The latest GBN 1st Round Mock has the Giants selecting Devante Paker, WR Louisville at #9. I have posted in the past on how I think Parker is a close #2 WR to Cooper in this draft class and how selecting a WR at #9 makes sense if you think Parker fits the Giants scheme and if you think he is a game breaker. Not going to rehash all of that again.
If you look at Parker's performances this year you will see a dominant WR who was at his best in big games. He is also very good after the catch, which I think increases his value, especially to a team like Giants. At 6'2" 214lbs, with sub 4.5 speed, he seems to be everything the Giants hoped Reuben Randle would be and then some. With Cruz and Randle both legit question marks going into 2015 a player like Parker is certainly in the mix, particularly given Reese's comments about preferring playmakers over linemen.
Under this scenario, with Scherff going at 10 and Peat going at 11, you'd have to think the Giants either addressed the OL in FA or will draft one in round 2. I have always thought the Giants will address the starting RT/LG position in FA, leaving options open for the draft.
Colin, if you see this post, would be very interested in your reasoning on the latest projection. Thanks
1st Round Projection - (
New Window )
blue when the Giants drafted Pugh they mentioned he could potentially play tackle. However, after two years of evaluating his play/potential, we don't know if they still feel that way . Personally I think he can play LT but only in a pinch. I think his skillset lends itself much better to OG or RT.
By drafting Peat or Collins (if the Giants have them ranked highly at LT) it hopefully gives us two above average options at LT (Beatty and Peat/Collins) in 2015-16 and then make Beatty expendable and a possible big cap savings in 2016-17.
Indeed, gong in to this draft I find it hard to believe that the Giants real #1 priority is not going to be finding some playmakers on defense. Unfortunately, the pickings on D at #9 just aren't that great. On the other hand, there is some pretty good depth on defense so they may be able to find some players over there in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Have a great day. Stay warm!
Thanks for weighing in Colin. I've relied on GBN for my draft info for a long long time now (so long I don't want to say how long) and I think the site provides superior insight. You guys are plugged in and do your due diligence. I also like the effort to think like the GM when you do your mocks. I don't always feel like the prominent draftniks do that (despite how good I think someone like Moyock is).
I concur with your assessment that Parker makes the Giants WRs corps crazy scarey good, and it could make it crazy scary good for the next 2-3 seasons depending on whether the Giants resign Randle or not. I completely understand any fan's wish (sometimes demand) for an OL at #9. The OL needs improvement, no question, but I think the fact remains there are zero blue goose tackles in this draft, every top guy has question marks, and you can get what you need in FA for a reasonable price. Dallas had great success with their line, but there is more than one way to build it. Football is about matchups (as we all know) and the benefit of having a unit on your team that is simply unstoppable cannot be understated. There is a certain wisdom in playing to your strengths and turning a position of strength into a position of dominance.
I'm not ruling out an OL at #9, but I keep coming back to the logic that says there will be players of greater value at #9, and Reese is not going to reach on a guy when he can get a difference maker and future pro-bowl player.
You have one guy calling him Matt Millen. Yeah, like Millen ever drafted a WR better than Nicks or ODB?
What the fuck.
The Giants have scouts. Those scouts inform the front office about the college players. The front office makes decisions based on that information. Trust that process. I wanted Martin last year...I thought that was a meeting of talent and need. But Martin would have been a horrendous pick, because Beckham looks at this early stage like one of the best pure athletes the NFL has ever seen.
Trust the process in place. If the scouts are good and their judgment shapes the board, the board will bring in quality more often than not.
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Pugh is already on the team. All he played in college was LT.
blue when the Giants drafted Pugh they mentioned he could potentially play tackle. However, after two years of evaluating his play/potential, we don't know if they still feel that way . Personally I think he can play LT but only in a pinch. I think his skillset lends itself much better to OG or RT.
By drafting Peat or Collins (if the Giants have them ranked highly at LT) it hopefully gives us two above average options at LT (Beatty and Peat/Collins) in 2015-16 and then make Beatty expendable and a possible big cap savings in 2016-17.
They thought he COULD play tackle..
I disagree.. Pugh IS a tackle.. He doesnt play Left Tackle because Beatty is on the team and Beatty can only play left Tackle.
What they said was they they felt that Pugh could play any position on the OL.. He was already a tackle and he played tackle BETTER than every other tackle drafted ahead of him when he was drafted..
Last year he had to block next to John Jerry.. who SUCKS..
Bottom line as I said before and have said consistently.. the Giants issue on the OL is the INTERIOR not at tackle.. and if you got a decent guard next to Beatty and Pugh both of them would also improve as a result..
