Mock the Mock Drafts: New York Giants
Another week, another installment of Mocking the Mock drafts for the New York Giants. If this is your first visit to NFL Mocks and you’re a die hard Giants fan make sure to bookmark www.nflmocks.com and check back every Wednesday and Thursday as we are the new unofficial New York Giants draft blog. Each week we’ll do a lot of things Giants related like exploring the options for the team presented through mock drafts around the web, breaking down positional needs, highlighting particular prospects that cold be of interest, doing a review of the rookies that played in the last game, breaking down the history of Giants draft picks, and anything else Giants and draft related imaginable (and if there’s something else you want to see leave it in the comments).
Today we’ll look at four new mock drafts and explore the options presented.
Sideline Scouting.com (link to the mock draft)
Giants pick 15th (that’s fair).
Picks that differ from the usual suspects: Morris Claiborne the DB out of LSU goes 11th, and Michael Floyd WR of Notre Dame goes 12th)
And the New York Giants select with the 15th pick Manti Te’o LB, Notre Dame
It’s a pick that makes sense as far as player value (mostly) and positional value is considered. MLB could also be construed as a need because Greg Jones is unproven and Jonathan Goff can be a free agent after the season. Manti Te’o is a beast inside and would be an immediate upgrade and infusion in talent for the New York Giants at the linebacker position. The problem is that the Giants have a core organizational philosophy that linebackers are not worth those kind of lofty status with first round picks, which is the general issue I have with the Giants selecting a linebacker in the first round. The other part of this is right now the Giants have four rookie linebackers on their roster that they like: Greg Jones, Mark Herzlich, Spencer Paysinger, and Jacquian Williams. They feel that Williams can be dynamite in coverage and blitzing and are also high on Jones and Herzlich who both can play the middle linebacker spot. Will this prevent them from taking a linebacker in the first round? That’s not definitive, but based on recent history, they’ll let the young guys develop and give them a shot before adding linebackers early in the draft.
Alternate Picks
I continue to remain high on Jeff Fuller, the wide receiver from Texas A&M as a realistic option for the Giants. The Giants can use Fuller to become the player they thought they had with Ramses Barden (though I’m not a 100 percent giving up on Barden yet) and to replace what they did lose in Kevin Boss. The way the Giants offense has played so far has not altered my viewpoint that they will explore adding a very talented WR early, especially a big bodied one to control the middle of the field.
Other picks: Trent Richardson is arguably the best player available and makes a lot of sense. As do Andrew Datko (T Florida State University), Jerel Worthy (DT Michigan State, and also a player mocked in the top 5-7 frequently), and cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Chase Minnifield.
Drattek is an interesting site because it uses a computer to simulate a mock draft based on parameters set up by the analysts. The computer simulation uses drafttek’s big board and also each teams individual positional needs matrix to make its selections. Draftek’s board usually different significantly from other sites.
New York Giants pick 18th (fair)
Different picks: Jerel Worth at #2 overall, S Ray Ray Armstrong at 12th overall, (Jeff Fuller and Trent Richardson are gone in this mock at 15, and 16)
With the 18th pick the Giants select Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State
Now this is more likely a Giants draft pick. Great size and length? Check. He’s listed at 6’3 250 pounds. Incredibly high ceiling? Check. Can get after the quarterback? Check 4 sacks already. I think this is a pick that is more likely to intrigue then the Giants, whether or not Manti Teo is better is not the question. The question is, is Burfict a player that will intrigue the Giants. That answer is yes. The Giants have shown that they value greatly long defenders with tremendous upside. Burfict has reportedly record a 40 yard dash in the 4.0 range which is amazing for a man his size. Burfict is THE most likely first round linebacker to be selcted by the Giants as it stands now. Unfortunately, Burfict comes with some baggage. He can play out of control and has a nasty demeanor (but maybe the Giatns could use that especially on defense).
Alternate picks. I like the pick as far as it concerns the Giants targets, but there are other options.
In this mock another talented, but trouble player is still available. WR Michael Floyd out of Norte Dame. Floyd, Nicks, and Manningham would give the Giants tremendous talent at the WR position and instantly make the Giants offenses one of the most dangerous out there.
As a big fan of Riley Reiff, that pick also makes sense. His stock is all over the planet. He’s anywhere from a first round pick to a 2nd third round pick in some mock drafts. He’s well coached and talented and could play LT or RT for the Giants. I think the Giants might also consider a player like the massive Alameda Ta’amu. Even though he’s generally considered a 34 NT that hasn’t stopped the Giants before. This greatly depends on the continued development of Linval Joseph. Ta’amu is a nice complement to the kind of ability that Marvin Austin has (as a quick penetrator).
Giants picking 15th overall (Fair)
Curious picks: Jared Crick at #8 to the Panthers. He’s not usually that high. Jerel Worth at #6, and Landry Jones down to #12 (he’s usually higher).
Giants select CB Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
Check, Please. This is an ideal pick for the New York Giants. Even though they have spent a lot of first or second round picks cornerbacks recently (Ross, Amukamara, Terrel Thomas, and Corey Webster), they still need help at that position. TT (coming off his second ever season ending ACL tear) and Ross (good riddance) are free agents so this is a need pick AND a high value pick. Kirkpatrick has the size the Giants will covet, the experience they prefer playing whit a good college coach and the player value they need to pull the trigger. Great pick.
alternate picks: None. Take Kirkpatrick.
Thoughts?
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