New York Giants 2009 NFL Draft Review
Draft Pick Scouting Reports
Rookie Free Agent Scouting Reports
Eric’s Take on the 2009 Draft
| Round | Pick in Round | Overall Selection | Player Selected |
| 1 | 29 | 29 | WR Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina |
| 2 | 13 | 45 | LB Clint Sintim, Virginia |
| 2 | 28 | 60 | OT William Beatty, Connecticut |
| 3 | 21 | 85 | WR Ramses Barden, Cal Poly |
| 3 | 36 | 100 | TE Travis Beckum, Wisconsin |
| 4 | 29 | 129 | HB Andre Brown, North Carolina State |
| 5 | 15 | 151 | QB Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State |
| 6 | 27 | 200 | CB DeAndre Wright, New Mexico |
| 7 | 29 | 238 | CB Stoney Woodson, South Carolina |
2009 Draft Pick Scouting Reports
1st Round – WR Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina, 6-1, 212lbs, 4.50
SCOUTING REPORT: Junior entry who started three years. He is similar in style to Anquan Boldin of the Cardinals. Super productive in college, he set school career-records for catches (181), yards (2,840), and touchdowns (21). Nicks has a nice combination of size, strength, and athletic ability. Nicks has long arms and big hands. He plays faster than he times, but he is not a burner and he will not get much separation against NFL corners on deep balls. Nicks can beat the jam at the line of scrimmage. Nicks runs good routes and knows how to get open. He has a burst out of his cuts. He adjusts well to the football. A natural pass-catcher, Nicks has superb hands and will make the circus catch. He attacks the football when it is in the air. He will make the tough catch in traffic over the middle. Nicks is tough to tackle after the catch. He is a confident competitor who makes plays in clutch situations. Nicks does need to work on becoming an more aggressive run blocker.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
From Sunday
Hakeem Nicks – we felt like he was a really good value pick and a need position. We got a little bit of both at that time; very productive, big body, long arms. We like him.
Q: You talked about the fact that Nicks may be a little more ready than some of the other guys because of the pro style that he played and things like that. Is that the opposite of a guy like Barden?
A: Well the level of competition is different but Nicks did play in a pro-style offense. He has a pro-style body. He is a young guy but he has a pro-style body. He is a big, thick wide receiver. And we like that about him. He played in the pro-style. He understands defenses. He lines up and plays any position. He lined his teammates up so he is smart in that respect. So he can line up in the slot, he can line up inside; he can line up outside, X, Z, wherever you want him, he can line up. So there are a lot of things that I like about him in that respect. Ramses has a lot to learn but he has a huge, huge upside. We think he can come in and contribute right away as a threat down in the red zone. He is one of those guys – if you get a little corner and there is a real matchup problem, you can just throw it out there and we would like to think that he can come down with it. He did that a lot where he played football – at his college at Cal Poly. So we expect him to be able to do some things like that while he is learning on the job. And we expect him to play – all of these guys – we expect them to play on special teams. That is a common theme – we always expect – if you are not a starter, you play on special teams in some aspect.
From Saturday
Q: Did you get your man?
A: We got a very good player; very good player. We like him a lot. He is a big, strong kid, very productive, strong body type that you like. A lot of production. He is a very young kid, I think he is only 20 years old. So we feel good about picking this guy at 29. A lot of production.
Q: You said the other day you didn’t have a glaring need at WR. You picked him. Why?
A: Well because we had a good grade on him and he was there at the right time. We didn’t reach for anybody. We feel good about where we picked him. Again, he is a good football player, a lot of production – 12 touchdowns, over 1200 yards receiving, very good hands, ball skills, can absorb contact. There are a lot of things that I like about this guy. We are very happy to get him at 29.
Q: Can he return kicks, too?
A: He is not a kick returner. He probably can return kicks but he has a big, strong body, kind of reminds you, probably of the body type of Boldin. But he is almost 6-2, he has very long arms, big hands. So we are happy to have him.
Q: There were some questions about his weight, some other things. How much investigating did you do?
A: Well everything is over exaggerated during the draft and so much of what I call chatter and a lot of false chatter. But he did gain some weight after the Combine. He tweaked his hamstring so he really was down and he really couldn’t do a lot of work with the hamstring. When you do those hamstrings you have to rest. And then he gained some weight, got his weight back down and I don’t think that is an issue at all for us.
Q: From what you know, what kind of impact can be make?
A: We expect him to come in and compete for a job and be a contributor in some respect. Any time you pick a guy in the first round, you expect him to be able to come in and be able to contribute for you. Hopefully he will be able to do that. Again, throw him in the mix with the rest of the receivers that we have. And we will see how quickly he can come along.
Q: What different elements does he provide that the current receivers do not?
A: Well he is just a good receiver. He has got size. He has good speed. He is not Heyward-Bey fast, but he has good speed. He ran 4.51 at the Combine. So we expect him to come in and get in the mix.
Q: How close did you come to making a trade today?
A: We didn’t come close at all. We talked about it a couple of times but again, to reach in the first round is just not the right thing for us to do. We don’t want to compromise the strength of our team by reaching for guys and reaching for need too early in the first round. I think you make mistakes when you do that. So we felt good about where we were at 29. We knew we would get a good player at 29. And we are very pleased with what we got.
Q: Some receivers took awhile to drop – was there any more of a temptation then as some guys dropped?
A: Yeah, there were some interesting guys as they started to drop a little bit. But again, they started to drop because receivers in the first round – it is dangerous when you go up and try to get guys in the first round. So we thought maybe that could happen; a possibility that could happen that some of the receivers might drop. We had good grades on several receivers and Hakeem was one of them.
Q: Is the hamstring a lingering issue?
A: I expect to see him at a full go. Our trainers and doctors gave us the okay on him. And I don’t think that will be an issue at all.
Q: What do you say about not having a veteran No. 1 receiver on your roster?
A: I say some guys had better step up. That is what I will say. It is a great opportunity for guys to step up and we look forward to seeing who will step out of the shadows.
Q: You said that you did not come close to a trade up. How about trading for a veteran in the last couple of days? Have you come close at all for that?
A: No.
Q: Are you still open to that?
A: I’m open to everything. We are always open. We will leave all of our options open, too.
Q: You got to see him up close in person. Did he jump on your radar then?
A: We have four veteran scouts plus Marc (Ross), who is our College Director who really liked this guy. Jeremiah Davis goes in there and liked him a lot; Steve Verderosa as well, and Joe Collins. Those guys are veteran scouts. All of those guys really liked him. He was one of the guys we had targeted. And we felt like if he…in our window. We were a little worried that somebody might take him as well, because he is a talent.
Q: Did you have him in for a workout or a visit?
A: No, we saw enough of him. We really didn’t need to do anything else with him. People think it is a smoke screen when you bring guys in. We really don’t play those games. When we bring guys in there is a reason for it. He really didn’t have anything for us to bring him in for.
Q: Value vs. need. Was this a value pick?
A: It absolutely was a value pick. It was a little bit of both. So that is what we always target on. And again if you get up there and start drafting for need you compromise the strength of your overall team and we don’t feel good about doing that kind of ‘picking for need.’ It is something that you always think about, talk about and have in the back of your mind. But we always try to get value with our picks as well as need. If need comes into it, that is good. If you get a little bit of both, that is great.
Q: Did you have a cluster of guys?
A: We had our first row stacked pretty good; pretty much like how they came off. So that was – Marc and his staff did a good job getting that first row looking like how it came off pretty much for the most part.
RE: His ball skills. Is this a kind of guy who plays bigger than he is?
