2014 Draft

"The Jets select, the clone of Jim Brown! Wait. Why are you booing?"

The NFL Draft is only a few days away, which means one thing; no, not a bunch of drunk Jets’ fans booing whatever name Commish Goddell announces as the newest member of Gang Green. Although, that will happen too. I’m actually talking about the kickoff of the NFL Preseason.

With the twelfth pick of this year’s draft, the Giants look to continue their daunting task of a quick rebuild of their team. Jerry Reese and Company have been very busy, signing sixteen new arrivals including running back Rashad Jennings, corner back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and a familiar face with receiver Mario Manningham. They also re-signed eight of their players, most notably linebacker Jon Beason and safety Stevie Brown. But, unfortunately, all of this comes at a cost as the Giants lose Justin Tuck, Hakeem Nicks, Andre Brown, and Linval Joseph.

It’s been a while since the Giants have had a pick this early in the draft. 2006 was the last time they earned the twelfth pick, but that was traded to the Chargers. Since then, the Giants’ have picked in the top half of the draft only once. That was in 2010. 

But if there’s a year that the Giants need an early draft pick, it’s this one. Big Blue’s roster has more holes in it than Sonny at the tollbooth. Reese’s draft philosophy of taking the best player available will certainly be useful in the reconstruction of the roster especially since the best available player will most likely be a major need for the Giants.

"Let's go to pick number one, HA HA, two, HA HA, three..."

But who will the Giants take? What player will be the G-Men’s first round pick, and the cornerstone of this year’s draft? Don’t worry, the drafts experts from ESPN and NFL media shine some light on who the Giants might take. I’ve heard names like C.J. Mosley (‘Bama linebacker), Eric Ebron (UNC tight end), Aaron Donald (Pitt defensive tackle), and Zack Martin (Notre Dame offensive tackle) being thrown around. To be honest, I’d be happy with any of those picks. They are high caliber players and they all play a position of great need.

The truth is that nobody really knows what will happen in this draft. Not even the Count Von Count of ESPN draft coverage, Mel Kiper Jr., knows what player is going where. It doesn’t matter if you analyze hours of game footage, talk to every GM, or look like a Muppet vampire with an obsession with numbers. It’s impossible to nail every pick.

Now obviously I don’t have the resources of ESPN, or all of the NFL media outlets, so I won’t even try to predict what the Giants will do. I’ll just talk about what positions really need to be focused on during this draft. Maybe I’ll even throw in a few names of players that I think would be a good fit for the Giants.

One of the main reasons for the Giants’ success over the last few years has been their strong defensive line. And now with the loss of Justin Tuck, their best lineman is JPP. The problem is that he was banged up all of last season. Hopefully he can be the Haitian of Domination that we all know he can be. But even if he turns himself around, he’s only one man in a four man line. The Giants will need some playmakers.
Who they should/could draft:
Aaron Donald - DT - Pittsburgh or Scott Crichton - DE - Oregon State

Staying on the same side of the ball, the linebackers have been a perennial need for the Giants. The resigning of Beason was essential to make the linebacking core somewhat decent. Unfortunately, the two stud linebackers in this draft, Jadeveon Clowney and Khalil Mack, will be taken before the Giants have a chance to draft them. They will have to pick up a linebacker in the later rounds.
Who they should/could draft:
Demarcus Lawrence - LB - Boise State

The Giants’ secondary was also in disarray last year. Aside from Antrel Rolle and Prince Amukamara, there weren’t too many playmakers in the pass defense. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was a necessary pick up for Big Blue. Also, Stevie Brown will be coming back from an injury, which is good because Giants’ burn-out of a safety, Will Hill, is facing yet another suspension due to a failed drug test. And with the sub-par play of the defensive line, it’s safe to say that the Giants need help at cornerback.

"What's up Coach?! You got any weed?"

Who they should/could draft:
Lamarcus Joyner - CB - Florida State or Stanley Jean-Baptiste - CB - Nebraska

Other than all of that, the defense is in ship shape. Now onto talking about the holes in offense.

There are some things that you can't unsee.

In 2013, the Giants offensive line was just that... offensive. Like an unearthed sex tape of Mama June Shannon kind of offensive. Holes weren’t opening for the running game and the opposing front sevens would tear through them as if they were powered up by a Super Mario Super Star. Last year’s first round pick, Justin Pugh, was effective as a rookie lineman. The Giants should look into drafting a lineman that can make an immediate impact on their team. It’s almost a guarantee that the two best lineman, Greg Robinson and Jake Matthews, won’t drop to twelve, but there will be others that can make a difference in the upcoming season.
Who they should/could draft:
Taylor Lewan - OT - Michigan or Zack Martin - OT - Notre Dame

Another need that the G-Men have this year are receivers. With Hakeem Nicks gone, the two weapons in the passing game are Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle. But it’s okay, because they got Mario Manningham back! Please hold your applause.
A lot went wrong for the passing game last year. A lot of picks were thrown. Some were awful throws, some could be blamed on the receivers not running the correct route. I thought that last year’s addition of Brandon Myers was going to be very good for Eli. But he wasn’t the reliable target I thought he was going to be.
The main problem with the passing game last year really boiled down to two things; the complicated option routes schemed by Kevin Gilbride, and that Eli never adapted to his receivers by “dumbing down” his reads to be on the same page as them. But the late emergence of Jerrel Jernigan is a positive sign of things to come.
Who they should/could draft:
Eric Ebron - TE - North Carolina

So what have I learned?

This is the draft of Jerry Reese’s life. His past draft accuracy has been very disappointing lately. Let’s just say if played Goldeneye like he drafts, he’d achieve the “Mostly Harmless” award. If he wants to earn the trust of Giants‘ fans, he’s gotta crush this draft.    

See you at the Facility, Jerry.

The Giants have a ton of options to better their team. With as many needs as the Giants have, the best scenario is a draft that’s loaded with talent. Just as long as they don’t draft another damn quarterback.