allowing him to draft as he sees fit as opposed to merely plugging holes. I'd love us to land an OG, DT, LB and S in FA.
Doing mock after mock, it becomes apparent that we'd have to reach at various times were we seeking to fill most of our holes in the draft (e.g., if we take an OL in Rd. 1 we'd likely have to reach for a DT, LB or S in Rd. 2, and vice versa) and STILL not accomplish all we need for next season.
So let's hope that Reese opens the checkbook and lands several starters during this FA period. We need starters and not merely backups if we are to contend next year.
I recognize I'm stating the obvious here, but it's remarkable to see time after time when doing mocks how often, even with the 9th pick, you'd either have to take a player at a position of lesser need when your selection comes up, or conversely ignore your Board/Tiers in order to address specific positions in the draft.
two seasons combined.
I agree that I'd like to see a play for Paea at dt. I think Dan Williams isanother option.
If you can fill at least 2 of those through FA, that is a great start. You would like to think they would be able to fill at least 2 more holes via the draft. Then you hope for luck and some internal growth to fill the last weakness.
If you can fill at least 2 of those through FA, that is a great start. You would like to think they would be able to fill at least 2 more holes via the draft. Then you hope for luck and some internal growth to fill the last weakness.
Agreed...and I think LB will get the shaft as usual. I expect S and OL in free agency.
I'd say Safety is a safe bet as that is a big hole that needs a vet (especially if Rolle isn't resigned).
They always seem to try to find a bargain bin LB so that is a strong possibility too.
The other positions are more a toss up that could go either way (draft and/or FA).
A bargain DT may be a possibility too.
This draft has to be productive.
No evidence for this at all. If anything, the opposite is indicated.
I'd rather not sign any UFA O-Linemen this year. I'd much rather use the draft to beef up the O-Line (pun intended), with at least one premium pick and one mid-to-late round pick.
2. Safety - Demps stinks, Brown is not the answer and Rolle is old.
3. LB - is Williams healthy enough to be re-signed. Good enough?
One could argue we need a veteran backup tackle as well.
Draft BPA regardless of position.
2. Safety - Demps stinks, Brown is not the answer and Rolle is old.
3. LB - is Williams healthy enough to be re-signed. Good enough?
One could argue we need a veteran backup tackle as well.
Draft BPA regardless of position.
Agree with the first two but I wonder if they will try to sign a high level LB, with the lack of emphasis we place on the position.
They have Kennard who shows a ton of promise and McClain who is unspectacular but adequate , I would love a Boley type. They need someone who can cover in the LB group badly.
Lots of moves to be made prior to FA:
1. Cut Kiwi, Walton, Hosley
2. Beason and Weatherford take paycuts
3. Extend and Restructure Eli and Prince
4. Hopefully re-sign JPP
5. I would like to have the following players back as well:
Thurmond, Bowman, Donnell, Hynoski, Herzlich and one of Rolle or Brown@ safety.
If you want to cut Walton, you had better have someone on the team with some NFL experience at center. We've had starters injured at that position before. I don't know of anyone else on the Giants now that can play center.
Do you?
Quote:
Free agency is about plugging holes and the draft is about selecting the BPA available, going with a need when values are similar.
Lots of moves to be made prior to FA:
Last year in camp, Eric Herman was getting time in at Center.
1. Cut Kiwi, Walton, Hosley
2. Beason and Weatherford take paycuts
3. Extend and Restructure Eli and Prince
4. Hopefully re-sign JPP
5. I would like to have the following players back as well:
Thurmond, Bowman, Donnell, Hynoski, Herzlich and one of Rolle or Brown@ safety.
If you want to cut Walton, you had better have someone on the team with some NFL experience at center. We've had starters injured at that position before. I don't know of anyone else on the Giants now that can play center.
Do you?
Herman was taking reps at center last year.
Even if they do all the smart things and get $30M under the cap, $30M is gone pretty quickly in UFA unless you're completing a significant number of value signings, e.g. relatively average talent.