A: He is almost 6-2. Again he has a very long wing span, big hands, plays big. He is one of those guys that absorb contact, hangs on to the ball, runs after the catch. So, yeah, he plays bigger than probably his size. But this guy is not a little guy. This is a big, thick receiver.
Q: Some people say that he compares to Boldin?
A: Yeah, I just said that. His body type – he is more similar to Boldin than he would be Heyward-Bey or Maclin. Maclin kind of reminds us of Mario Manningham – the kind of body type and how he looked on tape. And obviously he was a good player as well. We liked all of those guys that got picked.
Q: You mentioned you were worried that somebody would take him. Did that make you nervous?
A: It didn’t make us nervous. It was a concern that one of those guys could take him. But there were other names on the board that we liked at 29 as well. So we had four players right there that we were ready to pick. But these four guys were right together and we thought our best interest was to pick the receiver because they all had similar grades and we think this guy is talent.
Q: Was Ray Maualuga one of them?
A: Could have been.
Q: How close did you come to trading down?
A: We didn’t come close to trading down.
Q: Or up?
A: Or up. Not really. We talked about it a little bit but we felt good about 29 – that we were going to get a good player. Again, we had four players – we could take either one of them and we would have been happy with them – the four players.
Q: Did his performance in the bowl game influence you in any way?
A: No, we just try to look at the entire body of work on players. One game doesn’t make or break him for us. A guy could have the best game of his life or the worst game of his life. And we just try to look at the big picture and look at the whole body of work on all of the players we try to pick.
Q: Is it fair to say he was the only receiver in the cluster of four?
A: He was the only receiver at that time, yes. Correct.
MEDIA Q&A WITH DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING MARC ROSS:
RE: Nicks. At what point did you get him on your radar? Which specific game?
A: We don’t look at juniors until they declare. That is against NFL rules. We don’t look at juniors until they declare. Then we start evaluating them. After he declared we looked at everything. We have three scouts that go in there. I have seen him. Our receivers coach…once he declares then we just go at it just like anybody else – Combine, Pro Day. We hit it all.
Q: Was there any one thing or game that caught your eye about Nicks?
A: His coup de grace was the West Virginia game that everybody talks about. But you pull out any other tapes and he makes spectacular catches in the Duke – he catches one in the end zone going out the back of the end zone against his helmet. He is always going up making plays over people. That is the most intriguing thing…a lot of guys can catch without people around them. This guy catches with people, with bodies, around him in traffic, goes over people. He is a strong, physical guy who has a big catching radius; big hands. And in my opinion these kinds of guys are the successful receivers in the NFL. The Larry Fitzgeralds, the Boldins, those strong physical guys are the ones who do well. And I think he will do well.
Q: Does he have good enough speed to stretch the field?
A: I don’t know how coach is going to use him. That’s up to him. He’s not a Heyward-Bey or Maclin, a straight out run guy but again what receivers in the league that are great receivers just run fast and don’t have the other stuff. This kid has speed. He averaged 18 yards a catch. He gets down field and makes a lot of plays.
Q: A lot of people have compared his body to Anquan Boldin.
A: The physicalness they talk about, the run after catch. This guy catches and gets up field quick. He’s got a little shake to him. He’s got a great stiff arm. If you watch him, he’s always stiff arming guys off of him. He carries guys when they’re tying to tackle him. Those are the things that Anquan did. Anquan ran 4.8 coming out. This kid is a 4.5 guy. So, the body type and the hands are probably more polished. He stepped on campus as a freshman and produced.
Q: Is his weight gain after the combine a problem or negative at all?
A: We talked about it. I went to his workout and I was as disappointed as anybody. I go down there and the guy gained some weight. The guy was hurt. He had a hamstring and couldn’t work out. Nothing up to that point or anything in his body of work led me to believe that this was typical of the kid. You took him for his word that he was legitimately hurt and gained some weight. He lost the weight. You just have to trust him.
Q: Do you rely on kids when their coaches have NFL experience? Do you talk to those coaches?
A: Yeah. We have scouts going there and some coaches on our staff have coached with some guys who are on the staff with the players. We use all of our resources. We dig and dig as much as we can to try and find out everything.
Q: If they give a high report, do you have to filter it because they like the kid?
A: Yeah. That’s when you have to build relationships with the college coaches and know who you can trust and who is going to tell you the straight scoop. They’re all pumping their guys. It’s rare you’ll get a guy to bang on one of their players. It’s more often than not it’s positive and they oversell them a little bit. They have personal attachment. They’re been around the guys. They recruited the kids and have been around them for four years. So, you can’t blame them. It’s like their kids almost.
Q: You mentioned the word polished. He played in a pro-style offense. Could he be ready right away to play?
A: That was one of the things that was most intriguing. We felt that he was. He played in that pro-style offense. He lined up in various different spots there. He helped other guys like the other receivers get lined up. Just the way he plays the game, he just has such a savvy feel for getting open and beating zones. We thought his style would easily transfer to our level where some of the other guys have played in the spread offenses or doing wildcat stuff, hybrid guys. This guy was a receiver, a pro-style receiver.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Coughlin: Being in the position that we are in, to be able to pick a player of this ability, Hakeem Nicks is a guy that averaged 18 yards a reception his senior year. He’s got outstanding hands, big hands, long arms. Goes over the middle, catches the ball. If you saw the West Virginia game, there are two spectacular plays in that game that he makes. One is on a tipped ball. Long touchdowns, 217 yards of receptions that day. He’s a big strong receiver, a little more that 6 foot, 210-212. He had a hamstring injury as you know coming out of the combine. He was not able to run in his pro day. I just spoke with him and he says he feels good now. He feels good again. So, I think he’s pretty much ready to go. We’re excited to have the opportunity to have this quality receiver in. It’s obviously a position of need. We weren’t going to reach to take a player. If the player that we wanted at the receiver position wasn’t there, we were prepared to go elsewhere. There was no moving back for us because Tennessee took Kenny Britt right behind us. So, you know that they were in the market for a receiver as well
Q: Usually rookie receivers don’t make a huge impact right away. Do you think that maybe he could do that?
A: Well you certainly have to hope that he can. He is certainly going to have the opportunity. We’ve got some guys here that we’re looking forward to as well. So I don’t think he has to do anything except be a very good solid football player, learn as fast as he can. Certainly we are going to expect him to learn the offense and play the game at the high level that he’s played it throughout his collegiate career. As a freshman, he averaged 16 yards per reception. So he’s got those numbers. I think the real idea is that he comes in, he learns the offense, he gets an opportunity to compete with the good players that we have here. Through that experience we’re going to get the best out of that position.
Q: A lot of people think he’s the next Plax. Is that putting too much on the kid?
A: I think that is. He is his own man. We’re not into the comparison between players. I think we’ve got to give Hakeem an opportunity to come in here. His ability level is very high. Let’s let him be who he is. I think he’ll do very well.
Q: Do you have an idea of where he could play, what kind of role, and if he could play a couple of different spots?
A: He’s learned to play all of the positions at North Carolina. I don’t think that will be an issue.
Q: What kind of guy is he, personality-wise?
A: He’s a little bit on the quiet side. But, he’s the first one in line and he’s been that way as far as his position is concerned at North Carolina. I think you’ll like him.
Q: I know you didn’t want to reach for a wide receiver with a trade, but with the way the draft was breaking did you started to get a little worried that your wide receiver might not be there for you at 29.
A: That was a distinct possibility. Probably from 20 down that could’ve been something that happened. Fortunately, it didn’t. We were very much aware that there were a lot of phone call type things going on in the room, none of which materialized because some were opportunities for us to trade back, which we nixed.
Q: Your concern now is next year, not 5 years from now. Is it difficult to not have a veteran No. 1 wide receiver for next year?
