FanPost

Hakeem Nicks in Retrospect

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via www.nypost.com

I believe that I can safely say that most of us Giants fans were very satisfied with Hakeem Nicks' rookie season. He had a very solid season statistically and looks to be a franchise wide receiver (not to mention he stayed out of trouble, unlike some former Giants receivers).

I thought it would be fun to compare Hakeem Nicks' rookie season stats with the season stats of the receivers we begged Jerry Reese to pursue in free agency last year.

Hakeem's 2009-2010 statistics are very impressive for a receiver, a rookie receiver at that. In 14 games Nicks had 47 receptions for 790 yards (16.8 yards per reception and 56.4 yards per game) while scoring 6 touchdowns.

Let's compare these statistics to those of Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

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via www.delawareonline.com

Anquan Boldin- Nearly every Giants fan was praying that JR would sign Anquan Boldin to replace Plaxico Burress. Obviously this never transpired, Boldin stayed put in Arizona for one more season, and is now a Raven.

In 2009 Boldin had 84 receptions for 1024 yards (12.2 yards per reception and 68.3 yards per game) while scoring only 4 touchdowns in 15 games.

For most receivers this would be a solid season, but for Boldin this was a down year most likely due to his desire to leave Arizona and an ankle injury.

Boldin was traded to Baltimore for a 3rd and 4th round pick. The potential of the Giants 3rd and 4th round draft picks (Ramses Barden, Travis Beckum, Andre Brown) along with Nicks outweighs what the Giants would have received from Boldin.

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via news.xinhuanet.com

Brandon Marshall- Another receiver that many Giants fans coveted. Marshall was tired of Denver and coach Mike Shanahan; he wanted out. Marshall is an amazing talent, but the Giants were all too familiar with legally-troubled wide receivers, and were not going to risk it.

In 2009 Marshall had 101 receptions for 1120 yards (11.1 yards per reception and 74.7 yards per game) while scoring 10 touchdowns in 15 games.

Statistically Marshall had an almost unparalleled season. His frequent legal troubles and bad attitude, however, significantly take away from the impact that his on-field performance could have. Would his statistical output have been worth the endless possibilities of trouble?

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via lineofscrimmage.files.wordpress.com

T.J. Houshmandzadeh- The all-star receiver with the notorious last name was on the short-list of potential replacements for Plaxico Burress. While not on the same level as Boldin or Marshall, Housh is a talented wide receiver who played in the enormous shadow of Chad Johnson and his ego. What was Housh capable of in a starting receiver role?

Not much apparently. Housh went to the Seahawks and played a mostly lackluster season.

In 2009 Housh had 79 receptions for 911 yards (11.5 yards per reception and 56.9 yards per game) while scoring only 3 touchdowns in 16 games.

Nicks definitely seems like the better investment here. Housh appears to be on the downside of his career, and for Hicks the sky is the limit.

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via www.americanfootballblog.com

In conclusion, JR proved why he is one of the best GM's in the NFL with his decision to draft Hakeem Nicks instead of opting for an established receiver in free agency.

Nicks had a stellar rookie season and looks to be a franchise player. The Giants were able to use the money and/or draft picks that would have been wasted away on a receiver to draft a crop of future stars, and sign several potential key defensive players (here's hoping that Canty, Boley, Bernard, ect. step it up next season).

This is my first post on BBV, hope it isn't too terrible!

FanPosts are written by community members. This is simply a way for community members to express opinions too long to be contained in a comment.