10 questions as the draft approaches

by Ed Valentine on Apr 21, 2008 9:12 AM EDT in New York Giants News

Here are 10 Giants-related questions to ponder as the NFL Draft approaches.

1. Will Michael Strahan retire?
It sure would be nice to know before the draft, but GM Jerry Reese is not expecting a decision soon. I would think the Giants will draft a linebacker early either way, at least giving themselves the option of moving Mathias Kiwanuka back to defensive end.

2. Will the Giants trade Jeremy Shockey?
We have been discussing this a lot lately. As I've said, if Shockey is going to whine and be a distraction, I say move him. In the end, I don't think Reese will unless he gets overwhelmed. Even if Shockey gets traded I'm not sure drafting a tight end is necessary. It would be nice, though, to pick up a couple of extra draft choices.

3. Can Reese do it again?
Reese's 2007 draft was, of course, magical. All eight of his choices made the team, and seven contributed heavily to the Super Bowl championship. I don't think you can expect perfection again, but I disagree vehemently with the assertion that this draft isn't that important for the Giants. One bad draft can affect your franchise for years. So, every draft is critical.

4. What do the Giants think of Corey Webster?
Webster, of course, was a bust for most of his first three seasons. We know, though, that he became the team's best cover cornerback during their title run. Do the Giants believe he is that good, or do they believe he will revert to the form he showed prior to last season's playoffs? How long Reese waits to draft a cornerback will answer that question.

5. Jerod Mayo or Dan Connor?
If the Giants take a linebacker in the first round, these are the two guys who could be available with the 31st pick. Mayo, from Tennessee, and Connor, Penn State, are so close NFL Draft Countdown ranks them 28th and 29th, respectively, on its draft board.

6. What about the safety position?
Kenny Phillips is the best safety on the board according to every ranking service I can find. The Giants have a need there, and if Phillips is available he's a guy Reese would be hard-pressed to pass. But, what if he's not? Do you reach for another safety? Some services show Reggie Smith (Oklahoma), DaJaun Morgan (North Carolina State) or Tyrell Johnson (Arkansas State) as possible first-rounders. Phillips, though, is the only one everyone agrees on. Sounds to me like any of these other guys is a real first-round reach.

7. Is left tackle a priority?
I say no. David Diehl is not a natural left tackle, but did a terrific job there last year and can handle the position for the foreseeable future. Unless a tackle like Boston College's highly-touted Gosder Cherilus falls to the Giants I would not use an early pick here.

8. Should the Giants draft a QB in the middle or late rounds?
If the Giants had not signed David Carr to compete with Anthony Wright and Jared Lorenzen for slots behind Eli Manning my guess is they would definitely take a QB somewhere from the 4th round on. They still might, since none of the guys behind Eli inspires a ton of confidence.

9. What about wide receiver?
This seems like a perennial question for the Giants. Plaxico Burress is, of course, one of the best. Steve Smith, last year's No. 2 pick, looks like a keeper. You have to wonder, though, if Amani Toomer has much left, or if Sinorice Moss will ever give the Giants anything. It seems like the Giants take a receiver in every draft. I'm just really curious to see how early Reese takes one this year.

10. Is there a must-have guy worth trading up for?
I don't usually advocate trading up for players. That usually means surrendering draft picks, and if you wind up missing on the guy you went for you hurt your team's overall depth significantly. If the Giants think Phillips is a guy they have to have he is the only one who tempts me this year. I think, though, that I would rather see the Giants stay right where they are and let Reese work his magic.

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Comments

Other than the potential Shockey trade

the whole Corey Webster thing is intriguing. I was calling for his head for a long time before he stunned everyone with his post season play. Was it a fluke? Did Spagnuolos' work pay off, did Corey finally get over the "beaten dog" syndrome teammates claimed was inflicted on him? If he could retain his post season form ,and with a few picks this defense could be absolutely dominant.

by big blue wrecking crew on Apr 21, 2008 2:39 PM EDT reply actions

I agree

He really stepped it up in the run to the Super Bowl. Now that we know he can do it the task is to motivate him to be consistant. He couldn't have ended his season much better than he did.

by giant fan since 57 on Apr 21, 2008 6:49 PM EDT reply actions

I'm wondering

if Webster's great play near the end was inevitable. It was no secret that he was not a good fit for Tim Lewis' system (well, you could argue that no one is) and maybe he just needed the time to gain his confidence back in Spags system, which is really built for a guy like him. I believe that he now might finally be in the right place at the right time.

by potroast on Apr 22, 2008 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions

By the way...

I agree with you about Diehl....and Shockey

As for linebacker, we should be looking for a guy to battle for Pierce's spot. He has a lot of heart and fire but not quite enough talent or size to be our defensive quarterback much longer.