A: Our concern is what’s best for our team. All of those things didn’t materialize the way some of this has been conjectured beforehand. I’m not concerned about that as much as I am the fact that let’s take the opportunity right now to recognize we did draft a very good collegiate receiver, a young, young receiver who’s got an exceptional body. As I said, he’s made a lot of plays in college. Let’s bring him in here and get him ready to go and compete with the guys we have.
MEDIA Q&A WITH PLAYER:
Q: How does it feel to be a New York Giant?
A: It feels great, just a great feeling. It’s a dream come true. I’m just ready to get to my team and just contribute my best way possible.
Q: As the draft process went along, did you have a feeling that it might be the Giants to select you?
A: That’s what I was hearing a lot but I really just didn’t get all into it. I was just waiting to hear my name called. Once it got called it was a great feeling and I’m excited to be where I’m at.
Q: How’s your hamstring?
A: I’ll be full go. Once I get up there it will be full go. It’s football time. My hamstring hasn’t been an issue. I’m back to a 100%. Got my weight back down and I’m ready to play football.
Q: Do you think the weight issue dropped you a lot further in the draft than you were expecting to go?
A: I don’t necessarily think it dropped me but really I can’t say because I really don’t know what everybody was thinking. As far as for myself, I knew my weight wasn’t going to be an issue. I just knew it was something that I had to be cautious of in the way I had to handle it.
Q: What do you expect to do as a rookie?
A: As a rookie, I just want to go in and get with the veterans of the group, learn my role early as a rookie and just contribute to my team the best way possible.
Q: How aware are you of the opportunity here with the loss of Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer?
A: I just want to get in the program and find my role and just be able to contribute the best way possible. I’m Hakeem Nicks and I want to get there and prove that I have talent and want to play in the National Football League.
Q: Can you describe yourself as a receiver?
A: Just a great physical receiver that has a motor.
RE: Comparisons to Anquan Boldin and Michael Irvin
A: I’ve been compared to them a lot throughout college, Michael Irvin a lot. Coach Davis compares me to him a lot and Anquan Boldin as well. I just want to keep doing what I’ve been doing to get me to this point. That’s what God has in store for me.
RE: Playing in New York.
A: I love it. New York is a great team. I’m ready to get up there and I’m ready to win.
Q: What do you know about Coach Coughlin from talking to him?
A: He seems like a pretty cool coach. I’m just ready to get in there and ready to be coached.
Q: How much of a deep threat are you?
A: I feel like I’m a very deep threat. It just wasn’t my role in our offense. We had three good receivers and each one of us had our different roles but early in my college career, that’s what I felt like I did best and I still feel like I do that very well. My job is to catch the ball when it comes my way.
Q: Are you in North Carolina now?
A: Yes I’m in North Carolina. I’m in Charlotte.
2nd Round – LB Clint Sintim, Virginia, 6-3, 256lbs, 4.77
SCOUTING REPORT: Four-year starter. Productive player who accrued 245 tackles and 27 sacks in college. Sintim is a big, strong, athletic linebacker who played in the 3-4 defense in college. He will need to adjust to the Giants’ 4-3 scheme. Sintim has very good size and long arms. He lacks ideal speed. Good run defender and pass rusher. He can stack the point-of-attack, though he does need to improve his consistency in shedding blocks. Physical, aggressive, tough, and instinctive. Sintim is better attacking the line of scrimmage than moving in reverse. He lacks experience in coverage and needs a lot of technique work in that department, but he does have the athletic ability to improve. Sintim is probably better suited to zone than man coverage as he is a bit stiff in the hips. He is a competitive player who will hustle and chase. In the 4-3, he projects as a strongside linebacker, but he might be able to play middle linebacker as well.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
Clint Sintim – We will play him at SAM. He is a powerful man, big powerful guy. He can rush the passer. He has played over the tight end. Neutralizes the tight end for us in that respect. We can see him doing some hybrid stuff as a rusher and as a linebacker and doing some dropping stuff as well.
MEDIA Q&A WITH DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING MARC ROSS:
Re: Clint Sintim’s pass rush ability
A: I don’t know what (highlights) they showed (on TV), but he is a heck of a pass rusher. That is what we liked about him. He is a physical at the point of attack guy. He can really rush the passer – 11 sacks this year. He has played out of space for Virginia – played at the line as a D end and played linebacker. So he is a smart guy that can play multiple positions. The way we use our guys in various ways, he will fit in there perfectly. But he is a big guy who is physical. And he is a presence at the line.
Q: He played the 3-4 defense at Virginia. Can he adapt to your scheme?
A: Yeah, he will be fine. Like I said, our SAM plays up on the line a little bit and on third downs hopefully he can work in that pass rush rotation with the rest of those guys. That is the strength of his.
Q: Can he be a stand up defense end or he is a pure pass rusher?
A: A stand up defensive end?
Q: Up on the line?
A: Yeah. He is a linebacker for us but I wouldn’t want him to be a full time D end.
Q: Did he play a lot of coverage in college?
A: Yeah, they played him over the slot a lot there. The 3-4, they don’t a lot of man coverage, they drop to a spot and read stuff. And he is good. He has a good understanding of the routes and that deal. So he has done it all. He has been out in space, he has been at the line, he has been on the line as a SAM. So he has done everything.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: Your first two picks both played in college for guys who coached in the NFL. Does that help their development and does that help you?
A: I think the way that it helps is really in the information gathering. When you talk to coaches that have been in this league and they know the process and they know what it takes and you want to find out if this player has what it takes, that helps.
MEDIA Q&A WITH PLAYER:
Q: You come from a different system than the Giants play. Have they spoken to you at all yet about where they see you fitting in here?
A: Yeah, I actually had an opportunity to go out on a visit there and they really described where exactly I would be playing and what I would be doing. So I’m pretty familiar with exactly what I would be doing.
Q: What did they tell you? What are you going to?
A: Basically they just told me that I am going to be the SAM linebacker similar to what I played here at Virgina. They asked me to do a little bit of other things. But I’m going to be the SAM linebacker and similar to what I do here at the University.
A: What do you think you can do to contribute to this team?
A: Honestly I’m not all about projections and what I can do. All I really want to do is just come in there and just work hard and try to establish myself as a hard worker. It is a great organization. They have been for quite some time. It is one of those organizations that is competing for championships every year. I’m just going to come out there and just try to work hard and do whatever I can do to contribute.
Q: You said that you had talked to the Giants. How likely did you think they would be the ones to pick you?
A: To be perfectly honest this whole thing is…just one of the events where you just didn’t know what. I knew that my best shot to be picked in the first round would have been the Giants. But there were so many teams that showed interest and everybody kind of keeps their focus based throughout this whole ordeal. For me it was just watching and waiting – watching and waiting and just try to figure out who was going to take me.
Q: Are you more of a pass rushing linebacker or can you go pass rush and run defense?
A: I’m just a linebacker. At the end of the day I’m just a linebacker. I had an opportunity to be coached by Coach…at the University of Virginia. And he is a great coach and he taught me a lot about linebacker play. I can’t sit here and say I’m the greatest at this or that but one thing I can say is that I’m willing to work and learn and just make myself a better player. This organization is a great organization. It is a great city. I’m just trying to match my ability so I can do whatever I can to kind of help out.
Q: What do you think the biggest adjustment will be coming into the NFL?
A: Just learning; learning. You have to understand – you play with grown men everyday. This is a game that is physical and it demands a lot physically and mentally. And you are playing with guys who have wives and kids and have been doing it for quite some time. I’m just going to have to bring my hard hat everyday and just compete and really just try to be a playmaker – just do whatever I can to help the organization out. I’ve been blessed to be in a situation that I am in. This is a great day for me and my family but it doesn’t stop here. We have to continue to work and continue to develop and get better day.
