New York Giants 2008 NFL Mock Draft – Day One

New York Giants 2008 NFL Mock Draft – Day One

by KWALL for BigBlueInteractive.com

I’m really floored by the Shockey trade. I thought he’d retire as a Giant and eventually go to the Hall of Fame.  He’ll be missed but I guess nobody, outside of Eli, is untouchable on the team.  I’m not happy to see him go but it’s really hard to question anything the Giants front office does at this point.  We just won the Super Bowl.  And the team did it without Shockey.  Even before the broken leg he lacked the explosiveness of his younger days with the team.  He also comes with a high salary.  With Shockey gone, TE has jumped to the top of the list of needs for the 08 draft.  I’d rank it right there with safety.

If we picked up the #40 pick and more for Shockey I’m sure Reese will do something positive with it.  The good news is this draft seems to have a lot of talent in round 2.  We enter the draft with basically 3 round 2 picks.  This is the area to find low priced starters.  If we pick up a couple of guys who can start and produce over the next few years the Giants will be in good shape to extend some of the top young players already on the roster such as Snee or Jacobs.

In the off season, the Giants let a good young player go in Gibril Wilson.  They didn’t want to overpay for this above average starter at $30+ million with $15+ mil guaranteed.  They didn’t even want to franchise him (over $4 million for one year).  Although it left a big hole at S it made a lot of financial sense.

The Giants pick in round one has a lot of value.  It’s the last pick that locks up a rookie for 5 years.  Starting with pick #32 in round 2 the rookies get 4 year deals.  If we draft a winner with this pick we’re getting outstanding value.  Just recently we’ve seen a lot of talk in the media about Miami S Kenny Phillips as the guy at #31.  A few others have mentioned the Arkansas State S Tyrell Johnson.  Let’s say we go with one of them.  The savings over the Wilson deal is remarkable.  Last years last pick in round one signed a 5 year deal at slightly over $10 million with only $5 million guaranteed.  That’s less than 1/3 of the deal Wilson signed with Oakland.  That’s the kind of 5 year deal we’re looking at with our pick.  In today’s NFL market that could be a bargain if Reese picks the right man.  There certainly is some risk these players will fall short of Wilson talent.  On the other side, there’s a strong possibility they’ll become better NFL players.  I’m thinking we go safety in round 1.

With Shockey gone, TE is the other position of need.  This draft doesn’t have a first round talent at TE.  It does have several round 2 talents and at #40 we could have our pick of any TE in the draft.  TE with this pick makes a lot of sense.

Here is a list of potential targets for the Giants on day one.

Picks 31-62

S Kenny Phillips – Good athlete for the position.  Should be a solid NFL starter.
S Tyrell Johnson – Very fast S with tackling skills.  More upside than Phillips
CB Antoine Cason – Will probably start in the NFL early.  Could be a low priced starting CB for the Gianst for 5 years.
CB Antwaun Molden – One of my favorites in the draft.  Can also play S.
RB/KR Chris Johnson – Most explosive player in the draft.  Would give us a Reggie Bush type weapon with better speed and return skills.
WR Limas Sweed – Big target with WR #1 skills.
WR Desean Jackson – Explosive type Reese likes.  And a premier return guy.
WR Avery – A true burner with the best 3 cone (6.30) in years.
WR Andre Caldwell – Good size and 4.3 speed.  Could be the best WR in the class.
WR Jordy Nelson – Tough guy who could work the middle for Eli and get YAC.
WR Eddie Royal – Very fast WR and a top punt returner.
TE Dustin Keller – Undersized but he could be Eli’s Dallas Clark.
TE Martellus Bennett – Perhaps the best 2 way TE in this draft
TE Kellen Davis – Another talented 2 way TE.  Most upside of any TE in the draft.
LB Dan Connor – Versatile LB.  Would start early at OLB.  Eventually could take over for Pierce.
LB Tavares Gooden – Another LB with the ability to play inside or out but better overall athletic ability than Connor.

Here’s the way I see it:

31.  We need a safety and the chance of getting a starter type after the top 2-3 prospects in this draft is very slim.  Giants go with Kenny Phillips or Tyrell Johnson.  One of these guys keeps Sammy Knight in a backup role.  Wild card could be Molden.  Molden can play CB and S.  With the success of Bradshaw and Boss, Reese is not afraid to draft another athletic small school player.  The Giants pick the S with the upside in Tyrell Johnson in round 1.

40.  We could have the choice of any TE in the draft.  However, there’s a good chance one goes off the board to Atlanta at pick #39.  Let’s assume there all there.  Keller isn’t what they’re looking for because of his size.  Kellen Davis and Bennett are exactly what they’re looking for.  I’m going to assume Molden is still there and they go with the speedy and versatile DB.

63.  Eddie Royal return skills would offer a boost to ST.  LB Gooden gives us depth and speed at all LB positions.  TE Davis could get some consideration.  The pick is Gooden.

Giants day one is all about defense and speed.

S Tyrell Johnson
CB Antwaun Molden
LB Tavares Gooden