The New York Giants might have hit a home run with their selection of Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara Thursday night in Round 1 of the 2011 NFL Draft. Only time will tell just exactly how lucky the Giants were to find Amukamara on the board at No. 19.
What is certain is that the draft continues Friday night (6 p.m. ET, ESPN/NFL Network) with the second and third rounds. What might the Giants do? We have talked about it long enough to know that the middle of the offensive line and linebacker may top the 'need' areas. There are several ways the Giants could go, however, and at this point I am not even going to try and predict how things might turn out.
You guys know I love UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers for the Giants. Also Penn State center/guard Stefen Wisniewski. There are a lot of players who make sense, and there is no way of telling how things will go. I have seen Round 2 Mock Draft today with Ayers going first to New England, and others with him sliding all the way to the Giants. So, nobody has a clue.
For now, let me list various positions along with 'players of interest' for the Giants -- at least in my mind -- at each spot.
Center
Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State (could also play guard)
Rodney Hudson, Florida State (could also play guard)
Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock
Guard
Clint Boling, Georgia
Will Rackley, Lehigh
Marcus Cannon, TCU (could also play tackle)
Tackle
Ben Ijalana, Villanova
Orlando Franklin, Miami
Tight End
Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame
Luke Stocker, Tenessee
Wide Receiver
Randall Cobb, Kentucky
Titus Young, Boise State
Tandon Doss, Indiana
Jerell Jernigan, Troy
Running Back
Mikel LeShoure, Illinois
Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech
Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
Defensive Tackle
Jurrell Casey, USC
Terrell McClain, South Florida
Linebacker
Akeem Ayers, UCLA
Bruce Carter, North Carolina
Mason Foster, Washington
Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina
Greg Jones, Michigan State
Martez Wilson, Illinois
Mark Herzlich, Boston College
Safety
Quinton Carter, Oklahoma
Of course, the pick could wind up being none of the above. We will just have to wait a few more hours and find out.