But Giants fans again have this fantasy that if we just draft a tackle in the first round all our problems are solved.. which I dont accept as the only way to fix the OL.. Fixing the OL IMO is not fixed by taking a Tackle in round one.. and THEN moving a guy who has NEVER PLAYED GUARD EVER at any level into that position.. Pugh isnt built like a guard.. he is not know as a power player.. but fans keep saying.. I think he can play guard based on ZERO evidence..
I say.. get a guard.. problem solved...
p.s.-- There will be some interesting WR prospects to be had on day two that would also look mighty good feasting off single coverage.
And again, relying on FA isn't this group's strong point. Not just their talent evaluations but the fact that in FA, every team gets to bid on the talent available.
He absolutely shut down Anthony Barr the previous year and other highly rated pass rushers. The question with Peat is why the inconsistency? The talent is there in spades.
A couple analysts feel he is the most talented LT they've seen since Ogden. That is enormous praise. He did have a down year last year and the key is to figure out why and if it is a true red flag for future performance or not.
And again, relying on FA isn't this group's strong point. Not just their talent evaluations but the fact that in FA, every team gets to bid on the talent available.
Picking a position gets you shittier players. That's a fact that's been borne out over and over again since the beginning of time.
We could have taken Martin last year, and we'd be farther away from winning than we are now. If the board this year says an OL is tops, great...take him. But don't force it.
And maybe I just have a bias against Stanford LTs. When I first got into the draft back in the 1970s one of my favorite Giants picks at the time of the draft was Gordon King in 1978. I recall really sweating out the first 9 picks of that draft; I mean he was the real deal as a LT prospect: big, physical and nasty, but also very athletic and as smart as they come, however, for whatever reason it turned out he couldn't play at the next level. But that's the draft for you!
Whatever, bottom line is I just don't see him being in the Giants top tier when they get on the clock on April 30 (which is my birthday by the way! What are the odds!) and if we know anything about the Giants its that they will stay true to their board.
We have zero way of measuring just how better our running game would be with him starting for example.
Personally I would have selected Martin AND Richburg in the draft if for no other reason then to tell Eli Manning, "Come hell or high water, I'm going to protect you".
And Reese has repeated targeted selected certain positions, Matty has detailed his perchant for WR's but Aaron Ross's selection is another example of him doing so.
And maybe I just have a bias against Stanford LTs. When I first got into the draft back in the 1970s one of my favorite Giants picks at the time of the draft was Gordon King in 1978. I recall really sweating out the first 9 picks of that draft; I mean he was the real deal as a LT prospect: big, physical and nasty, but also very athletic and as smart as they come, however, for whatever reason it turned out he couldn't play at the next level. But that's the draft for you!
Whatever, bottom line is I just don't see him being in the Giants top tier when they get on the clock on April 30 (which is my birthday by the way! What are the odds!) and if we know anything about the Giants its that they will stay true to their board.
Colin I think you nailed it. However you can bet the Giants will do their homework to figure out exactly what mental lapses caused him to underwhelm last year. There is so much talent there to pass up if you think it was just part of the growing up process for a young kid.
We have zero way of measuring just how better our running game would be with him starting for example.
Personally I would have selected Martin AND Richburg in the draft if for no other reason then to tell Eli Manning, "Come hell or high water, I'm going to protect you".
And Reese has repeated targeted selected certain positions, Matty has detailed his perchant for WR's but Aaron Ross's selection is another example of him doing so.
I have no problems drafting any OL position high, and I'm a fan of cluster drafting if the board dictates it and the opportunity is there.
But I can't support drafting Zack Martin over Beckham, given what we know now. An argument can be made that Beckham was the single best player in the league once he started playing. He looks like a generational player in the class of Randy Moss or Calvin Johnson...or maybe something better.
There will be other opportunities to find Zack Martin. Reese is unlikely to encounter another Beckham for the remainder of his career.
Beckham was the correct pick. That is indisputable.
Haven't mentioned this before but one thing to take into consideration is that the 2016 draft could be really loaded at OT with guys like Ronnie Stanley, Conklin of Michigan State, Laremy Tunsil of Mississppi, Taylor Decker of Ohio State, Spencer Drango of Baylor, Le'Raven Clark of Texas Tech and LSU's Jerald Hawkins among others likely to be available. Just saying
I'm not saying Martin would have helped any more or less, I'm saying that line of reasoning is dubious if the overall goal is to win the championship not just score a lot of points and rack up stats.
Sorry I reject the notion that Beckham was the correct pick. The correct draft pick and strategy was to rebuild the OL as soon as possible. Now we're stuck waiting another off season to see if they can fix it again.
