Giants looking for linebackers in the later rounds
The Giants haven’t had a ton of success drafting linebackers recently although I have to confess that there is still hope for a few of them (Wilkinson, Goff, and DeOssie come to mind).
LB Phillip Dillard (Nebraska). Reese and Ross say he will compete for the MIKE spot. 6′ and 245 pounds and they say he is instinctive and can cover. Interestingly the Giants talked about him in the 3rd:
We actually talked about him at three (third round) and there was some good discussion about it. We thought there was a chance that he’d be available and that Chad wouldn’t be, so we decided to go that route and hold our breath, and we got him. It was a restless night’s sleep but it was worth it.
It sounds like this guy is a real student of the game, hopefully enough to QB the defense.
OG Mitch Petrus (Arkansas) repped 225 45 times at the combine but is considered (according to some scouting reporsts) more of a finesses player than a mauler. Jerry Reese used the term vicious – sounds like the Giants see him as more of a mauler than a finesse guy. He is said to be a good puller, good at blocking guys on the second level.
LB Adrian Tracy (William & Mary) is going to convert from DE where he played in college to SAM. The Giants seem to see him as a pass rusher first, which sounds a lot like Sintim to me. Reese compared him to Reggie Torbor but let’s hope Reese is right that this guy can be better.
P Matt Dodge (East Carolina) is a pick that might make a lot of Giants fans happy: he can punt and he can kickoff. In 2009 Dodge averaged 45.8 yards per punt (2nd in the nation). 24 kicks downed inside the 20-yard line, 61.6 yards average kickoff with six touchbacks. Not sure how well that speaks of his NFL kickoff potential…
