The Giants front office and scouts has taken a beating, and rightly so for the number of failed picks the past few years and unfortunate injuries, but while this is a losing season and no playoffs, this is not a lost season.
We've seen the names of the busts, guys who had some blemishes on their records, but the Giants liked younger players (juniors) with upside and hoped they would pan out. That led to busts like Marvin Austin and Hosely. We all made fun of it on BBI at the draft, but it looks like the Giants front office and scouts decided to take a step back, go away from some of the riskier type picks and go for guys with a solid background and leaders (ie- all the College captains).
In this year alone, they look like they have found a strong core of players who are getting experience in the fire and they can build around. The following guys are all starter material now and should factor in the Giants' eventual rise back up
- Beckham- It has all been said already about him. He's one of the best WRs in the NFL right now, and he's still just scratching the surface. Superstar potential
- Richburg- Started all year, playing out of position. I think that ankle injury has hampered him worse than has let on, he was playing very well until it happened. I think he's sucking it up for the team, but I'd love to see him take over at center next year, where he belongs.
- Williams- Some early season struggles, not helped by a bad offensive line, Williams is putting together some nice numbers, we saw some of his explosiveness yesterday on that run and with experience and a better offensive line, he can be a 1000 yard back as soon as next season.
- Kennard- The Giants haven't had a linebacker like this guy since Armstead. Again, early season hamstring problems limited him, but he's been coming on in recent weeks, showing a pass rush from the linebacker spot which has been missing around these parts for almost 15 years. It took forever, but they seem to finally have a good, young linebacker on the roster.
The jury is out on Bromley, but he's getting more playing time now, and Behre is a special teamer, which is fine.
All in all, the Giants can go into next season with 4 starters, including a guy in Beckham who right now is shaping up to be team leader and a galvanizing force. So have faith, if the scouting department can continue to pick up on the momentum from the 2014 draft, and with even higher picks to come after this season, the Giants could be in position to make noise much faster than people realize. Honestly, while I love a top draft pick, maybe going on a late run with this group, finishing strong, and potentially playing a "playoff" game against Philly in that last game, with the chance to keep them home, will be a huge building block to move forward, like Eli did when he beat Dallas in the final game of 2004.
You can't teach someone the will to succeed and the desire to be the best...
Leaders have that quality...
Milton, good point, but the comparison is more simply around the fact that the Giants haven't drafted a good linebacker in pretty much forever. Armstead was picked back in 1993...that's pretty sad that we had to wait 20 years to draft a guy who can make an impact as a linebacker.
Joey, I don't disagree, but I think the Giants changed their focus from high ceiling risks to more solid football players who are driven and coachable. Perhaps they got greedy because they had a championship roster already, so they wanted to go for the high risk/high reward guys figuring the roster would hold out longer. It worked with JPP for a while. But went no where with the Austins, Bardens, and seems like Randles of the world.
I gave love for Williams, I said he could be a 1000 yard back next year. I'm a BC grad, perhaps the only one who hasn't been drafted by the Giants;), so I've followed Williams his whole career and I was thrilled when the Giants got him.
Clearly the Giants had a draft that yielded at least 5 players that will make significant positive impacts on the field for the duration of their rookie contracts.
The downplay phrase being "significant positive impacts", trying to avoid potential hyperbole.
It's a good to great draft.
Let's hope the injuries are minimal!
I know that only seems to apply when players are performing badly or not at all out of the gate and excuses need to be found, but it still does apply when things are or seem positive too.
Remember the graphic they showed about the last time two rookies gain over 100 yards - one rushing, one receiving? It was Larry Heater and Mike Friede. They didn't quite go on to Pro Bowl careers.
The Giants OL has been okay at times in run blocking. They've been abominably poor in pass protection.
Giants still need to consider another RB.
2014 is going to prove a great draft. 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty good draft also.
Good post, Matt.
The talent arrow is point up, finally. We need 1 more good draft and some health luck and we'll be back faster than many expect IMO.
He showed yesterday that when there are holes, he can not only be a physical, punishing runner, but also turn on the jets to score on a long run.
I think the OL blocking has be atrocious this year, plus it's only his first year.
I expect him to improve next year based on experience, and the OL getting better.
It's way too early to call him an average back. Esp behind this line.
The talent arrow is point up, finally. We need 1 more good draft and some health luck and we'll be back faster than many expect IMO.
Agreed. This is why you need to stick with Reese and let him right the ship. The "reaching" for the boom or bust type players has been replaced by going with blue chip types...as seen in the last two drafts.
They need another good one in 2015, and will have a great chance since we will be picking rather high.
2014 picks - ( New Window )
2014 is going to prove a great draft. 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty good draft also.
Good post, Matt.
I also remember hearing that they thought that he had a lot of wear and tear on his tires, plus the factor he could not catch. So perhaps they thought his shelf life wouldn't be long. Either way, I do like the pick, and if our OL plays even better in years to come, I think he could be solid for us.
I think once we improve the line a bit more this offseason and give him a full year with learning how to pass block (he can play in less predictable situations once he learns how to do this), he can be a very serviceable #2 RB. Draft a late round scat-back and they are set at RB for next season IMO.
We've had drafts that looked good at the time, that flamed out.
Patience is a forgotten virtue.
Richburg...crediting him simply because he has been starting? I disagree with that. He has been an OK player and starts because of the injury situation. That said, he needed a year or NFL weight training and practice and he has exceeded expectations in a tough situation. So nice job by him but I wouldn't say he is an "anchor" just yet.
