2012 NFL Draft Prospect Profiles: Andre Branch, DE, Clemson

You dance with who brung ya. I think most here would prefer some line help on the other side of the ball, but not if we have to reach for it. Getting to the QB has been our bread and butter and makes up for many other deficiencies elsewhere on the team.

Pass Rush Skills 3 Can be a quarter-count late off the ball. First-step quickness is adequate but not good. Lacks explosive burst around the corner and is a one-gear pass rusher. Shows good upper body power and the ability to use his hands effectively. Flashes an effective club move but doesn’t use it frequently enough and needs to improve his array of counter moves once reached. Shows good awareness as a pass rusher. Realizes when he’s not getting pressure on the QB and does a good job of getting his arms up for PBUs or to affect QBs sightline.

Versus the run 2 Consistently executes his assignment and does a nice job with outside contain. Plays under control. Shows good leverage out of stance. Is stronger than measurable would indicate. Is consistently able to lock on and anchor versus bigger OTs. Does an adequate job of disengaging but can continue to improve hand usage. Makes some difficult tackles while disengaging from blocks. Good effort

Versatility 2 “Plays the ‘Bandit’ LB position at Clemson. Has experience in two-point stance and dropping into coverage. Shows stiffness in hips but has quick feet for size, he gets good depth in his drops and he shows good awareness in underneath zone coverage. Appears capable of contributing as a 3-4 OLB in the NFL in some capacity.”

Instincts/Motor 2 Plays with discipline. Seals off the edge and rarely gets sucked inside too early. Shows above average ball awareness for a DE. Snap awareness is a bit inconsistent. Is tough and physical. Flashes a mean streak.

and i’m still not sure if Kiwi ever warranted that 1st round pick but w/e.

speaking of which….Kiwi was also taken @ 32 overall.

In JR I trust, so I would embrace this pick at 32.

I figured if we’re going to look at a defensive lineman from clemson, it’d be a DT (brandon thompson) more so than a DE haha

I could see the rest of the division freaking out of we did this.

also has us taking Branch at 32, but 3 of the 6 draft guys on NFL Network don’t have Branch going in the first round at all, the other 2 have him going at 28 to the Pack.

I dunno, we’d really have to scout him well – the advantage is, because I’m sure we’re looking closely at Dwayne Allen, we’re seeing a lot of Clemson action. Funny if it came down to which Clemson player to take, Allen or Branch.

Overall, the DEs are not strong in this draft – we’d really better love him if we’re going to take him over some of the guys that are likely to be available at 32.

if we draft him I think its a reach.

Now if he happens to somehow fall to us at the end of the 2nd round……. (wouldn’t happen).

But if Reese thinks Hopkins has any promise then we will probably see him pick an ol or maybe a de. I just don’t want another de if a beast lineman is still around.

but if we’re drafting a DE in round one its gotta be Coples or Mercilus

mark it down kids, this is our first pick

Ideally, they get Mike Adams at #32, trade Osi for a 2nd and use it to draft Amini Silatolu, and then use the #64 pick for BPA at TE or defense.

Osi could get traded. Even if he stays, both he and Kiwi have one year left. You don’t want to start a rookie next season. Tuck always gets hurt.

Bernard and Kennedy are FAs. Austin hasn’t played in two seasons.

They came up small in their later losses which yielded precious few highlights. The bowl game was a joke and the guys on D hope that an NFL coach doesn’t review that game. A whole lot of blown assignments and quitting in the second half. Ultimately in the Giants case, these NFL bodies will be scouted, and if there is interest the coaches have to determine how much of the defenses failure can be blamed on Branch and or his teammates. Clemson was killing people with their rapid hitting offense and denying the opponent the option of using a balanced attack. Early in games the defense played sound against the average opponent. They were barely on the field during the second half of those wins. The tables were turned in their bowl loss and one of their in season losses in which the opposing offense handed Clemson their heads.

The Tight End was I guy I paid attention to from the beginning of the season. Nice hands. I did notice in tough games (the losses) he dropped passes that could have kept them in the game (would be 3rd down conversions). I would not blow a second or first round pick on a front runner. Need to be more clutch as a skill player, there’s a ton of them out there to scout and discover without wasting a premium pick.

I am totally on board with spending top 3 round picks on premium positions (O Line or D Line) even if we have starters on board. The defensive line is a massive rotation and the O Line has two starters past their prime and a hole at LG. The Giants can let guys walk in the near future by acquiring their premium replacement now. God help us if the Giants waste a pick on a non premium position like FB, RB or S in this draft. In regards to the lines: Better to pay a rookie first round money than to sign a veteran starter FA money. Vet minimum (like the Fred Robbins acquisition) is a different story…..

I don’t mind if they use a 6th or 7th round pick on a defensive end who could be a backup/rotational guy, but that 1st round pick is too precious to blow on a DE when we have actual needs to fill elsewhere. If we took a DE, we would have too many talented guys sitting around doing nothing.

I have doubts about this “best player available” theory – after all, how much difference can there be between the best player available and the 2nd best? If we had a DE ranked at no. 32 on our list and an offensive lineman at no. 33 or 34, I’d be taking the lineman.