NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

At 6″ 1″ & 212 he’s not Plax. The real question is can he be a #1 receiver? Is he more of a possession receiver since he’s not the fastest guy? How much can he contribute as a rookie?

Interesting Kenny Britt was the very next guy taken…

A few things that made the draft interesting before the Giants go on the clock:

The Jets trade up to #5 for Sanchez.

Derrius Heyward-Bey goes to the Raiders at #7 while Crabtree goes to San Francisco at 10.

The Eagles trade up for Maclin at 19 to make it 3 receivers taken in the top 20.

1. Giants give their 1st rounder + a later pick for Edwards.
2. Browns accept a 2nd and a 5th for Edwards.
3. Nothing happens.

According to Mike Garafolo:

I’ve maintained all along that there’s no reason for either side to cave on this one until they’re under the gun and on the clock. That’s when we’ll know if Cleveland will realize they’re not going to get a better offer than the Giants’ second- and fifth-round picks. Or we’ll know if the Giants realize they’re not going to find an immediate upgrade in the draft and should give the Browns their first-round pick and another mid- to high-round pick for Edwards.

This article says something pretty interesting in the “Rose” section – that the receivers who will be around at the end of the first round are not #1 receiver material:

Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina, Maryland speedster Darrius Heyward-Bey, Florida’s Percy Harvin and Kenny Britt of Rutgers. None of these receivers will be No. 1s in the NFL. These players are good No. 3, maybe No. 2, receivers.

If that’s correct, then all the mock drafts are wrong since virtually all of them have us taking a wide receiver in the first. Maybe something will happen with Braylon Edwards…

Here’s an interesting article on a Gators receiver, Louis Murphy. It doesn’t sound like he’s ready to replace Plax, but he could develop into a nice deep threat and has size and speed. I think he’s projected to go in the third round.

….The Eagles and Jets hosted him for visits earlier this week. It is why the Raiders, Buccaneers, Dolphins and Giants have shown particular interest and why most NFL teams have taken a strong look at Murphy. And then another.

He is the son of a minister and he is a player who stuck around for four years and matured at Florida. An NFL executive told me that of all the players he interviewed at the combine, Murphy wowed him the most with his presence, his enthusiasm, his positive attitude.

I’d like to draft a wide receiver, a safety, and a kicker. Some people don’t like drafting kickers but consider:

1. Our oppents get good field position when we kick off.

2. We had to use two roster spots on kickers last season.

3. We have more draft picks than roster spots.

4. The following guys are available:

1. Graham Gano, Florida St.
Ht – 6-1, Wt – 200, 40 – 5.00
Gano proved himself in his only year as a starter. He was almost automatic going 24-26 this past season and 5/7 on field goals 50+. Did punting and kicking for Florida State and he won Lou Groza award this past year.

2. Jose Martinez, UTEP
Ht – 5-10, Wt – 200, 40 – 5.00
The most powerful leg in college football. This past season, Martinez hit a 64 yard field goal. However, that was his only successful field goal of 50+ yards out of 7 attempts this past season.

3. Louie Sakoda, Utah
Ht – 5-9, Wt – 180, 40 – 4.80
Mr. Everything for Utah this past season, did both kicking and punting duties for the Utes. Went 21/23 this past season and 2/3 from 50+. Academic All-American with a 3.73 GPA. Was a captain last year.

I resisted talking about mock drafts as long as possible but for the next month and a bit…

This nfl.com one has us taking Kenny Britt, a 6’3″ 220 pound receiver from Rutgers. I’d be happy with him at #29.

Daily News on the Giants draft and vets.

New York Times on Manningham.

USA Today on NFC East (mostly toe Cowboys).

Our third round pick is a solid prospect at a position of need, but Mario Manningham does come with a red flag – marijouna use.

That means our 2nd and 3rd rounders have some danger…

Still, I have no problem taking a risk. I mean every draft pick is risky. So if this guy is a fast receiver with good hands who can go deep… Let’s hope he doesn’t feel like getting stoned anytime soon.

The 4th and 5th round linebackers are solid choices. Some depth at linebacker is good. LB Bryan Kehl, Brigham Young University (BYU) and LB Jonathan Goff, Vanderbilt University are both 240+ pound guys – Kehl, according to scouting reports, has the speed / athleticism to play the weak side. Goff is more of a mike from what I understand.

I like trading up in the 4th. We had too many 6th rounders (meaning they couldn’t all make the team) so go for quality over quantity.

QB Andre’ Woodson, University of Kentucky, should pressure our backup QBs. That will be an interesting theme since the Giants said they aren’t tkaing all the QBs to camp…

DE Robert Henderson, Southern Mississippi, has great size for a faster DE who can supposedly rush the passer (6-3, 280lbs, 4.87). I know he lasted till the 6th round for a reason but it’s hard not to like big fast guys. I honestly hate pass rush specialists like Freeney who can’t play the run. Give me big guys on the defensive line please.

I’m not a tool who tries to grade drafts before guys even get to camp, but there’s no reason I see not to be excited about this group.

For once the mock drafts were accurate beyond the first few picks – they said the Giants would take Miami safety Kenny Phillips at 31 and we did. I bet nearly all Giants fans like the pick. We need a safety who can cover and Phillips was the best prospect in the draft.

Supposedly, the Giants had an offer to give up the their #31 to Buffalo, and would have gotten 2 picks (#41 and #72). That would have been a mistake because we don’t need 100 drafted rookies. We are the Super Bowl champs and our roster doesn’t have that many problems. One very good prospect in Phillips is better than 2 lesser prospects in this case.

In the second round, our guy, Terrell Thomas, comes with some injury concerns. The Giants medical staff said he was in perfect shape and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. So other than injuries what’s not to like about a corner who can run at 6’1″ and 200+ pounds? He played on an elite team and said he used to shut down Steve Smith at every practice. If that’s true we have a special CB. I have read that his run support is average but I think that can be coached if he’s not a wuss.

Some guys (like John Clayton) might be upset that we didn’t trade Shockey for a 2nd rounder. I know Shockey has been injury prone but whatever – the chances of a 2nd round tight end outplaying Shockey are slim at best. And if we did trade him we would need a tight end.