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The 2013 NFL Draft is only eight days away, and we know many of you are already tired of waiting. If you can't get enough of reading and studying the draft many quality sites are offering draft guides for purchase.
ESPN if offering team-by-team draft guides, which are Insider content. Here are some of the highlights from ESPN's Giants draft guide.
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Needs: OL, LB, DB, RB (backup)
Valentine's View: ESPN lists offensive line as the major need, saying "This front five is more vulnerable now than in recent memory." I have no problem with this line of thinking, although some would argue linebacker or even defensive back might be the top need. The top priority for the Giants has to be protecting Eli Manning and giving him the opportunity to make plays. For me, I keep going back to the idea that offensive line is the one need area where the Giants have not brought in any free agents from outside the organization. I would be surprised if the Giants don't add a player to this group somewhere in the first two days of the draft.
First-Round Fits: D.J. Fluker (RT, Alabama); Alec Ogletree (LB, Georgia); Desmond Trufant (CB, Washington).
Valentine's View: Those three come from Todd McShay, and I think whether you agree with each I think you need to acknowledge that each will be in play if they are still available. Other possibilities: Guards Chance Warmack (Alabama) and Jonathan Cooper (North Carolina) and defensive ends Bjoern Werner and Tank Carradine (Florida State).
Here is ESPN's take on what the Giants must accomplish next week:
For a few years we've characterized the Giants as a team that made up for average play in the linebacking corps and secondary with premium production up front. And yet as we look back at last year, the top three pass-rushers combined for 13.5 sacks. Pierre-Paul led the way, but he had just 6.5 -- again, not a number you'd associate with his talent. I think the Giants can stay with tradition and find value at linebacker, but they either need to add another pass-rusher or prepare for the fallout and add another cornerback. One of those two early -- find the best value.
Valentine's View: ESPN is correct here -- defensively the Giants have always prioritized pass rushers and filled in around them and I don't see that changing. If the value is there (Carradine, Werner) one of them could easily end up being the pick at No. 19. The Giants need to add talent defensively regardless of position, and they also need to find an offensive lineman early in the draft who is something more than a long-term project -- someone with the ability to play early.