Q: Where are we talking to you from?
A: You are talking to me from my house. I’m sitting outside my house right now. We have a couple of people in there – maybe about 20 or 30 people in there. We are all just sitting there and they watched –even though we kind of found out together. So it is pretty cool.
Q: Did you come up for a visit to the Giants or did they come and see you?
A: I actually came up for a visit with the Giants.
Q: Who did you speak to?
A: I had an opportunity to check out the facility and meet Coach Coughlin and everybody. It was pretty cool.
Q: When was that?
A: I visited the Giants probably about two weeks ago. It was myself and about 18 other guys.
Q: How many teams did you visit? You said it was your last visit.
A: I visited four teams – Buffalo, New Orleans, Kansas City and the Giants.
Q: RE: switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3
A: It is a little different. But the game of football remains constant. Football players are football players at the end of the day. And the 3-4 is a little different than a 4-3 but I’m just excited about the opportunity. I’m excited to learn and just kind of transition from this 3-4 to 4-3. There are a lot of players in this draft and I’m just ready to try to come out there and learn and be better.
Q: You said your roll in this 4-3 would be similar to what you did down there. How is it similar?
A: Playing on top of the tight end is always the same. I have always played the top of the tight end and I think that is one of the strong points of my game. So it is just a matter of learning the new scheme, trying to develop and just trying to get better. So really that is why I’m out to do – just try to get better for myself and try to help the team out. And just try to simulate into the New York Giants culture.
2nd Round – OT William Beatty, Connecticut, 6-6, 307lbs, 5.08
SCOUTING REPORT: Two-year starter. Beatty is a very athletic left tackle with good height and long arms. He does not have a huge frame, but he is has very good feet and agility. Beatty is a much better pass protector than run blocker. Beatty is not a mauler and does not get a lot of movement in the ground game. He is more of a finesse player who needs to play with more toughness and aggressiveness. He also needs to get bigger and stronger. He has the ability to engage defenders at the second level. Beatty is raw and he will need a lot of technique work. Some have questioned his passion for the game and mental toughness, while others have said is is a hard worker who is committed to the game. Beatty has a big upside.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
William Beatty – Tackle. We like him as a guy who can develop with no pressure on him to come in and play right away. But he will create some competition. This guy is an excellent athlete. We thought he was the best athlete of the tackles in the draft. So we expect him to come in and contribute in some way. But our offensive line is in tact. There is no pressure for him to do that. But if he does that, it will be great. We expect him to come in and compete.
MEDIA Q&A WITH DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE SCOUTING MARC ROSS:
Q: William Beatty – what did you see in him?
A: William, athletically, just raw athletic ability. He could have been up at the top with some of those other guys that got taken up there – really top feet for a tackle – left tackle feet. He has long arms. The kid benched 29 for having 35 inch arms; smart kid and still growing and developing as a player. A lot of upside. With our situation he doesn’t have to come in right away. He can learn from those guys that we have. We are excited about his growth.
Q: We read that he had a weak Senior Bowl.
A: Yeah, he was up and down that week. He was up and down. But he showed you the things that intrigue you. But he was up and down. A lot of people are. It is tough. We don’t kill people by the Senior Bowl or skyrocket them off…the Senior Bowl or Combine. We go off the tape. It is a tough environment sometimes in that Senior Bowl setting.
Q: You just put him in at left tackle from the get go?
A: He is a natural left tackle; natural left tackle.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: Did you have William Beatty ranked high with tackles. Where was he on your board?
A: He was in a good place. He was over in that second round. But his distinguishing factors were his left tackle feet. And he is very athletic. He has made very good improvement, even over the course of the one season this past season he has made outstanding progress. I certainly called Randy Edsell who I coached in college and that coached for me and there were four players in the Connecticut program ranked very highly. I went down through them all, Randy was very good about taking time from his busy schedule to talk to me about these guys. I think that the big difference for some of these young people to come in here is just adapting to the professional game. The fact that our game is 7:30 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon, people have to understand that and adjust themselves to that. And of course our training camps and type of thing – all of those guys will have to work themselves through that. One of the things that is very interesting about Will – he is very strong – long, long arms, but still benched 29 and 30. So a guy having that kind of athleticism, that kind of leverage, the feet that he has, the long arms that he has – and obviously he has got things to learn about pass protection at this level – the timing and the people that he is going to play against – but he is going to be taught fast because of the guys he is working against. But the ingredients, I think, are there. And the fact that we have a solid offensive line that he has time to be groomed.
Q: His skill set – compared to when you drafted Guy Whimper and Adam Koets? Was it higher going in?
A: I’m not going to do the comparison thing. But he is talented, he is talented. That tells you something right there.
3rd Round – WR Ramses Barden, Cal Poly, 6-6, 229lbs, 4.60
SCOUTING REPORT: The Giants traded up in the 3rd round with the Philadelphia Eagles to select Barden. Four-year starter at a small school. Barden finished 2008 with 67 catches for 1,257 yards and 18 touchdowns. Physically resembles Plaxico Burress but lacks Burress’ athleticism. Barden is a huge wide receiver with long arms and big hands. Not a top athlete, he does lack ideal speed and quickness. Barden does not separate well from defenders. Not a deep threat. He needs a lot of work on his route running and he rounds his cuts too much. Barden adjusts well to the football and has very good hands. He will catch the ball in traffic. He is not much of a threat after the catch. Good blocker.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
Ramses Barden – A big receiver. He is long; he is very long. He has long arms. He is 6-6, dominates his level of competition out there. He had 50 touchdowns. His career average is over 20 yards. He has got huge numbers. People dinged him a little bit at the Senior Bowl but the thing that we liked about him is that he got better every day. At the first day he looked a little bit out of place but he got better every day. So we liked that about him; outstanding hands. He is a huge, huge target down in the red zone.
Q: You talked about the fact that Nicks may be a little more ready than some of the other guys because of the pro style that he played and things like that. Is that the opposite of a guy like Barden?
A: Well the level of competition is different but Nicks did play in a pro-style offense. He has a pro-style body. He is a young guy but he has a pro-style body. He is a big, thick wide receiver. And we like that about him. He played in the pro-style. He understands defenses. He lines up and plays any position. He lined his teammates up so he is smart in that respect. So he can line up in the slot, he can line up inside; he can line up outside, X, Z, wherever you want him, he can line up. So there are a lot of things that I like about him in that respect. Ramses has a lot to learn but he has a huge, huge upside. We think he can come in and contribute right away as a threat down in the red zone. He is one of those guys – if you get a little corner and there is a real matchup problem, you can just throw it out there and we would like to think that he can come down with it. He did that a lot where he played football – at his college at Cal Poly. So we expect him to be able to do some things like that while he is learning on the job. And we expect him to play – all of these guys – we expect them to play on special teams. That is a common theme – we always expect – if you are not a starter, you play on special teams in some aspect.
Q: You mentioned at one point that you didn’t necessarily think you needed a tall, long receiver. But now that you have one, is that a pretty nice luxury to have on your team with a guy that size?
A: Sure it is. Like I said, you always want a big ‘spider man.’ And we think we have a young kid who can develop and really could hit big with him. So we are looking forward to getting him out there and trying to get him acclimated to the National Football League.
Q: I know you are hesitant to make a comparison, but do you see a lot of the comparisons to Plaxico? Did he do a lot of the same stuff? I know the speed isn’t necessarily the same.
A: They have similar body types. The Plax we saw was a seasoned veteran. This guy is just a young kid coming from Cal Poly with a huge wing span. But he was very productive. Small school guys, we like for them to dominate their level of comp. He stood out like a sore thumb – like Kevin Boss at his level of comp. This guy stands out at his level of comp because he dominates that level of competition. So you don’t want the guys at that level of competition to blend in. He didn’t do that at all.
