Grading and Reviewing the Giants’ 2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 N.F.L. draft was the first draft for Jerry Reese in which he was solely the general manager and Marc Ross became the director of scouting (in 2007 Reese was both). Heading into 2008 the Giants were picking 32nd because they won the Superbowl after they beat the New England Patriots. The team was looking to improve their secondary and their defense as a whole. How does that draft look now four years later? And what might they do if they knew what they now know.
How do you grade a draft, I consider an A+ draft three starters, some depth, and one of those players being a top player at their position.
An A draft is three good starters
A B draft is a couple of starters and depth
A C draft is one starter and depth
A D draft is no starters or bad starters and depth
1st round pick: Kenny Phillips, S, University of Miami
Kenny Phillips was the best safety in the 2008 N.F.L. draft class. A prospect with really good size/speed combination (of course, it’s the Giants we’re talking about). In 2008, Phillips started three games as he was eased into the N.F.L. game and flashed brilliance at times.
In 2009, Phillips was a potential breakout star, but he suffered his knee in the second game of the season vs Dallas and felt the effects of that injury through 2010, which was very disappointing for the New York Giants.
In 2011, Phillips is playing near the level people expected him to be in 2009. Phillips is making plays in the run game and providing good coverage in his zone areas, he already has 5 passes defensed (5 each in last season and his rookie seasons).
Next five defensive backs: Brandon Flowers, Tracy Porter, Tyrell Johnson (S), Pat Lee, and Terrance Wheatley.
Best players drafted between Giants first round pick and their second round pick: Matt Forte, DeSean Jackson, Calais Campbell, Ray Rice
2nd round pick. Terrel Thomas, CB, USC
Thomas was another value selection, but this time his value came from being downgraded due to injuries and a down final college football season. Thomas played ok in 2008, but really picked it up each of the next two years recording 10combined interceptions during the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Thomas gets tested in coverage a lot, and gets beat, but also makes a lot of plays on the ball. He’s also a plus tackler, and really a good cornerback. He’s near-pro bowl level because of how many plays he makes on the ball (also had 36 passes defensed over the past two seasons) though he’ll never be a lockdown option. Thomas was lost for the 2011 season during preseason and is a free agent after this season. The Giants would probably like to bring him back, but two ACL tears could be cause for concern.
Next five defensive backs chosen: Charles Godfrey, Chevis Jackson, Reggie Smith, Antwan Molden, DaJuan Morgan
Best players drafted between Giants 2nd round pick and their 3rd round pick: Jamaal Charles, Jermichael Finley, Cliff Avril
3rd round pick: Mario Manningham, WR, Michigan
This was a pure value pick. Manningham got downgraded for two main reasons. First was that he is a bit shorter than ideal with a rather slender build (but that’s not a huge issue). And second because he was considered to possibly be for lack of a better term-dumb. There are still questions about how well he understands the Giants offense and route concepts, but the talent is undeniable.
After a really poor rookie season, he has nearly 2,000 yards receiving with 14 touchdowns in his last 38 games.
Next five WR: Andre Caldwell, Will Franklin, Marcus Smith, Arman Shields, Lavelle Hawkins
Best pick from 3rd to Giants 4th round pick: Tyvon Branch, Anthony Collins (T Bengals)
4th round pick: Bryan Kehl, LB, BYU
3 starts in four years while also playing special teams before being released in 2010 to make room for young linebackers like Phillip Dillard.
He was a depth player for a few years, but didn’t do anything spectacular. He’s currently with the Rams.
Next five linebackers: Stanford Keglar, Robert James, Alvin Bowen, Thomas Williams, Erik Walden
Best pick between Giants 4th round pick and 5th round pick: Josh Sittion, G, Green Bay Packers
5th round pick: Jonathan Goff, LB, Vanderbilt
Goff was drafted in the 5th round and played behind Pierce in 2008 and then when Pierce suffered a neck injury took over the starting role late in 2009. Goff emerged in 2010 as a decent starting linebacker who exceled vs the run. Goff totaled 80 tackles and a sack. He was getting a lot of praise from the coaching staff about his progression in pass coverage leading upto this season, but was lost for the entire season. Like Goff, he’s also a free agent after the season.
Best picks between Goff and Andre woodson: Athyba Rubin, DT, Browns, Barry Richardson, T, Chiefs
6th round picks: Robert Henderson, and Andre Woodson
Neither really played for the Giants at all. The best picks in late round 6 and round 7 were Lex Hillard, Pierre Garcon, Matt Flynn, Demetrius Bell, Stevie Johnson,
Overall
At the beginning of this post I wrote that three good starters would be an A draft and I think you can clearly make that argument for the Giants here in this situation. In fact the Giants have four pretty good starters. Kenny Phillips hasn’t become the star Giants fans hoped, Terrel Thomas is clearly a good starter, and Goff was well on his way to becoming a quality starter. Mario Manningham is a solid number two and an excellent third option. But with the injuries these players have really missed a lot of time which hurts the grade a bit, I’m also not sure that Goff is a long term solution for the Giants at linebacker.
The 2007 N.F.L. draft did a lot for the Giants in term of the actual 2007 season, but I think long term impact 2008 might actually be a better draft.
I mean it’s really impressive draft if you consider what the Giants could have ended up with had they picked different players at the same position with similar values (if you grab the best of each player from the “next five drafted at the position” you don’t end up with much).
Even if you take the best player between each pick the draft might not be that much better: DeSean Jackson, Jamaal Charles, Anthony Collins, Josh Sitton, Athyba Rubin, Pierre Garcon.
But that’s really cherry picking. Brilliant job by Jerry Reese, barring injuries this draft would look really amazing.
A-/B+
Thoughts?