2013 NFL Draft Instant Reaction: Rounds 2 and 3

Hey, there's that Jerry Reese I know and love. After a first-round pick that perplexed me the New York Giants on Friday selected back-to-back defensive linemen who represented terrific value, and were actually the second- and third-highest rated remaining players on my board, and two top 20 players on my overall big board (No. 16 and No. 18). Now the picks do come with some questions -- the reasons they were so high on my board and not as high on NFL big boards is because the are work ethic questions with both -- which means that they may not have interviewed all that well during the pre-draft process, But because I do not get to talk to these prospects and get to know them intimately -- I do NOT factor in character at all in my evaluations.

Also neither player also tested extremely well. Hankins ran a 5.31 40-yard dash, only had a 26-inch vertical and 104-inch broad jump -- not spectacular numbers. But he does have one thing in abundance -- size. He was terrific in the 2011 season and a good, but not great, 2012. Hankins will clog up running lanes on first and second down and has some ability as a pass rusher. He makes the defensive tackle position more formidable.

This is why Johnathan Hankins is good value, but yet fell. From Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel comes this:

Third-year junior known as "Big Hank" in Columbus. "Very, very good nose tackle," one scout said. "He is not a three-technique. Got a little of a fleshy body. Coach's dream. He does everything that they ask. He can shrink running lanes with human bodies. He's got that kind of base, power and strength. He's not even within a gunshot of being a pass rusher. If somebody needed an almost prototypical nose tackle, a Pat Williams type, this is what you would have." Started 25 of 38 games, finishing with 138 tackles (16½ for loss) and five sacks. "He's inconsistent," another scout said. "Against Nebraska, it was, 'Get out of here.' Against Cal, I could see why people liked him. He's a short-area two-gapper, limited athletically compared to Richardson and Floyd." From Dearborn Heights, Mich. Played at 340 in 2010. "Big, ol' lazy guy," a third scout said. "He doesn't stay square. He turns his shoulders to blockers. I've never seen anything like it from a guy that big. He makes most of his plays down the line and chasing instead of at the point. Belly. Big waist. He just plays lazy."

Damontre Moore was mocked in the top five in January and I wasn't even sure he'd fall to the Giants at 19 in the first round, so to get him in the third is incredible. He is considered immature, but he's very young -- he's only 20 years From McGinn:

Third-year junior won't turn 21 until September. "Still growing into his body," one scout. "He's really a great effort kid. He's a strange kid, but he makes a lot of plays. He has a feel for rushing." Backed up Von Miller in 2010, started at OLB in '11 and played both LE and RE in '12. "Is he a really good player? No," another scout said. "He's a good player with some potential depending on what kind of person he is. He played down (in '12), but I suspect he can stand up. He's athletic enough to do that. He got some gimme sacks." Finished with 197 tackles (45 for loss), 26½ sacks and 10 "big" plays. "He's more talented than Jarvis Jones," a third scout said. "You watch the tape, hell of a player. Off the field, he's got a lot of issues." Sat out the '12 opener after being arrested for marijuana possession. At the combine, one scout said Moore didn't appear to take interviews seriously. Wonderlic of 18. "Nobody spoke a good word about him at Texas A&M," said a fourth scout. "He's surly. Opinionated. Inner city Dallas. I don't know if he will (work)."

Still for me terrific, terrific value. When Arthur Brown was still on the board in Round 2 I was getting butterflies in my stomach imagining the possibility of the Giants having an athletic linebacker who could roam sideline-to-sideline, but like I said in my preview I didn't think he profiled all that well with what the Giants would love at linebacker so when he was bypassed for Jonathan Hankins it didn't even bother me. Hankins was one of only two players where I would have been really good with passing on Arthur Brown.

THIS is the Jerry Reese we know -- the two players the Giants got in the second and third round's rankings combined were lower than the ranking I had on Justin Pugh.

All in all a good haul. Still issues at linebacker and the secondary, but the Giants came out of the first two days of this draft with three good players early and if you switched the rounds they were drafted in I think most would be happy.