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Your draft memories?

Chris684 : 4/24/2018 11:20 am
What are some draft related stories/opinions you've had over the years that stick out to you every time the draft rolls around? Predictions that panned out? Predictions gone wrong? Picks you may have guessed. Guys you wanted that wound up elsewhere?

Here are a few of mine.

First, a bad one. I LOVED the Marvin Austin pick. I thought he was going to be a beast. I even started a thread on BBI praising the selection. OOPS.

In 2011 I was pissed we took Prince even though it was seen as a great value pick at the time. The reason I was mad? I wanted Mark Ingram.

In 2005 I was very confused when we took a RB out of Southern Illinois in the 4th rd. I remember thinking, "who is this guy?"

In the now famous 2007 draft, for just about the only time I can remember, I accurately predicted a non-1st round NYG pick. I was at a concert at MSG later that afternoon during the 2nd round when my buddy said "Giants are on the clock, who do you got?" Steve Smith WR USC.

I wanted Donte Stallworth over Jeremy Shockey.

A couple of guys that I really wanted but wound up elsewhere were Chandler Jones and more recently TD White (early yet but a good one).

I was at the NYG draft day party in 04 firmly aboard the draft Eli train. After the early action in the first round with the pick and the trade I got bored and decided to take off. Would have been nice to have been around when he showed up at the party later that day. Oh well.



The 2004 draft and being so pissed when the Chargers took Eli  
figgy2989 : 4/24/2018 11:24 am : link
Then some 45 minutes later the commissioner saying there has been a trade! Wave of emotions then hearing what they gave up and thinking it might be a mistake! 14 years later (to the day) and two Super Bowls, it was all worth it.
The infamous 1996 draft  
jeff57 : 4/24/2018 11:26 am : link
Quote:
“There wasn’t a plan for all four to be gone,” Gabriel, a veteran scout now working as an NFL analyst for Pro Football Weekly and 670 The Score in Chicago. “We were on the clock and didn’t have a player we really liked, so George got on the phone and tried to trade down, and we just couldn’t get a good offer.” The Giants ended up picking defensive end Cedric Jones from Oklahoma. He went sackless in his first 28 NFL games and was a near-bust in five NFL seasons.
I was at the Garden when the Giants picked Rivers.  
Big Blue Blogger : 4/24/2018 11:28 am : link
Mostly, I remember a section full of Giant fans yelling "What the f*ck?" Then the trade was announced from the podium, but we couldn't hear what it was.

I've only attended two drafts, 1983 and 2004. Oddly, they are both remembered for great QBs and a #1 pick who refused to play for the team that selected him.
Draft memories  
TheManUpstairs : 4/24/2018 11:32 am : link
All 3, for some reason, in the car listening to the radio:

1. 2004: Listening to the draft, probably on the local DC sports yakker, and sitting in a Barnes & Noble parking lot listening to the Manning-Giants-SD drama go down . . . I was honestly not that crazy about trading stuff for Eli.

2. 1997: Driving to BWI airport to pick up my mom when the Giants drafted Tiki; I'm a UVA guy, I went NUTS.

3. 2009: Also in the car when we traded up for Ramses Barden, and I thought it was a GREAT move.

So, on two out of those three moves, I was quite wrong.
Selection of Luke Pettitgout  
Mike in NY : 4/24/2018 11:32 am : link
Oakland uses most of their time to select Matt Stinchcomb. We rush to the podium. I am praying it is for Eastern Michigan OT L.J. Shelton. I then start stumbling through draft mags to find anything on our pick.
Phil, who?  
Big Blue '56 : 4/24/2018 11:33 am : link
.
I was at the draft  
jvm52106 : 4/24/2018 11:36 am : link
when we selected Jeremy Shockey. I had a blast at the draft, lots of cool fans (a bunch of Raiders fans in full garb) around us.

The one draft at the time I was psyched about because I mocked the draft the night before and had him going to the Giants would the Tyrone Wheatley selection.

The draft where I was like WHAT, Thomas Lewis WR Indiana.. He was rated by Mel Kiper as the 22nd best WR and he was the Giants selection in the FIRST round..... GRRR.