This adds up to needing another offseason to infuse talent, it would seem.
They still have holes to fill and need another good off season but the core of this team is very young. There's little to no talent on this team that is passed its prime.
Just food for thought and something to hold on to over the next few months. If we can just get out of camp and September relatively healthy. Seems like every year since 12 this team can't make it out of September in one piece.
Me too. I'd be shocked if these two positions are not addressed via FA.
If people here think that we're going to find 5 to 6 starters in this draft you're dreaming. We'll be lucky if we get 2, especially with Coughlin's eagerness to play the young kids.
They still have holes to fill and need another good off season but the core of this team is very young. There's little to no talent on this team that is passed its prime.
Just food for thought and something to hold on to over the next few months. If we can just get out of camp and September relatively healthy. Seems like every year since 12 this team can't make it out of September in one piece.
A couple of things....Eli and the Offense needs to continue to grow. We need to have a solid OL in place in order for that to happen.
Two....Spags has to come in and light a fire under these guys. Which I think he can do. If he brings back an attacking style Def and a swagger/confidence to go with it then we might be in business.
Three....we've got to stay healthy. We've got some really nice talent on this roster....just need to keep them healthy. The teams that are the healthiest throughout the year and at the end of the year are usually the ones competing for a title.
Even if they do all the smart things and get $30M under the cap, $30M is gone pretty quickly in UFA unless you're completing a significant number of value signings, e.g. relatively average talent.
This adds up to needing another offseason to infuse talent, it would seem.
I have a feeling the Giants are going to be somewhat aggressive this year again. With the TCs expiring contract and Maras hinting at win now or else, I see them definitely being active in FA.
Perhaps not the sheer quantity from last year but a few decent players with mid sized contracts.
I could see them going with the mindset that at least Beatty and maybe Cruz could be cap cuts next year (roughly 7.5 to 15 mill savings if my cap math is correct). Which would allow them more flexibility.
I think a quality OL likely with OG/RT eligibility is a given and a decent safety as well.
The rest murkier, but they will bring in at least quality rotation level players at DT and LB (like Cullen Jenkins was). WR is a wild card I could see them spend big here or at minimum find a new upgrade to Parker and go very high in the draft for one. TE might be a mid level guy with upside.
Signing JPP to a long term with a cap friendly year 1 and extending Eli is going to be key for cap flexibility.
To me, re-signing JPP is critical to some flexibility in that regard, however. If we don't re-sign JPP, I can't see how we're gonna improve enough to be playoff bound next year. If we can, we can keep a really good player AND manage his cap hit accordingly.
we need middle of the road signings like Walton to pan out, and we need top signings, like Schwartz to pan out.
Getting one year successes, like the black unicorn, is nice for a year, but ultimately not helpful to the team. Thurmond injured out, which you can't blame Reese on, but it was another case of paying decent money for one year and if you get your money's worth, you need to pony up even more to keep him. Stop the one year show me deals. evaluate the talent and find ones that will be helpful for several years and sign them accordingly.
One poster keeps indicating NYG has an incredible amount of cap space in 2016, and I don't know how accurate it is. But, if it is accurate, then then can look to structure deals accordingly. Imo.
fkap, agreed it's too much missing.
Then we can concentrate on firming up the defense, and I'm not sure how many top guys we need for the D to be at least competent. I think that one thing Spags brings is an ability to game plan to hide some defensive weaknesses.
Likely overoptimistic, but I've got that fire in my belly! Probably need some Tums.
The defense needs a lot of parts, especially up front. I wrote as the 2012 season closed that their talent pipeline on the DL wasn't keeping up as the players were declining at young ages. Now, we're seeing the issues at both DE spots and DT depth.
I'm kind of hoping that we land someone like Paea or Suh, re-sign JPP, and then draft two DEs (Smith and Anderson, for example). Time to refortify the DL.
Suh will be massively expensive but we know NYG loved Paea in the draft (and I was on record saying we'd pick him when we outsmarted ourselves and gambled on Austin). Not sure a DT such as Paea is really worth the UFA dollars though.