I'm not saying Martin would have helped any more or less, I'm saying that line of reasoning is dubious if the overall goal is to win the championship not just score a lot of points and rack up stats.
Sorry I reject the notion that Beckham was the correct pick. The correct draft pick and strategy was to rebuild the OL as soon as possible. Now we're stuck waiting another off season to see if they can fix it again.
I'll say again...there were opportunities beyond last year's first round pick to add to the OL. Richburg is an example of that. There were no other opportunities, and there likely won't be again for many years, to add a player of Beckham's quality. You don't make decisions like that for 2014 alone.
Your thinking is what gets you Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, Jamarcus Russell over Megatron, etc.
Plus- A lot has been invested in this defense:
-DRC/Prince
-Thurmond
-JPP will be resigned/franchised
-Hankins is a player (2nd round pick)
-We let LJ walk (could have paired him with Hankins)
-Moore will be better utilized
-3rd round pick on Bromley
-Wynn + Ayers
-Kennard looks like he may be a keeper.
I'm not saying the defense is set, and wouldn't be against a big time pass-rusher, but the offense needs some love.
Did they have the opportunity to rebuild the OL before last year? Yep, that's part of the problem, they had numerous opportunities and blew them repeatedly reaching on players they thought had bigger upsides or similar justification. Go look up the draft write-ups, we all know the names. Hell Reese's "JPP of TE" is so talented, he's been passed on the depth chart by two undrafted free Agents.
Using Once in a generational talent as your justification doesn't excuse the stupidity of your earlier mistakes. Beckham doesn't cancel out the draft misses on Barden, Beckum, Moss, etc... The most important players in the two SB wins were either Marginal WR's (Tyree) or mistake prone (Manningham) that played out of their minds that day.
Dunedin not the same comparison because every team's situation is different. Taking Beckham away from the WR corp would hurt it yes but there's a very good chance that with both Martin and Richburg (which is what I advacoated for) would have meant a stronger Running game which also helps out.
And Colin, can you remind me about the discussion we had in the Seattle game about how the game of football has changed and it's no longer about winning in the trenches, I seem to have forgotten about that as I watched Lynch and the OL just bend our defense backwards and run them over.
Colin I agree completely. I believe the offense (with the offensive line getting a FA uplift) is good enough to win now.
But I think the defense needs playmakers.
Again though I don't necessarily think that has to come from the draft.
Maybe the Giants make McCourty an offer, bring Thurmond back and Beason comes back healthy. That helps safety, MIKE and slot corner. They need a pass rusher and the D is drastically different - without using #9 on the defense.
If the Giants go defense at #9 I won't complain one bit, but I believe Reese will address the D and OL in free agency (first).
Colin, I have major concerns about the defense, but don't see a surefire difference-maker there at 9 unless Shelton makes it to us, and even he could be a risky pick. I also like Shaq Thompson a lot, but do we want to gamble on Spags finding ways to match him up where his speed will compensate for lack of size when we could get a surer thing at 9?
Do you see any other fits for us on defense at 9? To me guys like Beasley are really 3-4 scheme fits, and Landon Collins is just not "special" imo. I'll argue that Kenny Phillips was at least as good if not a better S prospect than him, and he went 32nd.
If you think those are the most important players in those Super Bowls, you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
For one thing, Justin Tuck could have been the MVP of either one. He was a monster.
Offensively, Hakeem Nicks was the Giants biggest weapon in 46 - Patriots didn't have an answer for him.
Did they have the opportunity to rebuild the OL before last year? Yep, that's part of the problem, they had numerous opportunities and blew them repeatedly reaching on players they thought had bigger upsides or similar justification. Go look up the draft write-ups, we all know the names. Hell Reese's "JPP of TE" is so talented, he's been passed on the depth chart by two undrafted free Agents.
Using Once in a generational talent as your justification doesn't excuse the stupidity of your earlier mistakes. Beckham doesn't cancel out the draft misses on Barden, Beckum, Moss, etc... The most important players in the two SB wins were either Marginal WR's (Tyree) or mistake prone (Manningham) that played out of their minds that day.
Dunedin not the same comparison because every team's situation is different. Taking Beckham away from the WR corp would hurt it yes but there's a very good chance that with both Martin and Richburg (which is what I advacoated for) would have meant a stronger Running game which also helps out.
And Colin, can you remind me about the discussion we had in the Seattle game about how the game of football has changed and it's no longer about winning in the trenches, I seem to have forgotten about that as I watched Lynch and the OL just bend our defense backwards and run them over.
Previous errors don't justify making another.
No straw man here. If Beckham were Ramses Barden you would be right. But he looks closer to Jerry Rice.
I'm going to clue you in on something else...if you asked Eli Manning himself he'd tell you Beckham was the right pick.