1996 was a bad one too.
For some reason a memory that sticks out was when we draft AB  
Young Elijah : 4/24/2018 11:38 am : link
I recall hearing the name in some scouting reports then went to watch his Yahoo scouting video and thought, "Holy shit, this dude's great" Lo and behold, he was a beast and one my favorite Giants.
twenty years ago  
George : 4/24/2018 11:44 am : link
I wanted Alan Faneca and I got Shaun Williams instead.
I was at the Shaun Williams  
Hazlet Giant's Fan : 4/24/2018 11:49 am : link
draft actually got asked by MSG reporter if I was happy and I said no I wanted Allen Faneca also. I also chatted to Mel Kiper and say what you will about him he seemed like a really nice guy and chatted about the Giants draft for awhile.
Throughout the 1990s my firm...  
M.S. : 4/24/2018 11:52 am : link

...held a 3-Day conference at the Marriott Marquis (on 45th and Broadway) in late April which often times led up to the NFL Draft.

Late on the second day of the 1994 Draft I found myself in a nearly empty balcony right above Mel Kiper who was relaxing for a moment during a commercial break. I leaned over, called out his name and asked him point blank what he thought of the Giant's unexpected selection of Thomas Lewis, WR out of Indiana in Round One (24th pick).

Mel Kiper could not have been more gracious with his time. He looked up, smiled, shook his head and thought Lewis was a late riser in the Draft and was a pretty good receiver. I asked if he was worthy of the 24th pick. Mel Kiper said something to the effect that "beauty was in the eye of the beholder." I then cut to the chase: How are his hands... can he catch the ball. Mel Kiper said don't worry about that!

I think injuries curtailed his career.
RE: twenty years ago  
Big Blue '56 : 4/24/2018 11:53 am : link
In comment 13928154 George said:
Quote:
I wanted Alan Faneca and I got Shaun Williams instead.


Iirc, Williams was never the same after that 2000 Jags game
amazing  
Knee of Theismann : 4/24/2018 12:04 pm : link
how each draft pick leading up to 2007 contributed to our amazing victory over the Pats. Including the fact that Brandon Jacobs being 6'4" was a huge part of the reason why the Giants converted that 4th and 1 by just a few inches. Lol he was hit at the LOS and if he had been 5'10" the ball would have come down short of the first down line.
1971 Draft  
Damfino : 4/24/2018 12:10 pm : link
Couldn't sleep the night before in anticipation. Information in those days was Street and Smith, a far cry from today's information blitz.
What a draft in retrospect, we chose Rocky Thompson, the next 2 picks, Jack Tatum and Jack Youngblood. So typical of the ineptness of the Giants in that era.
I  
BIG FRED 1973 : 4/24/2018 12:12 pm : link
remember the 1995 draft I was @ the Knicks vs Magic game and afterwards I walked into the NFL draft and watched the last few rounds and sat right in front of the ESPN broadcast .There was hardly anyone in there it was empty as it was day 2 .in 1996 I was at the Knicks vs Hornets game on Friday night and a bunch of the Draft invitees were sitting in front of me as I used to sneak down and sit behind the basket ,the next day I went to the draft and it was a madhouse the line went around the garden but we ended up at all star café and watched us pick Cedric Jones I almost threw up lol .My friend actually got drafted that year so that was cool to see .In 1997 i was at the Knicks vs hawks game the night before but this time I bought an NFL draft hat at cosbys and I snuck down to those seats behind the basket and had some of the guys autograph the hat ,I got Bryant Westbrook and Peter Boulware to sign the hat .After that me and my friends started having draft party's we always had tons of Food and Beer .In 2009 I was with one of my former players on draft weekend because he was slated to get drafted well he didn’t and ended up signing as a free agent with Dallas but the whole process was crazy and I saw firsthand how these teams make promises to these players and then don’t end up taking them .I also saw how they sign these guys as free agents and how crazy that is .BTW I miss the draft being on Saturdays
1981  
Marty866b : 4/24/2018 12:13 pm : link
At the draft with Dave Jennings and I had a hard time believing that this Taylor guy was better then Hugh Green.
Some that stand out in my mind....  
Milton : 4/24/2018 12:29 pm : link
Watching the 1992 draft with a friend of mine when TE Derek Brown was drafted followed by highlights of him and then TE Johnny Mitchell was drafted by Jets and the highlights were shown. My friend and I had the same reaction, thinking the highlights of Johnny Mitchell were night and day better than the highlights of Derek Brown. We reassured ourselves that, hey, it's just highlights. But Brown sucked and at least Mitchell gave the Jets a few good years.