If they let JPP go, they'll have some space to go after replacements, but it's difficult to replace a solid DE.
While I would prefer JPP to a smart long term deal, these 2 may be viable replacements if it doesn't work out.
Suh will be massively expensive but we know NYG loved Paea in the draft (and I was on record saying we'd pick him when we outsmarted ourselves and gambled on Austin). Not sure a DT such as Paea is really worth the UFA dollars though.
If they let JPP go, they'll have some space to go after replacements, but it's difficult to replace a solid DE.
How much do you think Paea will cost? I don't think he's a top shelf signing at this point, and his arrow is pointing up, a bit like Ayers last year. IMO he's an upgrade over Patterson (certainly) and even Jenkins (prolly) at this point...
I could imagine JR grabbing a guy like DHB on the cheap, too, and an OL at a somewhat lower level than Franklin...
Rj, Hardy is a poor character risk, and Morgan has done very little in the NFL to warrant his draft status. Two significant risks.
The Giants roster problem is a 5 year run of poor drafts from 2008-2012. The last 2 look to have been solid. They need 2 more. You can then add a key piece or 2 in FA (like Kareem McKenzie, Burress, Rolle).
This March, positions to watch for clues about young players currently on roster will include:
S: How many eggs go in the Cooper Taylor/Nat Berhe basket?
3-technique DT - Is Bromley ready? (this one might remain unanswered if the team still regards Jenkins as a viable bridge);
TE - Will the Giants roll with Donnell and Robinson?
RB - Is Andre Williams still viewed as a potential #1 back?
DE - Damontre Moore: yes, no, maybe?
There are also glaring issues at LB and OL, but they mostly involve older vets and I doubt the answers will come in March. Even if Beason gets cut, we'll probably have to wait a few months to see the new plan.
That space can actually benefit them this year in FA as it allows them to be a little more creative. For example, if they want to go after Suh, they could structure it so a good chunk of his guaranteed money is his 2016 base salary. Or give him a two-tiered signing bonus so that a chunk of it doesn't affect this years cap.
That's one of the subtle differences between teams that manage their cap well and teams like the Cowboys and Saints that don't. You can almost always find someone to cut to free enough room for a couple splash signings, but it'll severely limit your options. Unfortunately the Cowboys have been better lately (ironically the cap penalty they paid which prevented them from making any huge signings that offseason helped here), but they are still likely to lose some combo of Murray, Carter, and Free this offseason due to cap mismanagement.
Don't think they bring in any starter quality players at TE/RB via FA. They might add a Fells type player (or re-sign Fells), but it's hard to imagine spending much on TE after the season Donnell had (blocking aside) when they have much bigger holes - I'm surprised S isn't talked about much more here.
Ditto RB. Jennings/Williams aren't going to set the world on fire, but the team would be better served using their FA money to upgrade LG/RT. That'll help keep Eli clean and give the two RBs a boost.
I do think they look at TE/RB in the draft though. Maybe even as early as round 2, but more likely round 3 and after.
At running back, there's a need for (at least) a third-down type. One option is to give Jennings that role and go with Williams as the plough-horse. RJ might not fit the Darren Sproles stereotype, but neither did Derrick Ward. Besides, Jennings might last longer as a complementary player.
They definitely need a Dan Campbell type blocking TE to complement him though.
RB - I agree they need to improve on 3rd downs there, but I think they envisioned Jennings carrying a lot of that load last year as he's a good receiving RB. He's not a shifty guy like Sproles/Vereen but he'll catch some dump-offs and make some plays there. And with Williams emergence (if you can call it that), they could give AW more carries early in games/series to reduce Jennings workload. Hard to see them bringing in a FA RB for much more than the vet min + small bonus, but I can absolutely see them grabbing a RB in rds 2-4 if the values there (supposedly a strong RB draft).
That said, they lack depth almost everywhere so I can see them going in just about any direction with the draft...