Q: Did you fear that someone might take Barden?
A: Well, we wanted to move up because we really like this guy. We really think he has a huge upside. So we had an opportunity not to give up a lot to move up so we gave up the second five and we moved up a few slots to secure him. So we thought that was the right thing to do. We wouldn’t do that unless we thought this guy had tremendous upside.
Q: You mentioned when all of the Plaxico stuff was going on this team would have to find some other ways to win. Is some of this going into that – you have a young H-back who creates some of the nightmare stuff you talked – you have a 6-6 receiver who is probably pretty raw but maybe on a couple of isolated plays he can create problems. Is that part of the thinking? You don’t have that one guy, but maybe a few guys can do different things to make up for that?
A: I think our offense is well diversified but we consider ourselves a power running football team. I don’t think that is going to change. We are going to run the ball. We have a veteran quarterback who is a Pro Bowler. We are going to throw it when we want to but we want to be able to run it when we want to as well. So I think we will be a very even keel, so to speak, football team. We can do a little bit of both; a lot of both.
Q: Barden – do you envision him being anything like a situational type player at the beginning with the learning curve he is going to have?
A: That is another thing that jumped out as we – he is one of the kids that we brought in. We wanted to make sure he could – we put him on the board, we put him in the classroom. He was outstanding in that respect. So we don’t think that will be a problem for him. He just has to learn the speed of the game here. It is going to be a big difference. But he did play well and when they played Wisconsin, he played well. He didn’t make all of the plays you wanted him to make in that game, but he did score a couple of touchdowns in the game. And the Wisconsin coach raves about him; about how they had to prepare for this big guy. Again, you put the tape on; he makes big play after big play. The big play is kind of fun to watch.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: A guy like Barden, where he puts up all these numbers against a lower level of competition, how can you project him in the NFL? Is it more difficult?
A: Just athletic ability, I think, and production. You’ve still got a guy with over 200 catches. You have 50 touchdowns. You have a guy with a 20 yard average per catch. So, we’ve got a guy with a lot of production. He came from a smaller brand of football, a smaller division. The level of comp is not the same. However, he played in the Senior Bowl. He played against Wisconsin. When he had those opportunities, he improved on a daily basis. He’s very impressive in his interviews and the opportunity to talk to him. He’s excited about coming to New York. He was here a couple of weeks ago and has family in the area. He was excited about that. When we study the college film, you can sit there and just think in terms of looking at the various receivers that were in the draft. When it came to the green zone, it was very obvious to anybody watching the significance of the bigger receiver working against the smaller opponent in that area of the field. I think that’s where you start out. Obviously he’s got to do everything. He does have a lot to learn. People did not think that they could contest with his physical ability so they got back off of him, which is not what will happen at our level. He’ll have to go through that. We can help him some; maybe start him at the Z so that he’s off the ball a little bit, in motion. But, he’ll quickly learn that the way in which the big receivers do get off the ball against the smaller corners, for example, is just to come off and be as physical as you can. You saw that with Fitzgerald. You’ve seen it with Plaxico Burress. You’ve seen it with a lot of the bigger receivers in our business. They just make it very physical on the smaller defensive backs. All of those things are in front of this guy. He’s very smart. He’s very excited. He’s highly, highly motivated. He worked out with Sanchez. From the time of working and preparing here, from the combine, until now, he’s had a chance to be with Sanchez to work out. He’s had many opportunities. People would maybe want to see Sanchez and they would of course notice the big receiver as well. He does have an awful lot of very fine physical attributes. He must be developed, no doubt. His speed and ability, as you always have to do with big receivers, is to get them to top speed as fast as they can. Those are the things. He’s very talented. It’s a very good option for us, obviously. You’ve got a 6’6” guy in the green zone. He does create a lot of problems for the opponent.
Q: They say that he hasn’t had to face the press coverage. How can you tell that he’s tough enough?
A: I think he’s tough enough. That’s not going to be the issue. It’s just learning how to contend with it and how to have enough patience for it. I’m not sure where he’ll end up right now, but there are ways to help him, initially anyway, become more familiar with it. You guys have been to our camp. Every practice there’s some form in individuals of either press or squat coverage that they have to work against. They’re either jammed or pressed every practice. He’ll learn fast. How fast can he keep from getting his feet tied up, get himself in position to get off the ball, and learn to be powerful with his hands? Those things are all in front of him.
Q: Having added Nicks and Barden early in the draft, do you feel a lot better about your receiving corps? It’s still very young. Do you have any interest in veteran receivers available?
A: That’s for the future to hold. At this point in time, having accomplished what we have, I’m excited about getting them in here. I’d be the last one to tell you that other than the pure practical nature of it, they’ve got to come in and practice and get themselves in a position where we think they can compete against these great players that they’re going to face. Having said that, that’s why we drafted them. We drafted these players with a specific purpose and need in mind. We felt they were of very good value. When both of those receivers were picked, they’re the highest guys on our board.
MEDIA Q&A WITH PLAYER:
Q: We knew the Giants needed size at the receiver position. You came in for a visit. You were rumored to be a target. Are you surprised at all with this one?
A: This process, you never really know. You hear all the time about somebody jumping up to snatch somebody who you didn’t expect them to get. Teams just really come out of the blue. There are no surprises by this. I did have a great time out in New York. I’d like to think that I made a little bit of an impression on the coaching staff and the personnel. I’m ecstatic to be a part of the team. I wouldn’t say that I’m excited. If anything, I’m just thrilled.
Q: How do you describe yourself? Do you describe yourself as more of a goal line guy or a down the field guy?
A: I’m a complete receiver. That’s my goal all the time, to be able to do everything you would ask a receiver to do whether it be down the field, immediate, short game, quick drops, run blocking, leadership. Those are the things that I want to bring to the table. The…ability is the completeness of the receiver. Of course seeing that it’s a major jump from college level to the NFL, there’s plenty to work from. As far as my goals and where I want to be, I want to be that complete receiver.
Q: Like running that fade?
A: Definitely. If that’s what’s needed, I want to bring down those balls. I want to help us score and move the chains.
Q: What do you think about the opportunity here? Obviously the two starting receivers from last year, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, are gone. So there is a pretty big chance to make an immediate impact.
A: I’m excited about it. There are a number of veteran guys that are already there who have a leg up. I want to go in and compete. I want to make whatever you think I can make. I won’t know what my opportunities are really until I get to the city, get into a practice uniform, and start working. I can’t wait to compete and try to earn the job. That’s what it’s going to have to be. It’s going to be earned. Nobody is going to give me anything.
Q: A lot of times we hear that rookie receivers have a tough time making it right away in the NFL because of the press coverage and the physicality of the league. Given your size, do you believe you’ll have an easier time overcoming that than most?
A: I don’t know if it will be any easier. I’ll have to put the same work in and I’ll have to really earn everything that I get. I think my size will give me an advantage in getting off the line of scrimmage, competing for the ball, and with this game being physical, when the ball is in the air, enabling me to make plays. It’s going to take work. Nothing is really going to come naturally in the next level.
Q: You played on the I-AA level, but you had that big game against Wisconsin. Did that give you the idea that, hey, I can play with the big boys, too?
A: I guess you could say it was part of it, but I’ve always had a lot of confidence in my ability and I’ve always really gotten excited to challenge myself and go against higher levels of competition and just challenge and test consistently. That’s what that game was. It was another opportunity to win a game, put another W in the column, and go against the top level of competition, and have fun doing it. You’re playing the game that you love. You always have fun playing. It was an opportunity to test myself at a national stage. I enjoyed it. It just helped me prepare myself for this more recent process of the pre-draft training and the pre-draft combine and all of that stuff.
