NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock held a pre-2012 NFL Draft conference call with the media on Thursday. Mayock discussed a wide range of draft issues and players. Below, are some of Mayock's thoughts on players who might be on the New York Giants' radar.
On North Carolina linebacker Zach Brown:
"I'm not as impressed with Zach Brown as most of the league is. And I guess the most impressive attribute he has is obvious, which is his speed. You rarely see a linebacker that's faster than most of the corners in a draft.
So from a height, weight, speed perspective, he's a first round pick. When you watch the tape, he makes a lot of plays, but they are almost all in space. If he diagnoses a screenpass, and drives on it between the guard and tackle, he looks beautiful. Makes plays all over that way in space.
However, any time a big body gets on him, actually any time anybody gets on him, his feet stop and he's not physical at all. I don't see the toughness and the physicality. He's a run and chase linebacker that's going to make plays with his speed. But I think he's going to get enveloped by anybody."
On potential starting right tackles:
"The problem with the tackle draft this year is there's some pretty good guys up high, but after Mitchell Schwartz, after those five, eight or nine guys that I just gave you total, after eight or nine guys in the tackle class, there's a drop-off. And most teams are going to want to get one of those guys, and I think you're probably going to have to get them in the first two rounds."
On Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones:
"I think one of the rising talents in this draft is a 4-3 defensive end from Syracuse named Chandler Jones. And I think he's going to end up going somewhere in that range, starting at about 20 to 32 and I think he's one of the best 4-3 defensive ends in this draft."
On Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill:
"He's one of the most intriguing players in this draft because from a height, weight, speed perspective and from a talent perspective, he's probably a Top 15-type player.
"I was at his pro day, and what really surprised me for a tall player was his ability to get in and out of breaks. That's rare to have a guy that big not be stiff. He's fluid getting in and out of breaks. His hands were good, although he had some key drops last year at Georgia Tech, but he's a little bit of a lightning rod.
"There's two schools of thought, either you think he's a raw, developmental guy that's not worthy of a anything but a late two or mid-three, or you're intrigued, and if he only catches 30 or 35 passes as a rookie, five or six of them are probably going to be for touchdowns and that's worth pick number 24 or 25 or 28 or whatever. I would not be surprised at all if this kid goes somewhere between 20 and 32 because so much upside to have a kid like that outside the numbers.
"You're betting a lot on his athletic ability and not a whole lot on college production."