And in 1999 at Phil in LA's for the draft, I think Greg from LI was there, too, but I may have him mixed up with someone else. As the Giants 2nd round pick was approaching we were talking about possibilities and I said, "I like Joe Montgomery" or something like that. At the time Montgomery was considered a 4th round prospect (give or take a round at best), so everyone was surprised (including myself) when he was selected by the Giants.

And of course the 2004 draft was quite memorable. I had been sounding the bell since January that the Kerry Collins days were over and the Giants would draft a QB and I had taken a lot of abuse for that opinion (in the beginning I was a lone wolf, but as the draft got closer others posting on BBI began to share my opinion), so on draft day someone posted a thread titled "Somewhere Milton is doing cartwheels!". That made me chuckle, because indeed, it felt good.
RE: Some that stand out in my mind....  
Jim in Tampa : 4/24/2018 12:47 pm : link
In comment 13928272 Milton said:
Quote:
Watching the 1992 draft with a friend of mine when TE Derek Brown was drafted followed by highlights of him and then TE Johnny Mitchell was drafted by Jets and the highlights were shown. My friend and I had the same reaction, thinking the highlights of Johnny Mitchell were night and day better than the highlights of Derek Brown. We reassured ourselves that, hey, it's just highlights. But Brown sucked and at least Mitchell gave the Jets a few good years.

And in 1999 at Phil in LA's for the draft, I think Greg from LI was there, too, but I may have him mixed up with someone else. As the Giants 2nd round pick was approaching we were talking about possibilities and I said, "I like Joe Montgomery" or something like that. At the time Montgomery was considered a 4th round prospect (give or take a round at best), so everyone was surprised (including myself) when he was selected by the Giants.

And of course the 2004 draft was quite memorable. I had been sounding the bell since January that the Kerry Collins days were over and the Giants would draft a QB and I had taken a lot of abuse for that opinion (in the beginning I was a lone wolf, but as the draft got closer others posting on BBI began to share my opinion), so on draft day someone posted a thread titled "Somewhere Milton is doing cartwheels!". That made me chuckle, because indeed, it felt good.


So your favorite draft day memories are all out you being right?

;>)

(If that's the case I hope you're right about this year's pick at 2.)
I don't have any special stories  
illmatic : 4/24/2018 12:50 pm : link
about being at specific places as the draft happened but I remember feeling certain things about picks.

I was super against the JPP pick when it happened. I remember leading up to the draft, there were quite a few mocks that had the Giants selecting him and I kept thinking it would be a remote thrower if true. It wasn't until he got on the field that I warmed up to it but I was pissed after that pick. I was wrong about that one. lol

I wanted the Giants to get Collins so bad after the first round ended. I kept hoping he would somehow keep sliding down to their pick but didn't think he would. So when they announced the trade up, I got all nervous thinking they might take someone else. But they got Collins and I was thrilled there.

It felt like the entire forum wanted Odighizuwa from that draft too with the next pick. I did too. What a bust he was. Hopefully he has his head on straight now.

I wanted Hargreaves over Apple. I wasn't too happy about that one but I tried warming up to it after the draft.