Q: We saw your highlight video on YouTube and it just seemed like it was fade after fade. Was that part of the game plan, just once you got down there, throw it up to Ramses?
A: It was well put together. It was kind of a last minute thing just to give the everyday fan and everyday person an opportunity to see where I’m coming from and see who I am and what kind of player I am. I think that’s only the tip of the ice berg as far as my ability and the things that I can do. Like I said, things are going to take work. The fade was in our offense for a number of years when I got there. We still use it today. I like to think we added more variety over the years. You can’t go wrong when you’ve got certain red zone threats and you just have to take advantage of them.
Q: Did you hit it off with Mike Sullivan, the receivers coach?
A: I like to think so. We got a chance to sit down a couple of times, most recently in New York last week. I really enjoyed his company. I liked his approach to the game. He was a really intelligent person. It seemed like he was really dedicated to bringing in young guys and making them better. I really liked that a lot. Of course that doesn’t make him necessarily like him just because I like him. But, I’d like to think that the feelings are mutual and I was able to have similar effect on him.
Q: Knowing the guy the Giants got rid of, did they ask you about any off the field issues that were a concern?
A: Every team I ever talked to asked if there are any off the field issues that were concerns. But, no, I’ve never been in trouble. I’ve never been suspended from the team. I’ve never been arrested or anything like that. I’m fairly clean cut off the field. I have moderate fun with my friends and that’s it, most of which is in house and definitely out of trouble.
3rd Round – TE Travis Beckum, Wisconsin, 6-3, 243lbs, 4.62
SCOUTING REPORT: Two-and-a-half year starter. Beckum has been compared to Dustin Keller of the Jets. Beckum broke his left fibula during his senior season; the injury required surgery. He only played in four games as a senior and finished with 23 catches for 264 yards. Beckum is a much better receiver than blocker. Lacking size, he looks more like a big receiver than a tight end; he is more of an H-Back than true tight end. He is a very good athlete. Agile and fast. He runs good routes. Beckum can separate from linebackers and get down the field and threaten a defense vertically. He adjusts well to the football and has good hands. He will make the tough catch in traffic. Beckum runs well after the catch. Strong, but he doesn’t play that way as a blocker. Beckum is a position-blocker, and he needs to be a more serious, aggressive, and physical player in that department. There have been some concerns about his maturity and ability to learn a pro offense.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
Travis Beckum – Tight end, more of an H-back for us. He will play more of an H-back type for us. And obviously he is not the blocking type but we expect him to block to a degree in some of the stuff that we will do. We think this guy could be a nightmare as a matchup problem for linebackers and strong safeties. We like him in that respect. Also when it gets cold out here – when the wind starts to swirl out here and it gets cold in November, December, a shorter pass to a guy who can get open on the inside, a bigger target, will probably help our quarterback in that respect. Because it is hard to throw the ball outside in this stadium as you all know. So we think he could be a real nightmare for some matchup problems with (linebackers) and strong safety types.
Q: Over the last couple of years any time you had the H-back, the move guy, it seems like they were primarily blockers. Did you look at that and say, “Boy it would be great if we had a guy like that who could catch the ball?”
A: Well that is what we talked about regarding these type guys. We had changed the categories from tight ends and H-backs. We had H-back categories and we had tight end categories. This guy was in the H-back category. And this is a guy – these type H-backs— there are H-back kind of blockers and H-back kind of receivers. He is more of the receiving type. So we envision him as being a guy – not so much a blocker but more of a receiver and a playmaker as a receiver for us.
Q: You mentioned when all of the Plaxico stuff was going on this team would have to find some other ways to win. Is some of this going into that – you have a young H-back who creates some of the nightmare stuff you talked – you have a 6-6 receiver who is probably pretty raw but maybe on a couple of isolated plays he can create problems. Is that part of the thinking? You don’t have that one guy, but maybe a few guys can do different things to make up for that?
A: I think our offense is well diversified but we consider ourselves a power running football team. I don’t think that is going to change. We are going to run the ball. We have a veteran quarterback who is a Pro Bowler. We are going to throw it when we want to but we want to be able to run it when we want to as well. So I think we will be a very even keel, so to speak, football team. We can do a little bit of both; a lot of both.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: Travis Beckum, is that a dimension you didn’t think that you had, a classic H-Back?
A: It’s another aspect of matchup problems. A lot of speed. It’s going to be very difficult for a safety or a linebacker to be in position to cover this guy. Obviously you’re not going to be able to utilize him in the same way that all four of those lined up tight ends are going to be utilized. But, we always have had a move guy. We’ve always had people that have had to play the back-up fullback position. It allows you to do any number of things right off the top where you’d have Kevin Boss in the game and Beckum. Perhaps you could even envision him as the tight end in the game with the receivers when it’s clearly a third down situation. Again, all of those things are in front of him. We’re very excited and interested in putting this particular aspect of personnel on the field and having an opportunity to recognize it as something we can develop.
Q: When you get a guy like this that you haven’t had, do you have to go back to the offensive drawing board?
A: It’ll be fun to do that. Over the years, we’ve had those kinds of guys. You remember Pete Mitchell. We’ve had those kind. There are certain things you try to feature or develop with that particular kind of player. I just think it gives us another athletic option than a lot of people that play the “tight end” position. There may be teams that will try to cover an individual like that with some of the smaller linebackers you see today. You’re always searching for advantages.
4th Round – HB Andre Brown, North Carolina State, 6-0, 224lbs, 4.46
SCOUTING REPORT: Brown shared time at running back in college, only starting 17 games in three seasons. As a senior at NC State, Brown carried the ball 175 times for 767 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught 29 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns. Brown is a big, strong, tough back with good athleticism and decent speed. He is a power back who runs well between the tackles. Brown moves the pile on contact. Breaks tackles. He is more of a North-South slasher and not overly elusive. He has good vision, instincts, and balance. Brown can catch the football. Solid pass blocker. Good character and smart. Brown has a history of foot injuries.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
Andre Brown – Running Back. We really like him. We had him targeted for awhile. We think this guy is very, very similar to Derrick Ward. You have to look at a lot of tape because he had a foot injury and he was rotated almost 50% with another back, who is a good, young player for them. So you had to look at a lot of tape to really do your homework and find out who this guy really is. But just watching the tape you could almost – I think is he (number) 24. He almost looked like (number) 34, like Derrick Ward, and he runs the draws and the screens. They put him out wide. They put him in the slot. He is a big boy. He is 224 pounds, I believe. He ran 4.48 so he has got the size and the speed stuff that you like. He is very, very versatile; catches the ball really nice. He is a very good pass protector. So we like that pick a lot. So we expect him to come in and compete at the running back position as well to give us four really good backs that compete for jobs right there.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: People have been comparing Andre Brown to Derrick Ward. Do you see the similarity?
A: I see Andre as a slasher; someone with the style that we like to work with. He has got the – if you will – the pro running back body. He has got the build, if you will. He is carrying and packing some weight. He ran well in his time. He catches the ball well. Jerry (Reese), I think, is the one that has seen the Derrick Ward comparison. But he is, again, another guy that at the right time was a talented addition and will create the kind of competition that we are looking for?
Q: Is his foot okay?
A: The medical people tell me yes.
