Where will Mario Manningham fit in?

by Ed Valentine on May 7, 2008 7:00 AM EDT in News Comment 12 comments

Let's continue our look at where the various Giants' draft choices fit in. Today, let's look at the very intriguing third-round selection, wide receiver Mario Manningham.

For the sake of this discussion, we aren't going to get into all of the various issues with Manningham that caused him to fall to the Giants in the third round. Let's assume that he comes to training camp with his head screwed on right, stays out of trouble and shows that he can be a productive NFL player. And yes, I know those are all big assumptions.

We also have to assume, for this discussion, that all of the other Giants' receivers are healthy.

So, in that scenario, what can the Giants expect to get from Manningham?

This guy could eventually be a star, but with Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and the emerging Steve Smith already ahead of him I only see Manningham getting on the field in four wide receiver sets.

What a group of weapons that is for Eli Manning. Those four wide receivers and either Jeremy Shockey or Kevin Boss. Or, forget the tight end and you can have a five wide receiver set that includes Sinorice Moss or Super Bowl hero David Tyree.

That's a pretty darn impressive group of weapons.

I remember saying last off-season that the group of receivers the Giants had assembled looked like the best they had ever had. Injuries and a poor season from Moss made that an overstatement.

If, however, all of these guys are healthy we are again looking at the deepest, most talented group of receivers the Giants have ever put together.

The question will be, if everyone is healthy who doesn't make the team? The Giants won't be quick to cuts Moss, the second-round pick a couple of years ago who has been disappointing so far.

Yet, Tyree is going nowhere. He's a Super Bowl hero, and a terrific special teams guy. Domenic Hixon is also a wide receiver and became the primary kickoff return guy. My guess is he stays this season and returns both kickoffs and punts.

Without injuries, it is going to be very, very difficult for Moss to make this team. If he doesn't, I'm betting he goes on to be the next ex-Giants wideout to have a productive career elswhere (like Ed McCaffrey and Joe Jurevicious).

[NOTE: Taking advantage of some of the new capabilities of SBN 2.0, there are some Manningham details and stats below.]

Mario Manningham

#86 / Wide Receiver / Michigan Wolverines

Height: 6-0

Weight: 181

Year: junior

	Receiving						Kickoff Returns					Punt Returns
G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	Lng	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	Lng	TD	PR	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
12	72	1174	0	16.3	0	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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Comments

Despite the injuries

to Smith and I’ll include Shockey to the list , even in combination with Moss’ lousy play, this IS the best group of receivers we’ve had in my lifetime. What over all group has been better? Manningham , if his talent level is as advertised should benefit from being slowly inserted in to the mix . The Giant organization probably has as good a support system in place as any team to deal with any lingering personal issues. I’m hoping the team quickly figures out what this kid does very well and positions him to come in and hit a few home runs early. That would be the ideal scenario to welcome him to the NFL.

We're only gonna score 17 points?

by big blue wrecking crew on May 7, 2008 7:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Charles Way

Plays a big role with these kids coming out of college. I believe part of his role with the Giants is helping them adjust to life in the NFL, and making the right decisions away from the NFL

I have a gut feeling Moss makes this team. As much as I like Hixon, he may be the odd man out, I don’t see them carrying 7 WR’s, and we didn’t even mention the “1-5” LOL

Giants fan from the womb to the tomb

by Jim Schmiedeberg on May 7, 2008 7:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

We're not going to keep 7 WRs.

That means to me (barring injury) either Moss or Hixon is gone, unless Manningham turns out to be a total bust. It would be hard for the Giants to let SB hero Tyree go, but I’m still expecting Reese to put together some kind of a trade package that could include Moss/ Hixon/Tyree . I hate to say it, but I can’t see us making it to opening day w/o injuries changing the WR scenario. It’s good having so much actual and potential talent on tap.

by george cronin on May 7, 2008 9:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Never mind Super Bowl hero David Tyree

It would be hard for the Giants to let Pro Bowl special teams player David Tyree go

by JoshNY on May 7, 2008 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

7 WRs

George makes a good point about injuries … we seem to lose a WR every camp, so that might do the cutting for us. If not, then I think Moss has to have a huge camp to make the team. Hixon has proved to be of some value, while Moss has provided no value at all.

by potroast on May 7, 2008 10:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

15

Don’t forget about about One-Five Michael Jennings

by queler on May 7, 2008 12:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm glad you mentioned Jennings

He was looking really good last preseason before he got injured. So there are 11 WR now on the roster. I think Toomer, Burress, Smith, and Manningham are locks. Any other rookie or first year player may make the practice squad. That leaves Hixon, Moss, Jennings and Tyree for two spots if they keep six WRs. Tyree and Moss might have trade value. Hixon’s value depends on Bradshaw’s role in the offense. If Bradshaw is used as a changeup to Jacobs, Hixon will stay to return kicks and maybe punts. If Bradshaw is mainly a backup, he’ll return kicks and Hixon is gone. Too bad. I thing he has a lot of potential returning kicks. If there’s no trade, my bet is that they’ll keep Tyree. Maybe Moss will go on IR for the season. The competition in my mind is between Moss, Jennings, and Hixon. One of them will have to have a stellar camp to stay around.

by TerraByte on May 7, 2008 12:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Jennings & Hixon

Honestly, I think Jennings has no shot. He has seemingly been around forever and really done nothing. As for Hixon, I don’t count him among the receivers. His plat at WR has nothing to do with his value to this team. He is a tremendous cover guy on special teams, and shows the ability to be a returner. He’s a specialist.

by Ed Valentine on May 7, 2008 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Buh-Bye Santana

I think Reese basically needs to just get whatever he can for Santana’s “potential” – but unfortunately I don’t think there would be many (any) takers and could see him getting outright cut. This was a bad pick, simple as that. Perhaps Acorsi thought that sibling lightening could strike 2x (once with Eli and once with Sinorice?).

Hixon seems like a genuine keeper, however. And Coughlin has a soft spot for Jennings. No way he gets cut. Jennings represents everything Coughlin likes about football players (guts, hard work/desire, team player, etc.) while Moss seems to embody what Coughlin loathes about players (privilieged, spoiled, injury-prone, etc).

by Cody K on May 7, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs