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| Bryan Kehl had some good moments as a rookie for the Giants, including this sack of Tarvaris Jackson. |
We have agreed that our New York Giants need to upgrade their linebackers for the 2009 season.
With that in mind, the next couple of players we look at in our 2008 Giants draft restrospective are very interesting.
Today, we will discuss outside linebacker Bryan Kehl, the fourth-round selection from BYU. Next up will be middle linebacker Jonathan Goff.
For now, though, let's focus our attention on Kehl.
This is a player who had some nice moments in limited rookie-season opportunities. His best game was a nine-tackle, one-sack effort in the regular-season finale against Minnesota.
He had 13 tackles in three October games, but played very sparingly the second half of season. He is athletic and showed some good instincts. I think, simply, that the Giants were more comfortable in 2008 with the more experienced Chase Blackburn on the field. Kehl finished with 31 tackles and a sack.
Kehl, I believe, is a player who should compete for one of the starting outside linebacker slots in 2009. With a year of learning the NFL game under his belt, Kehl might be ready to take Blackburn's job this season. I know that I would rather see Kehl, with his potential, get playing time instead of veteran Danny Clark.
The Giants will likely be hunting for linebacker help in the draft and free agency. One of the players who can answer their need might, however, already be on the roster.
Rookie Season Grade: C