5th Round – QB Rhett Bomar, Sam Houston State, 6-2, 225lbs, 4.73
SCOUTING REPORT: Bomar originally was at Oklahoma and started 10 games in 2005. But Bomar was kicked off the team for violating NCAA rules and transferred to Sam Houston where he sat out the 2006 season. He missed two games in 2007 with a torn ACL. In 2008, he completed 245-of-436 passes for 3,355 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. Bomar is a good athlete with a strong arm. He can make all the different kind of throws required of an NFL quarterback. Tough and competitive. Bomar stands in tall against the pass rush. He needs to improve his decision making. Like most young quarterbacks, Bomar will lock onto one receiver. He has a quick release. Very inconsistent accuracy. At times, he flashes good accuracy, but then he is way off the mark too much. Too streaky. He needs a lot of technique work (footwork, throwing motion, overall mechanics). Bomar has a presence about him on the field. Can run with the football if necessary. Smart and hard working, but a bit of a hot head. Bomar has the tools to become an NFL starter.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
Rhett Bomar – Quarterback. We thought it was too much value at the time. We had some guys that really liked this player. It was a lot of value. We always talk about the quarterback situation – developing a quarterback. We drafted (Andre’) Woodson last year. We still like Woodson. I know people will start to write him off right away, but that is not true. Who knows how long David Carr will be here. So there will be a lot of competition at that position. It was too much value at the time for us to pass him up.
Q: When Bomar was recruited by Oklahoma, he was obviously a well-thought of high school kid. And then when he left and went to a school like Sam Houston State, doesn’t that put a downside a little bit on this initiative. Shouldn’t he have wanted to go to another major program?
A: I don’t know. You guy can ask him that when he gets here but when you go down a level you can play right away. If you transfer to another Division 1 school, you can’t play, you have to sit out for a year. So he probably wanted to move down and play. So I think that is probably what he did but I don’t know that for sure. You guys can ask him that.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: Who really pushed for Bomar?
A: The scouts had very good grades on Bomar. Chris Palmer had studied him. I had watched him. Kevin (Gilbride) had watched him. There were a lot of people in the room that, when Bomar was picked, stood up and talked about the value of that individual at that time. That’s the part of the draft that kind of is unique. You sit there and you’re picking at 29 or at the bottom of most rounds and you’re always trying to calculate who’s going to be there. Believe me, you don’t always know how these things are going to fall. You have to make decisions based on value. We stuck with what we really believe in and that was that he was a highly rated player at that time and much more deserving to be taken than someone else.
Q: Have you met him personally? Do you have a take on this?
A: I haven’t met him personally, no. I did talk to him on the phone right afterwards. We studied his tape and did all of the homework.
Q: Did you think you’d draft a quarterback going into this draft?
A: You always have it in the back of your mind, if the right situation comes up at the right time. There are so many different options with having a quarterback or a young quarterback on your team. I think it’s always talked about, always discussed. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. We’ve been fortunate the past couple of years. We’ve been in that position. Andre Woodson has been working his tail off. He’s definitely done an awful lot of things for his improvement. He’s worked very hard in this offseason. He’s headed in the right direction. We’ve hoping we can do the same here.
6th Round – CB DeAndre Wright, New Mexico, 5-11, 198lbs, 4.53
SCOUTING REPORT: Wright is a tough player who has battled through some painful shoulder injuries. Wright has a decent combination of size and overall athleticism. He lacks ideal speed, but he is fluid with quick feet. He right has a feel for coverage and makes plays on the football. Aggressive run defender.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
DeAndre Wright – DB. At this point in the draft you are looking for some redeeming qualities. This guy’s height, weight and speed – Marc Ross can give you more details about him. But there are some things that jumped out about him. He has some height, weight and speed that you like for the position.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: Were the last two DBs corners or safeties?
A: They are corners, yes. They are corners.
Q: Can they play on special teams?
A: They have speed, though. They have some speed and they have some special teams abilities. They have some size. They are not necessarily real tall but they certainly do fit the height deal for a corner. And they can run.
7th Round – CB Stoney Woodson, South Carolina, 5-11, 196lbs, 4.55
SCOUTING REPORT: Woodson is a bit of mystery. He has good size. He timed in the 4.55 range at his Pro Day, but supposedly has also been timed under 4.40. Quick. Woodson is instinctive in coverage.
MEDIA Q&A WITH GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE:
Stoney Woodson – DB. The same thing – height, weight and speed. You look for some redeeming qualities and that is what these guys had. And so hopefully you can hit on something with these kinds of guys down at the bottom.
MEDIA Q&A WITH HEAD COACH TOM COUGHLIN:
Q: Were the last two DBs corners or safeties?
A: They are corners, yes. They are corners.
Q: Can they play on special teams?
A: They have speed, though. They have some speed and they have some special teams abilities. They have some size. They are not necessarily real tall but they certainly do fit the height deal for a corner. And they can run.
Rookie Free Agent Scouting Reports
OC Alex Derenthal, Temple, 6-4, 298lbs, 5.33
Four-year starter at Temple. Derenthal has good size, but he lacks athleticism and strength. Quick, but lacks speed and he may struggle when pulling or engaging defenders at the second level. Derenthal is smart, hard working, and plays with an attitude. Overachiever.
DE Tommie Hill, Colorado State, 6-6, 245lbs, 4.96
Hill is a tall, lean defensive end with good quickness. Hill lacks speed and explosiveness however. He also needs to add strength and bulk. He plays very hard all of the time. Hill was a team leader at Colorado State.
DE/DT Alex Field, Virginia, 6-7, 270lbs 4.94
First-year starter as a senior in a 3-4 defense. Field has good size. He lacks ideal athleticism, quickness, and agility. Field plays hard and uses good technique. He needs to play stronger at the point of attack.
DE/DT Maurice Evans, Penn State, 6-2, 264lbs, 5.00
Junior entry. Evans started 12-of-13 games in 2007 as a sophomore and finished that season with 54 tackles and 12.5 sacks. However, he lost this starting job the following season when he was suspended by the team for a drug possession arrest. Evans finished 2008 with 34 tackles and three sacks. Evans lacks ideal height, speed, and explosion. But he is a decent athlete with long arms and some quickness. Evans flashes both in run defense and as a pass rusher. Evans is somewhat of a DE/DT tweener. He needs to get stronger.
DT Dwayne Hendricks, Miami, 6-4, 300lbs, 5.05
Classic looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane prospect. Hendricks looks the part. He has good size and athleticism. Quick and agile for his size. However, he is too often easily blocked and not very productive on the playing field.
LB/S Kenny Ingram, Florida State, 6-5, 239lbs
Ingram has experience at safety (hybrid rover) and linebacker. He played linebacker his senior season. Good athlete. Ingram is very tall, with the frame to carry much more mass if he plays linebacker. Very good special teams player.
S Sha’reff Rashad, Central Florida, 6-0, 198lbs, 4.60
Three-year starter. Rashad lacks ideal size, speed, and agility. But he is an instinctive player with good range. Rashad makes plays on the football. Productive, he finished 2008 with 72 tackles, five interceptions, and 10 pass breakups. Smart and a solid character.
CB Bruce Johnson, Miami, 5-11, 182lbs, 4.50
Two-year starter. Johnson lacks ideal size, but he is a fluid athlete with fine quickness. He is an aggressive cover corner, but he plays with poor technique and is therefore inconsistent. He had only two interceptions in 42 college games, which seems to indicate a lack of anticipation. Due to his size, he can struggle in run defense.
CB/S Vince Anderson, Webber International, 6-2, 205lbs
Anderson transferred to Webber International after being suspended at Nicholls State for academic fraud by the NCAA. Anderson played both cornerback and safety at Webber Int’l. He tore his ACL in 2006.
Eric’s Take on the 2009 Draft
On the surface, the 2009 Draft Class looks like another strong effort by General Manager Jerry Reese’s college scouting department, led for the second year in a row by Director of College Scouting Marc Ross.