Toomer probably hangs on for another year. Let's give Moss one more chance to prove he can do something. Smith is definitely a keeper. Plax is a given.

Picking a QB in the middle to late rounds is always a good strategy.

by giant fan since 57 on Apr 21, 2008 7:00 PM EDT reply actions

Pierce

If that's what you want, you should be rooting for Dan Connor to be the pick. He has played more inside than outside at Penn State, and my main question with him on the outside is his speed.

by Ed Valentine on Apr 21, 2008 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions

skittish

I'm a little skittish with 'rankings' from anyone, really. It's a crap shoot whether we have rankings or listings or whatever.

Go with your gut Jerry.

If I remember right, Ryan Leaf was ranked pretty highly wasn't he?

We didn't even have a chance for the "perfect season", but we did have the perfect ending.

by GAgiantfan on Apr 22, 2008 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

Moss

I have no confidence in him whatsoever. He could prove me wrong but he reminds me of the Dixon experiment. Flashes of brilliance plagued with continual letdowns.

Wouldn't hurt my feelings to let him go elsewhere.

We didn't even have a chance for the "perfect season", but we did have the perfect ending.

by GAgiantfan on Apr 22, 2008 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions

kind of agree .............but

Moss has shown nothing..........at all. The only difference between he and Dixon would be that he excelled at Miami while Dixon was the all pro at St. Marys school for the blind. If we can replace him with any one proven at all , great. I too hope we can get rid of him given his output. If all falls in place during this "bad year for wide receivers maybe we can get a keeper in a middle round.

by big blue wrecking crew on Apr 22, 2008 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions

GA, I have to agree re Moss

All he has is pure speed. It doesn't look as though he can run routes, he doesn't have good hands and he's just not elusive when he does catch the ball. Pure speed isn't enough. Wait, maybe it is. That may be all his brother Santana has. I haven't seen enough of him, but most of what I can remember him doing is try to stretch the field and succeed an accpetable # of times. Hey, a receiver can make a career of that.

Our Moss can't seem to break clear on the long routes and when he has, he hasn't caught the ball. It looks like the Giants will give him one more year to see if he can learn to run routes and to catch better. You can learn to do both. Elusiveness, I think is something you're born with, so he won't inprove much in that area.

Since the fading away of 7, 6 and 5 man lines Giants have been blessed with an abundance of good to great to HOF LBs. We haven't had too many guys with blazing speed who can stretch the field and throw fear into the hearts of opposing defenses. I can think of only two who did so consistently, Homer Jones and Del Shofner. I'm hoping Moss can approach becoming that kind of threat, but I'm not optimistic that he will. The long bomb is a great tool for any offense.

by george cronin on Apr 22, 2008 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Deep Threat

with an inaccurate QB like Eli (as much as I love him right now, he is still inaccurate, even in the Super Bowl he had a bunch of off line passes - and that's not a bad thing, QB's don't HAVE to be 100% accurate as long as they make good decisions), I think we're better off with slightly slower but tall receivers (ala Plaxico) to be our deep threats rather than short, fast guys. Plaxico may not get separation the way a guy like Moss potentially could, but he allows Eli to just heave the ball up there deep, and he makes the necessary adjustments.

One guy I liked in the draft, though I haven't heard much about him in quite a while so he must not have impressed at the camps, was Mario Urrutia from Louisville, who is actually an inch taller than Plax and sounds like a similar athlete. I just checked it out and he was injured this past year, so he dropped down a lot of draft charts, but I wouldn't mind the Giants taking a flyer on him in one of the last rounds, because he could be a big upside type of guy if he's healthy.

by cjmulrain on Apr 22, 2008 9:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Youve hit on something I hadn't specifically

thought of cj: the Giants have tried for years to get game breaking wide receivers. Most (if not all) of them have been short, fast guys. Shofner and Jones were blazers, but neither was short. In fact, Jones was a beast--6'2", 225--who ran track in college. A few short, fast guys have been All-Pro-level WRs in the NFL. but the Giants have never had one as far as I can recall.

As for Eli, his passing has been erratic at times, but his errancy has covered every kind of pass: short, medium, long, crossing, touch, flat. Given the way he played the last four
games of '07, I think we have good reason to expect much greater accuracy in the future.

I don't pay a lot of attention to who the Giants draft until after they've made their picks, so I never have much knowledge about what any individual draft class looks like. I have read about Urrutia though and felt the same way about him as you do, an intriguing what if.

I've dreamed for years about the Giants getting another Jones or Shofner type to stretch the field. We may never get one, but I'll keep on dreaming until we do. I recognize that it's not a high priority at this time. We won the Super Bowl without one.
We won the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl.
Three Super Bowls.
Without a guy who can stretch the field.

by george cronin on Apr 22, 2008 10:34 PM EDT reply actions