Don Banks of Sports Illustrated has released his first 2013 NFL Mock Draft, and his selection for the New York Giants at No. 19 in the first round is a familiar one by now for those of you who follow the twists and turns of the NFL Draft process. Banks has selected BYU defensive end Ezekial Ansah for the Giants.
Banks doesn't sound sold on the pick -- he only seems convinced that Ansah is the type of prospect general manager Jerry Reese and the Giants. He would likely be right about that. He writes:
When you consider the Giants' penchant for rarely passing on the sack specialist with huge upside, and all the comparisons to Jason Pierre-Paul that Ansah has already inspired, it seemed somewhat obvious I had to give him to the Giants. I'm just connecting dots here, folks. It's still early.
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Ansah is often compared to Giants' defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul -- extremely talented and athletic, but raw and unpolished. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay wrote this week that Ansah did not show as much as many scouts had hoped for during Senior Bowl practices.
You wanted to see more from BYU's Ezekiel Ansah (6-5¼, 274). He flashed his talent at times and he was able to set, redirect and disengage to affect the play and make a stop. You can see the talent, athleticism and speed, especially at his size, but you wanted to see more. You want to see the proper use of hands, the technique and instincts.
That may take a while in that department. He's not there at this point.