Originally armed with 10 picks, the Giants kept nine of them, trading a 5th round selection to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to move up in the 3rd round in order to select their second wide receiver of the draft.
What the Giants did not do, despite rumors to the contrary leading up to the draft, was obtain Cleveland Browns’ WR Braylon Edwards via trade. Edwards represents the veteran vertical deep threat that the Giants’ offense is now lacking with the waiving of Plaxico Burress. For better or worse, the Giants now arguably have the most inexperienced wide receiving and tight end corps in the NFL. It remains to be seen if the young targets can produce against top defenses in critical situations.
Absent a trade for a veteran receiver, it was pretty obvious that the Giants were going to take a receiver or two early and that’s exactly what they did. Many expected the Giants to take Hakeem Nicks in the first round. Nicks is a strong, well-built receiver who reminds some in style of Anquan Boldin of the Cardinals. He is not a blazer, but he is fluid, smooth, and quick. He has great hands. Most importantly, despite his young age (21), he is a very polished receiver and more likely than most rookies to contribute early. A junior, Nicks started all three years of college and was super-productive. It will be interesting to see if the Giants see him more as a split end or flanker, meaning a #1 or #2 receiver. All in all, Nicks was a very solid selection at the #29 spot in the first round.
Clint Sintim was a little bit of a surprise choice in the second round, not because he doesn’t have talent (he does), but because he played exclusively in a 3-4 defense in college while the Giants run a 4-3. But based on comments of team officials after the draft, it’s clear they wanted to draft somebody at strongside linebacker who was more of an attacking, forward-moving player rather than somebody who excels more when operating in reverse in coverage. If that’s what they want, then that’s the guy they got. Sintim is a big, strong, powerful linebacker in the mold of the Giants’ 3-4 linebackers of the 1980’s. He’s as big as some defensive ends, very tough to move out against the run, and a very good pass rusher. Right now, the Giants say he will be a SAM on first and second down and part of the pass rush package on 3rd down. But Sintim is a linebacker, and by definition, he is going to have to be able to cover people or other teams will target him with their short passing game. That’s the big question mark with him. But again, Sintim was drafted about where many expected him to be drafted. In fact, the Giants said after the draft that they felt he has a first-round grade.
William Beatty was another value and need selection. Some thought Beatty was worthy of first round consideration, though most felt he would go somewhere in the second round. The fact that the Giants got him late in the second round was a bit of a nice surprise. The Giants say Beatty was the most athletic left tackle in the draft. He has very good feet, and he excelled in strength tests at the NFL Combine. But he will need a lot of technique development and there are scouting reports that say he is a finesse player who needs to improve his toughness. He has the tools to excel – athleticism, size, strength. But you have to play tough and physical in this league – and you have to want it.
Ramses Barden is a gamble-on-greatness selection in the third round who is worth the risk (3rd and 5th round picks). Some felt that Barden went too high, but it’s clear that the Giants did not want to risk losing him to another team and traded up six spots in the 3rd round to ensure that they got him. In terms of stature, Barden is a bit of Plaxico clone. He’s very, very tall with a long legs and a long wingspan. And like Burress, he has very good hands and will go up high to snatch a ball away from defenders. What remains to be seen is how he compares to Burress in terms of athletic-ability, pro production, and clutch performance. Many scouting reports say that Barden is not the athlete that Plaxico is, but Barden did perform well in athletic tests leading up to the draft. Many say he will have problems separating from NFL defensive backs. That remains to be seen and is the biggest question mark surrounding his game. Like Nicks, Barden was super-productive in college. Against a lower level of competition, Barden looked like a man playing against boys.
I thought the Giants next two picks were absolute steals. Getting TE/H-Back Travis Beckum late in the 3rd round and HB Andre Brown late in the 4th round really makes this draft to me. Beckum compares favorably to Dustin Keller of the Jets – strictly a pass-receiving-type tight end (really an H-Back), but a damn good one at that. Reese was positively giddy after the draft when talking about Beckum and for good reason. Most NFL linebackers won’t be able to cover him. The reason he fell so far in the draft was he missed the bulk of his senior season with a broken leg that also prevented him from working out at the Combine. If he had not been hurt, he might have snuck into the first round of the draft.
Those who read my draft preview know that I didn’t see halfback as a need position, but when you have value like Brown staring at you in the face at the bottom of the fourth round, you take that player. Many thought Brown was a second-round talent. He’s a big, strong running back with good speed who catches the ball well out of the backfield. And unlike most rookies, he is a willing and able pass blocker. I think very highly of Ahmad Bradshaw and Danny Ware, but Brown was too good to pass up. And Brown may play sooner than many think because of his receiving game.
Most Giants’ fans don’t seem to like the Rhett Bomar pick and/or they assume it means the Giants had soured on Andre’ Woodson. Again, this was a value selection. Reese said that Bomar stood out on the Giants’ draft board and if the team was going to remain true to their board, Bomar was too good to pass up. How can you fault that logic? Plus, David Carr signed a 1-year contract. There is a good chance he won’t be here in 2010. Bomar was once the top high school prospect in the country. He was forced out of Oklahoma for violating NCAA rules by accepting money from a source he shouldn’t have. But Bomar has a lot of talent. He is big and athletic. He can hurt defenses with his strong arm or his legs. He is a fiery leader who has a presence about him on the playing field. Most New Yorkers will love his demeanor (though in reality Eli’s demeanor is better suited for the City). So what about Woodson? Let the best man win. And if both look sharp, you trade one and recoup your costs. Woodson was only a 6th round pick.
It’s hard to critique the last two picks – 6th round CB DeAndre Wright and 7th round CB Stoney Woodson. These are the kind of picks that make average NFL fans angry because when they open their draft guides, they don’t see any write-up on them, while “much better players” are still available. (Of course, the fact that these “much better players” have been ignored by all 32 teams up until this point seems to be lost on these enlightened souls). Look, this is where the Giants’ large and experienced scouting department comes into play. We are counting on Marc Ross and his scouting team to find those gems late in the draft. The Giants have proven to be very good at doing so, so why not give them the benefit of the doubt? We’re talking a late 6th and late 7th rounder here after all. There is a need for cornerbacks on this team. The Giants carried six last year and let Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters go. Kevin Dockery will be an unrestricted free agent next year.
In summary, let’s look at the big picture. It was clearly an offensive draft – six of the first seven players were offensive players. It was a draft heavy on the letter B – Beatty, Barden, Beckum, Brown, Bomar. With the possible exception of wide receiver, the Giants did not have to come out of this draft with an immediate starter. While it is hoped and expected that most of these guys will contribute immediately as role players, this is largely a draft for the future. The Giants’ top seven picks were well-regarded prospects by most and all seven may have enough talent to eventually start in the NFL. If that ends up being the case, this is a great draft. In the short term, the focus of many Giants’ fans will be on filling the shoes of Burress, so much attention will be on Nicks and Barden. But don’t be surprised if Beckum and Brown make an immediate impact as role players in the short passing game. However, unless someone gets hurt, Beatty and Bomar won’t be a factor for a couple of years. It will be interesting to see how the Giants use Sintim – you can only send so many players after the quarterback.
Any regrets? The only glaring hole not filled was back-up center.
The aborted effort to land Edwards could be a blessing. But it might not be. Edwards’ personality might not have been well-suited for New York. And he would have cost a lot of money against the cap and cost the Giants draft picks. But there is a TON of pressure on the passing game to perform with very, very inexperienced wide receivers and tight ends. Eli will be the target of much of the blame if the passing game does not click, but it probably won’t be his fault if it doesn’t. Edwards would have helped him, and helped the running game by forcing the safeties back. Let’s pray that Hixon, Smith, Manningham, Nicks, Barden, Boss, and Beckum can deliver.
