Saturday we talked about an over/under for first-round pick David Wilson and his potential 2012 production for the New York Giants. Today, let's do the same with second-round pick Rueben Randle, the wide receiver from LSU.
In talking about Wilson, we used Brandon Jacobs' 571 rushing yards from 2011. So, for the sake of consistency, I think we have to use 39 as the number for Randle. Why 39? Well, Randle theoretically is replacing Mario Manningham, and that is how many catches Manningham had during the 2011 regular season.
I will be honest here. I am taking the under. Manningham had four catches as a rookie. Jerrel Jernigan had none a season ago. Ramses Barden had one as a rookie in 2009. Steve Smith had eight as a Giants' rookie in 2007.
The Giants' passing attack is incredibly complicated. We have heard that before, and we have seen too many times what happens when Eli Manning expects one thing from a wide receiver and gets something different. No matter how much talent or potential the Giants see, Randle won't see the field very often until Tom Coughlin, Kevin Gilbride and Manning trust that he will be where they expect him to be, when they expect him to be there.
Here is what I will say, though. Barden has 15 catches in three seasons. I have to believe the Giants think Randle can surpass that number as a rookie. Considering thet past history of first-year Giants wide receivers, a 20-25 catch season for Randle would have to be considered a tremendous first season.
Your thoughts?