Giants Draft WR Jerrel Jernigan. Are They Worried About Steve Smith?

Well, the Giants once again stick to their big board and snatch one of my top players on my board (I liked Jah Reid there as well). Jernigan is short, quick, and can really rack up the yards after the catch. He’s a slot WR, with good hands.

Here’s sideline scouting’s report on him:

Positives: Good speed… Good at plucking the ball out of the air… Catches passes while running at full speed, doesn’t have to gear down to focus on the ball… At his best when running routes within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage… Explosive off the line of scrimmage, instant acceleration… Very quick and elusive in the open field… Good runner after the catch, tough to bring down, cuts on a dime… Experienced lining up in the backfield, can be utilized as a situational tailback… Former quarterback, understands defenses and is good at finding soft spots in zone coverage… Has lined up at quarterback in the wildcat formation… Known as a hard worker… Added value with return ability… Ideal fit as a slot receiver, will terrorize the middle of the field.

Negatives: Very small, can get knocked around… Not much of a vertical threat, his big plays come from yards after catch… Has a tendency to round off his cuts… Physical corners can give him fits, gets bumped off routes and has trouble getting separation… Limited blocking ability due to his size… Was not utilized much in the red zone, averaged one receiving touchdown for every 15 receptions over his career at Troy… Level of competition may be questioned after playing in the Sun Belt… Likely a number two or three option for an NFL offense… Missed the Senior Bowl with an injury.

The question is with this pick are the Giants admitting they’re worried about Steve Smith. The Giants have a TON of talent at WR with Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, Steve Smith, Ramses Barden, Victor Cruz.

It could mean that they are worried about Smith has he would fill out that kind of niche.

The other possibility is that the Giants are going to let Domenik Hixon go and let Jernigan be the primary return man and 4th WR.

In any case, this is a peculiar pick for the Giants with talented OL Jah Reid on the board and with tackling machine Mason Foster available.  But make no mistake about the value of the pick, which is excellent.