March 30, 2004
Moving up in the 2004 NFL draft
Rumors about the Giants trading up to take Eli Manning in the upcoming 2004 NFL draft are spreading. This makes some sense to me as the last name makes Manning the closest thing to a sure bet QB your likely to find.
The question is, what should the Giants give up? Personally, if they have to give up their second rounder, I would say stick at #4 (or trade down which I'll talk about some other time).
Why is round 2 so important? Well, Gallery will probably be gone by #4. That makes round 2 the best chance for the Giants to pick up help on the offensive line. This mock draft (2nd round) has the Giants taking Karlos Dansby, an Auburn LB, with the 34th pick. That's crazy considering who else they project to be available: Justin Smiley - Alabama OG, Jake Grove - Virginia Tech C, Nat Dorsey - Georgia Tech OT.
So while I think that mock draft got it all wrong as far as picks go, I do agree that there will be OL talent available in the 2nd round. If the Giants trade up for Manning by giving up their second rounder, they miss out on their chance to get one of those 3 guys. All three will likely be gone by the third round...
The Daily News article I linked to at the beginning of the post says that Manning is worth the 2004 1st and 3rd rounders + the second rounder of 2005. OK, I'll buy that. But let's not forget that Peyton Manning didn't win his team a superbowl last year; Tom Brady did. This shows that having the best QB isn't everything.
That article also says
Arizona, at No. 3, wants Fitzgerald and has been sending strong signals they will not take a QB. The Giants could face the choice of Roethlisberger or Gallery if they can't move up.
To me, that's worth not giving up extra picks. Gallery falling to #4 would be awesome, and while I'm no QB scout, Roethlisberger looks like a good one to me. My fear is that the first three off the board are Manning, Gallery, and Roethlisberger. I don't think the Giants should draft the first receiver of the draft. More later...
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Posted by James Trotta at March 30, 2004 6:19 PM