New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Positional Need Updates

NFLmocks is a fansided page. The emphasis belongs on the word “fan” and as such we’re entitled to opinions I try to be completely unbias in all of my evaluations, which works out fine college football because I have no favorite team. In the N.F.L. though, I come from a long history of Giants fans, which is why each and every week on Wednesday and Thursday I’ll dedicate some blogs posts to the New York Giants and the N.F.L. Draft (so if you’re a Giants fan and love the draft make sure to come back weekly and help make this the unofficial Giants draft blog). Most of the posts won’t be strictly Giants related, but sometimes they will be like the rookie review or this post which will deal with the position needs for hte New York Giants.

Biggest Need:

Cornerback-This still remains the biggest need to me. Aaron Ross had a very good game on Sunday vs the Eagles with two interceptions, but behind Ross it gets ugly at least until Prince Amukamara comes back. Once the Prince comes back, the Giants will be able to play Webster, Ross, Amukamara, Rolle as the four cornerbacks with Deon Grant and Kenny Phillips handling the safety duties. If any one of those four players gets hurt, things will get ugly in a second. Both Aaron Ross and Terrel Thomas are potential free agents. Thomas is a fan favorite, but is coming off his second A.C.L. tear. Cornerback is a huge need for the Giants.

What the Giants look for in cornerbacks:

Length. Size (webster, Thomas, Ross, and Amukamara could all be considered bigger cornerbacks), speed combination. The Giants also prefer cornerbacks who are physical and can tackle. At least early in the draft, later on in the draft or in UDFA they may look at “nickel/slot” type guys.

Round 1 targets: Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama…if the Giants have a good season Kirkpatrick is out of reach, if they falter he could be a realistic option.

Morris Claiborne, LSU.

He’s becoming a hotter name each and every week. He is listed at 6’0 185 pounds and and runs fast.

“Morris Claiborne (4.25) all went sub-4.3 in the hand-timed 40”. If you haven’t been paying attentoin to Claiborne make sure he’s on your radar. Claiborne also has top return ability. If he’s available when the Giants pick they could seriously consider him .

Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

After a terrific 2010, Gilmore has struggled early in the season. he looks out of sync and has gotten beaten too often. Still at 6’1 and could run a 4.43ish 40 yard dash. He’ll be on the Giant sradar. he’s also physical. Keep an eye out for Gilmore especially if stock starts to slip. The Giants have no qualms about grabbing players who stock drops (for whatever reason: Terrell Thomas was injuries and a bad final season, Hakeem Nicks was conditioning…Will Beatty just fell into the second round) who are very talented players none the less.

2nd need

Right Tackle(Yes)/LG? (remains to be seen)

Heading into the season the big New York Giants need along the offensive line was potentially at LT, but Beatty has played pretty well. On the other side Mckenzie has struggled. The Giants drafted James Brewer to eventually replace him, but he’s not ready yet. Hopefully Mackenzie will get back to playing his type of game the rest of the season, if not with his age and downward spiraling performance will be cause for improvement.

At LG Diehl is getting better by the game so it could just be adjusting to the new position, but he looked really bad in preaseason and the first week. That bears watching as we move forward.

2nd round options:

You don’t really want to spend a high first round pick on a RT or RG or , but if they are picking low that is a possibility. Let’ assume we’re talking about second rounders here.

Matt Reynolds-Would be a great fit in Big Blue. He’s tall, strong, and very physical. Most prospects coming out of BYU are a little older. Reynolds is usually considered the bottom tier of the first group of tackles or the top on the other side.

3rd Need Tight End

If it were more of a positional importance this might be the number one need for the New York Giants. I loved Travis Beckum coming out of college, but when he was drafted by the New York Giants I said, “playing in New York in Kevin Gilbride’s offense might not be the best fit for Beckum. I think he could do damage on a team like the Colts or Texans, but the Giants he might struggle”. Still I believe in his talent. Unfortuantely, injuries have really held down his career. He really, really has to step it up if he wants to be apart of the future New York Giants plans.

1st round options: None. There aren’t any first round caliber tight ends in this draft…that have yet to emerge

2nd round:

Michael Egnew, Missouri

Egnew is 6’6 245 pounds. He had a whopping 90 receptions last year and has 8 so far this year. Egnew is a plus pass catcher, though he hasn’t been a huge red-zone target in Missouri (only five touchdowns last year, and one so far this year). Egnew may have been the top tight end coming into the season but is getting passed by the next guy.

Dwayne Allen, Clemson

This is a player that is seriously on the rise. At 6’4 255 pounds he has a little more bulk than Egnew and has been more of a force. He has 14 catches and already three touchdowns this year. Allen 7 catches for 80 yards vs Auburn, and 4 catches for 67 yards vs Florida State (and a touchdown in each game). Those are not slouch schools. Allen is a good receiver, he’s also a plus blocker. He’s probably the closest thing to Brandon Pettigrew as a blocker/receiver combo tight end in the last few draft classes (though he’s not as good as Pettigrew as a prospect). He’s a prospect who could interest the Giants.

The problem is the Giants as an organization tend to shy away from tight ends early in the draft (Shockey was an exception not the rule) so I’m guessing there will be targets much later.

Pay attention to guys like Brandon Barden at Vanderbilt, Michael Willisams at Alabama (his stock is actually on an upswing). He’s 6’6 270 pounds and an underrated receiver, and Kevin Koger out of Michigan.

Just missed the cut needs: SAM linebacker (depending on Kiwanuka moving forward), Safety depth ( especially if Deon Grant retires/leaves Giants after season), WR (will Jernigan emerge as the slot guy…will Ramses Barden make an impact upon his return).

Leave your thoughts.

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