How great was that 2005 draft for not having a first round pick? I only wish we could get players like that from rounds 2-3-4 now. I liked Tuck a lot and was kind of busy that day. I had a chance to glance at the screen on ESPN and they have the picks scrolling by. I saw the Giants name and all I saw with it at first was "Notre Dame" so I was relieved when they were able to get Tuck there. We need to start hitting on later picks like that again.
RE: RE: Some that stand out in my mind....  
Milton : 4/24/2018 1:02 pm : link
In comment 13928320 Jim in Tampa said:
Quote:

So your favorite draft day memories are all out you being right?
Isn't that the way it should be! If I had known OBJ was going to turn out so great that would've been a favorite of mine, but I was hoping for either Mike Evans or Taylor Lewan that day.
RE: 1971 Draft  
jeff57 : 4/24/2018 1:20 pm : link
In comment 13928207 Damfino said:
Quote:
Couldn't sleep the night before in anticipation. Information in those days was Street and Smith, a far cry from today's information blitz.
What a draft in retrospect, we chose Rocky Thompson, the next 2 picks, Jack Tatum and Jack Youngblood. So typical of the ineptness of the Giants in that era.


The following year, trying to figure out who Eldridge Small was.

And the joke was that the Giants used Street and Smith to decide on their picks.
My favorite draft moments....  
x meadowlander : 4/24/2018 3:12 pm : link
...have actually been NY Jet epic fails, moreso than Giant picks.

Eli was the best one I recall, though.
Sadly, my favorite is a Jets one  
Elisthebest : 4/24/2018 4:45 pm : link
The year the Jets drafted Lagemann (sp?) in the first round. First time I ever heard Dog on the Fan. He went off for several hours on it. Probably the first time I ever heard him, I was wondering "Who is this old nut?" I ran into him a couple of years ago at his son's Bball game and he remembers that night.
The year we drafted JPP  
superspynyg : 4/24/2018 7:21 pm : link
When I heard about I was in a car chase with some entering auto perps. They had crashed into a ditch after their tire blew on the side of I285. My sister texted me and said we got a DE not bad!
Will never forget  
djm : 4/24/2018 7:27 pm : link
Being at the 04 draft day party. Of course I was glued to BBI all week and had the gloveone info in my head. Before Eli was picked first I told everyone who’d listen he was going to be picked but wouldn’t look happy on stage and it was all but certain he’d be traded to the giants. When the trade was announced I figured ok I’ll look like a genius but most of the fans went completely ape shit. We gave up too much!!! I then passionately defended the trade and didn’t stop defending it for years.
RE: My favorite draft moments....  
pjcas18 : 4/24/2018 7:28 pm : link
In comment 13928723 x meadowlander said:
Quote:
...have actually been NY Jet epic fails, moreso than Giant picks.

Eli was the best one I recall, though.


I'm sure there will be a thread on this Thursday, it's a draft tradition, but I can watch it over and over.
Jets draft day blunders - ( New Window )
RE: Sadly, my favorite is a Jets one  
djm : 4/24/2018 7:32 pm : link
In comment 13928922 Elisthebest said:
Quote:
The year the Jets drafted Lagemann (sp?) in the first round. First time I ever heard Dog on the Fan. He went off for several hours on it. Probably the first time I ever heard him, I was wondering "Who is this old nut?" I ran into him a couple of years ago at his son's Bball game and he remembers that night.


The jets draft day blunders on you tube are absolutely hysterical.
I remember  
Joey in VA : 4/24/2018 7:36 pm : link
Coming out for the draft and I was sitting there thinking, I am the best OL prospect of all time, but was Green Bay for me? I mean sure the people are nice but I think the folksy environment really wore on me, I lost my edge and my steroid supplier fell into a hole ice fishing and it was really tets up after that.
The Jets draft video is a spring right of passage  
Go Terps : 4/24/2018 7:37 pm : link
I'd pay money to look at the notebook that guy is holding when they announce Ken O'Brien as the pick in '83.
...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 4/24/2018 7:42 pm : link
A good friend of mine is a huge BC fan & dragged me out to watch the Eagles every Saturday in '07 to watch them. Having seen a ton of Matt Ryan, I was convinced he would suck in the NFL. Yeah, uh, I'm no scout.

Being a Domer, I also thought Harrison Smith would be a damn good player & was surprised he dropped so low in the 1st.
Shockey  
Percy : 4/24/2018 10:22 pm : link
Came up from a great beach on a beautiful day, hot as hell, to watch this much predicted pick (in an air-conditioned weirdo room, only one of its kind at the place where we were). Saw it done. Gratified, went back down to the sea and another drink. Never regretted the pick. Only the later trade.
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