Mel Kiper re-grades Giants' 2013 NFL Draft

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is even less impressed with the New York Giants' 2013 NFL Draft class after the rookie season for that group than he was immediately following the draft. Kiper graded the Giants a C+ after the draft, and after a season in which only first-round pick Justin Pugh was a significant impact player Kiper downgrades that mark to a straight C.

Kiper says:

When I graded the draft then, I wrote, "I had linebacker as a big need for them, but the Giants haven't drafted a linebacker in Round 1 since Carl Banks … in 1984. No surprise they didn't take one, but I'm pretty surprised they didn't take one at all." The Giants took Pugh in Round 1, and, although he played much better late in the year, he struggled early, and that hurt. And linebacker? Well, Alec Ogletree, Manti Te'o and Kiko Alonso all came off the board in the next 20 picks, and all could have helped this team. Jon Beason played OK, but that position is still a major problem. Looking back, the one issue that still remains with the Pugh pick for me was that he was the seventh offensive lineman off the board, and we were only at pick No. 19. So, in terms of the value at the position, you knew you took a hit there. Elsewhere, I thought [Damontre] Moore was a pretty good scratch-off ticket in Round 3, and he could still help them, but he had minimal impact. Hankins also gave them some good reps late in the year on the defensive line. But that's about it.

Valentine's View: It's hard to criticize the selection of Pugh. The Giants were looking for a player they felt could help anchor their offensive line for a decade, and it looks like they got one. As of now, they have gotten little to nothing from the rest of the class so any other criticism is fair game.