Throughout this week, I will be analyzing different NFL teams’ draft picks, and how these picks will affect this season and into the future. Today, I will analyze the New York Giants.
NEEDS ENTERING THE DRAFT: LB, S, and CB
STRENGTHS ENTERING THE DRAFT: The Defensive Line, QB, RB, WR, TE
NEW YORK GIANTS PICKS:
1st Round: Jason Pierre-Paul- DE South Florida
2nd Round: Linval Joseph- DT East Carolina
3rd Round: Chad Jones- S LSU
4th Round: Phillip Dillard- LB Nebraska
5th Round: Mitch Petrus- G Arkansas
6th Round: Adrian Tracy- LB William and Mary
7th Round: Matt Dodge- P East Carolina
I think the Giants did a decent job in this years draft. The Giants addressed the Linebacker needs with Phillip Dillard from Nebraska in the 4th round, and what could be a steal in the 6th round with Adrian Tracy, who I have had the opportunity to see play live. Tracy played Defensive End at William and Mary and dominated bigger, stronger guys on the offensive line. Tracy will now transition to outside linebacker at the pro level and will be a force in terms of his size. Not your typical FCS player, Tracy is 6’3″ and 250 LBs, and is very comfortable with playing physical football and hitting hard. Tracy could be THE steal of the draft for the Giants at Linebacker in Round 6. The Giants also addressed their Safety needs with the drafting of LSU Safety Chad Jones in the Third Round. In terms of drafting at the Safety and Linebacker positions, the Giants, while selecting these players low in the draft, did a very good job to get solid talent at those positions.
I found a few early draft decisions to be somewhat surprising. The Giants selected South Florida Defensive End Jason Pierre-Paul with the team’s First Round pick. Pierre-Paul, while talented, is a very raw player; he has only been playing football for a few years. He does not appear ready to start in the NFL right now, and needs much more time to develop. More distinguished and pro-ready prospect Derrick Morgan from Georgia Tech was still on the board when the Giants made the selection, and from this standpoint I found the pick of Pierre-Paul questionable. From my vantage point, this risky pick means that the Giants are looking to the 2-3 years in the future, instead of attempting to give Pierre-Paul significant playing time this season. Osi Umenyiora, while only 28 years old, was hurt for the duration of the 2008 season, and in 2009 only played 7 games and registered only 3 sacks. With the pickup of Pierre-Paul, the Giants may be preparing themselves for the possibility that Umenyiora may either never return to his original form, or may be traded in the next few years. In this case, with the fact that talented DEs Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka are still key players on the roster, Pierre-Paul will have a few years to develop to his true potential. The Giants may believe that Pierre-Paul’s potential is greater than that of Derrick Morgan, and that Jason will have plenty of time to develop to his potential before he ever takes the field in a Giants uniform. This First Round pick appears to be one geared towards the future of the Giant defense.
MY GRADE- B. Some good picks, 1 or 2 questionable picks, but overall a very solid draft with many needs met.