what will happen by the
time the Giants pick at 32 late tonight but here’s three things to potentially
look for:

1. #32: The Giants would probably be thrilled
if someone like North Carolina DE Quinton Coples, Syracuse DE
Chandler Jones, Illinois DE Whitney Mercilus,
Alabama CB Dre Kirkpatrick and Alabama LB Dont’a
Hightower were to fall to 32. Same for Georgia Tech WR Stephen
Hill. All those guys are on the Giants’ wish list.

But all
those guys, based on many projections, are not expected to be there when the
Giants are on the clock. My guess is if all those guys are gone, the Giants
could tab LSU WR Rueben Randle. Indications are the Giants are
looking at wide receiver if the players mentioned earlier above are not
available. Randle is a player the Giants have discussed.

Randle was my
first pick in my<a href="http://proxy.espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/13762/my-giants-seven-round-mock-draft">
seven-round mock draft</a> which, again, is like throwing darts while
blindfolded. In doing that mock, I didn't pick based on guys I think the Giants
should take. I tried to draft based on what I think the Giants might take. And
so many times, there would be a player I wanted to give to the Giants but I
often kept thinking that player wouldn't be there when the Giants selected late
in each round. So I tried to pick based on that. Could I have picked guys I
personally wanted for them in each round? Yes. But I tried to project who was
going to go ahead of them in each round. It’s impossible to know though.


Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing the Giants take a running back,
offensive lineman and wide receiver somewhere in the first four rounds. I'd love
to see a Boise State RB Doug Martin or Stanford TE Coby
Fleener to the Giants in the first round. But I also know the Giants
don’t always draft for need.

That's why in the Sports Center mock draft
I did with other writers around the country on Wednesday, I picked Clemson DE
Andre Branch with Coples, Jones, Mercilus, Kirkpatrick,
Hightower, Hill and Randle all off the board already. If it had been my pick on
what I would have wanted, I would have gone with Martin, Fleener or Michigan
State DT Jerel Worthy based on what was available at the time.


2. THE NEEDS: Jerry Reese always says
he will go for the best player available. But the Giants could use a running
back to replace Brandon Jacobs, an offensive lineman (free
agent right tackle Kareem McKenzie isn’t expected back) to get
younger and more athletic on the line, a wide receiver to help replace
Mario Manningham and a defensive end for depth and down the
road with <a href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/7854628/osi-umenyiora-extension-new-york-giants-looking-unlikely">so
much uncertainty surrounding Osi Umenyiora</a>. By the way, my
guess is Umenyiora remains a Giant after the draft. Just my guess.

Tight
end, defensive back for depth and future and a returner are also on my wish list
for the Super Bowl champs.

Reese always keeps an eye toward the future
and his salary cap situation so keep that in mind when he makes picks this
weekend.

3. PASSING ON TIGHT END FIRST: All indications
I’ve gotten are that the Giants likely will not take a tight end in the first
round. A popular pick for the Giants by many is Fleener. He certainly would seem
to provide Eli Manning with a fine receiving target and Fleener
said on Wednesday that he had been in touch with tight ends coach Mike
Pope but nothing recently.

I’ve also heard that the Giants are
likely to pass on a running back at 32 either. Personally, Martin intrigues me
and the idea of having a running back who has drawn some comparisons to
Ray Rice in the Giants offense appeals to me. But Reese and the Giants
are some of the best drafters in the league so we’ll see if and where they go
for a running back in this draft.

Will our pick come around midnight?

i see the draft mockery-ers having Fleener go to us ... to me to draft a TE in the 1st round they would have to be like a Vernon Davis type talent</P>


it's going to be fun to watch and i hope we don't get influenced by Osi making noise</P>


Osi realizes that draft day is an opportunity for him to get moved, so he is huffing and puffing, but we still hold all the cards</P>

[quote user="JimC"]Will our pick come around midnight?
[/quote]

It's kinda like Christmas when you're a little kid. You go to bed all excited and then you wake up to something new and you're either super excited or painfully disappointed.

[quote user="JimC"]Will our pick come around midnight?
[/quote]
Since the draft starts at 8...I would imagine us to pick sometime around 11 at the absolute latest

[quote user="egyptian420"][quote user="JimC"]Will our pick come around midnight?
[/quote]
Since the draft starts at 8...I would imagine us to pick sometime around 11 at the absolute latest
[/quote]

i wish...im thinking after 12...4 hrs and 47 min is how long i think the 1rst round takes...

[quote user="giantsfan420"][quote user="egyptian420"][quote user="JimC"]Will our pick come around midnight?
[/quote]
Since the draft starts at 8...I would imagine us to pick sometime around 11 at the absolute latest
[/quote]

i wish...im thinking after 12...4 hrs and 47 min is how long i think the 1rst round takes...[/quote]

31 teams in front of us at 10 minutes each gives you slightly over 5 hours. Some teams wont use all of the time so 4 hrs and 47 minutes seems like a good guess.

Maybe it is me but I do not see the need to draft a WR in round 1 no matter what his value is. As long as you keep Nicks and Cruz you would draft a player who would be your 3rd WR. Is that really what you want from a 1st round pick?

[quote user="nygsb42champs"]Maybe it is me but I do not see the need to draft a WR in round 1 no matter what his value is. As long as you keep Nicks and Cruz you would draft a player who would be your 3rd WR. Is that really what you want from a 1st round pick?[/quote]

Good point! I believe you are correct no WR, i also believe no RB, no TE and no OL. It WILL be a DE or a DT.

[quote user="nygsb42champs"]Maybe it is me but I do not see the need to draft a WR in round 1 no matter what his value is. As long as you keep Nicks and Cruz you would draft a player who would be your 3rd WR. Is that really what you want from a 1st round pick?[/quote]

u do realize the same thing was said when we took JPP...

if somehow we cant retain both nicks and cruz we wont be in desperation mode...plus nicks has missed time each season (except for last iirc)

and our offense is much more dangerous with 3 legit options instead of 2 and then JJ/Barden (who i still havent given up on)