Bromley should get an opportunity down the final stretch but again, not excited about him. I thought it was a poor value pick at the time and I still do. Can he stick around through and after his rookie contract? We'll see.
Williams can be a great piece to a good running game. He is definitely limited but he can be productive. Put an Ameer Abdullah on the same team as him and the backfield can be lethal.
Kennard, outside of Beckham, could be the best pick of this class. Really like his game and I think he can stay healthy (a big if), he'll be around for awhile. So versatile.
All this said...I don't like judging rookie classes this early on whether it is good or bad. The 2014 Draft class may end up being the best we've seen in a decade from a depth point of view...so there are a lot of teams right now claiming to have "a great rookie class".
Again, he should not even have been put in to that situation this year. Not all rookies hit the ground running. Look at Sankey behind the terrible Titans Oline. He has had a miserable rookie year.
The Giants OL has been okay at times in run blocking. They've been abominably poor in pass protection.
Giants still need to consider another RB.
Talk of this regime being clueless in the draft was and is overblown. You can't predict injuries. The 2008 draft found tremendous talent in the first 3 rounds. All three players are out of football due to injury. What if these guys never got hurt? Everything changes. The 2009 draft saw the Giants land an elite WR who now looks to be done and a decent LT in Beatty. That's not a terrible draft by any stretch but it looks shaky because Nicks isn't here anymore. 2010 saw two stud DL landed in rounds 1-2. Just because Joseph wasn't re-signed doesn't mean he was a poor pick. Jpp was a great great pick even if he never does a thing after 2014. 2011 wasn't so hot...Prince is good...the rest not so good. 2011 and 2012 saw this franchise miss far too often but I tend to think these were outliers and that we are back on track with 2013 and 2014 drafts looking pretty good thus far. Pugh will be fine he just had a rough second year.
Where this team got hurt was with all the injuries. literally 75% of all the hits from 2007 didn't get hurt this team would be in somewhat better shape. If Kenny Phillips is a star safety maybe we don't even need to sign Rolle. Terrell Thomas healthy means we don't feel compelled to sign DRC. Chad Brown....the RBs all getting hurt year in and year out. Nicks...on and on and on and on and on...it's ridiculous. The drafting missed a bit for a 2 year spell but it's on the way up. Just pray these guys stay healthy. If they don't people will be crushing these picks too. It's obvious most of these 1-2 year players can in fact play.
The Giants have not had too many problems, with their #1 picks.....we tend to get valuable contributions from them.....however, Wilson and Pugh, have not been one of their better Number ones....
As for Richburg, he remains to be seen.....was he drafted as a center or as a guard? Hopefully a center.....as a guard, he is not strong, and is no road grader.....hopefully, he can upgrade the center position for years to come, but until he actually does, we don't know what we have in him....
As for Williams, one long run against a bad team, does not make him the second coming of Tiki.....he has bad hands(lucky he didn't fumble on that long run), has not shown pass blocking ability yet, and as a receiver he is touch and go....he is a back up, not a starter.....
Kennard, shows promise/potential.....so didn't JW....I'm not going to get excited until I see him play a full season and against some better competition....
So is this draft better than in the past? yes....has it produced "talent"? I would only reserve that for OBj....
As for the last two drafts, where are the guys you look at and see standouts? Hankins plateaued by midseason.....Pugh has taken a huge step back.....Moore, we just don't know....
So don't think our drafting ability has turned the corner yet.....this next draft has to produce some starters....this next free agency period has to produce starters.....guys that this team can build on, not just be plugs ins for a season.....
Now I happen to agree with the tenure of your post, but this type of positive outlook is not popular on BBI
Hell be a solid contributer the next few years.
14 catches on 29 targets isn't worth giving anyone pats on the back for.
And I have seen nothing suggesting he's starter material.
Beckham is great, Richburg looks like he might be solid second round pick and Kennard looks like he might be our first late round steal in a long time.
I hardly see how this is cause to pat the scouts on the back, especially after the poor drafts they've had previously.
and got very lazy and rude in making one snarky comment about him, just based on the current 'pick-and-development group' s track record on linebackers, or my perception of it - at that moment.
so - my apologies.
hey, these are basically young kids careers starting here, I am darn glad this one is working out.
I do still reserve the right to geek out about the 5-1-5 and variations, and the increasingly divergent nature of the linebacking and safety positions broadly.
Given the level playing field, salary cap, and complex nature of the game, there will always be hope and strategic opportunity come draft time.
What we need is a David Wilson type, but who can block and also hold onto the football.
That would be a very nice compliment to Jennings and Williams..........
HOWEVER, it is entirely possible that he learns to wait for plays to develop and holes to open up, especially when the OL is more consistent and cohesive, and he gets some more experience. If that happens, he will be a first-rate starter. The only thing holding him back other than the OL talent is his tendency to jump the play, and limited vision as to how plays develop.
There have been other Giant runners who got better at that as they got more experience, and learned to work with their OL. A guy you might recall named Barber only averaged 3.2 yards his second season, and really broke out in his fourth season.
Kennard is fun because he has real LB instincts. He's not chasing the play like our LB draftees have been doing for years. He's a legit starter and holy crap it's been a long time since we've drafted one.
I like Richburg although he looked pretty lost for the last few weeks until this week.
Richburg can't help but to be better than that scrub Walters.