I agree that OL is not as dire a need as many think, but I would like to see a more consistent running game. I think the Giants will be looking for an OG in rounds 2 or 3. I like Tomlinson from Duke, and the GMEM appear to be interested in Marpet from Hobart.
Colin, where do you see Beasley playing in a 4-3? He seems far to lite for RDE and I have no idea about his coverage ability. If he can play ROLB (both in coverage and moving forward) he would make it that much easier to move on from Williams.
Small-school standout Ali Marpet putting tiny Hobart College on NFL radars - ( New Window )
We'd help Eli AND the defense a bunch if we could develop a true running attack and dominate time of possession.
But the defense is the biggest area of concern in terms of missing parts...we will need to re-sign JPP, land another DT, perhaps 2 LBs, and at least 1 S in order to be a top 15 defense. That's a heck of a lot more than one really good OL, which is (at minimum) what the offense needs if Schwartz comes back healthy.
We'd help Eli AND the defense a bunch if we could develop a true running attack and dominate time of possession.
But the defense is the biggest area of concern in terms of missing parts...we will need to re-sign JPP, land another DT, perhaps 2 LBs, and at least 1 S in order to be a top 15 defense. That's a heck of a lot more than one really good OL, which is (at minimum) what the offense needs if Schwartz comes back healthy.
Oh I never said he did. I think he is just saying that it doesn't "require" a 1st round pick as many on this site think.
I agree with everything you just posted. The running game needs to be more consistent and that is an indictment of the line play, but I think upgrading the OG position (specifically LG) does that. If you move Pugh there, then you get a RT in FA. If Pugh stays at RT I would sign a OG in FA and draft one as well.
The defense absolutely needs more playmakers. Aside from JPP, no one on that front 7 scares anyone. Hankins had a good year, but he is not a disruptive pass rusher, despite his 6 sacks. Kennard is a nice young LOLB, but I'm not ready to anoint him yet. Drafting a disruptive player in the front 7 makes total sense, I just don't know who that player is at #9. I like Randy Gregory and Leonard Williams a great deal, but they ain't making it out of the top 5.
Terps, The irony in your statement is that Reese is poised to do exactly that by neglecting again in favor of another 'playmaker' despite history telling everyone to do likewise is insanity.
Maybe Beckham is Jerry Rice, I don't think he is, I think he'll need to mature quite a bit before attempting that comparison. And regardless, him being on the field doesn't put John Jerry on the bench which is still a major negative.
Fix the OLL and build a good team, and maybe the 'transgenerational' talent this is Odell Beckham will get his chance to wear a ring.
Otherwise he gets to join a long list of supremely talented players, arguably amongst the most gifted athletes every to play the game at their position who didn't because they didn't have good enough teams around them to help. And that would be shame regardless of your feelings on the matter.
Re-sign Eli, free up cap space, and get some of those guys in their primes to beef up the D. That allows us to go in any direction in the 1st round.
At the same time, I confess as I did above that I have no idea who the Giants are going to take with their opening round. My guess is that even the Giants don't have much of an idea who their final pick will be at this point. But I do mocks for a living and had to take someone when I got to #9. And I certainly don't think that the Giants are going to go to the draft planning to draft a WR per se with their top pick. We've heard from more than one of our sources that they think that Parker would have been a top 5 lock this year if he hadn't been injured.
The bottom line, though, is that as Dave Sy has preached on more than one occasion the one thing you can take to the bank when the Giants get on the clock is that they will stay true to their board. As such, the real trick to figuring out their draft at this point is to try and figure out which players are going to be in their top row rather than howling at the moon about this or that player or position that they "just have to take" or coversely will never take.
At the same time, I confess as I did above that I have no idea who the Giants are going to take with their opening round. My guess is that even the Giants don't have much of an idea who their final pick will be at this point. But I do mocks for a living and had to take someone when I got to #9. And I certainly don't think that the Giants are going to go to the draft planning to draft a WR per se with their top pick. We've heard from more than one of our sources that they think that Parker would have been a top 5 lock this year if he hadn't been injured.
The bottom line, though, is that as Dave Sy has preached on more than one occasion the one thing you can take to the bank when the Giants get on the clock is that they will stay true to their board. As such, the real trick to figuring out their draft at this point is to try and figure out which players are going to be in their top row rather than howling at the moon about this or that player or position that they "just have to take" or coversely will never take.
It took me a while Colin to come around and appreciate your perspective and expertise, but looking back at history and commentary (from Reese and others) I believe this is 100% spot on.
Best post I've read in a long time.
He's not Ogden II, but he's my LT target.
and based on the youtube clips I have seen I like White better than Parker..