Draft Grades on Giants from various sources

[BleedinBlue]

BTW - this is for 2008 only

 

Uh oh......we're getting decent grades this year.....scarey thought! On the other hand, analysts might be leary about downgrading the Giants draft based on how terribly wrong they were last year with a consensus "D" grade by most.

 

Anyway, I love the opening line from this first draft grade:

 

B ..... from Paul Needle's NFL Draft Grades

We all should have learned last season that GM Jerry Reese is not to be second-guessed about his draft picks

. The defending Super Bowl champs just kicked back and let the best safety in the draft, Kenny Phillips, fall to them in the last spot in Round 1. Second-round CB Terrell Thomas had injury issues at USC, but Trojans coach Pete Carroll knows how to develop corners. WR Mario Manningham dropped because of baggage but was a steal in the third round. LB Bryan Kehl (fourth) should excel on special teams and eventually compete for a starting job

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B ..... from John Czarnecki NFL Draft Grades (FOX News NFL Analyist)

Well, Jeremy Shockey remains a Giant, and that's a good thing for Eli Manning. GM Jerry Reese made another smart move in the draft room by taking care of the secondary (starter Gibril Wilson signed with the Raiders) with Miami safety Kenny Phillips and USC cornerback Terrell Thomas. Both players are very versatile and also very good tacklers. The Giants took a risk in Michigan receiver Mario Manningham (marijuana), but with coach Tom Coughlin running the show, the kid will either shape up or find himself on the unemployment line.

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A- ..... from NFL Wire

Analysis: The Giants' biggest area of need was in the secondary, and they can breathe much easier after selecting Phillips and Thomas on the first day. Phillips should compete for a starting job, while the smart Thomas looks like more of a nickel candidate at this stage. Manningham has had both his skills and character lamented more than any other player in the Draft, and will be a player to watch both on and off the field. Kehl and Goff offer linebacking depth. The selection of Woodson likely means that David Carr and Jared Lorenzen are battling for one job behind Eli Manning. Henderson was a reach that will have trouble making the team, and the Giants might have been better off with an interior line candidate in that spot. The absence of offensive linemen in this Draft makes it critical that the New York line stay healthy throughout 2008.

 

Bottom Line: The champs addressed their major needs in the secondary, and otherwise acquitted themselves well by selecting value.

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B+ ..... from USA Today

Linked with FS Kenny Phillips early on and didn't stray, despite reports of unimpressive workouts and an OK junior season. Good fit for a team shy of speed and depth in the deep middle after loss of Gibril Wilson. Stuck with filling defensive holes in second round with Terrell Thomas, a physical, bump-and-run CB who helps at a position riddled with age. WR Mario Manningham's workouts and conduct knocked him down but Giants need refreshing at this position

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*edit[added 2:30PM]

A- ..... from H.Kiswani (Screaming Sports)

Just a great job done by Jerry Reese and his staff here on draft weekend. The Giants made sure to make value a priority in this draft, and they got themselves a handful of very impressive prospects.

 

The Giants stockpiled defensive talent - bringing in an elite safety prospect in Kenny Phillips, and big, fast, physical players in cornerback Terrell Thomas and linebackers Bryan Kehl and Jonathan Goff. Intelligence and instincts are important to defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and he got that in this draft class. Phillips is a guy with the tools to be a Pro-Bowl defensive back at this level - and I believe he will prove to be one of the ten to fifteen best players to emerge from this draft. I can't state enough how much I like the Phillips pick for New York. Goff is another selection I thought was an incredible value at where he was selected. He has the skill set and intelligence to develop into an NFL starter, and comes into a nice situation here.

 

On the offensive side of the ball, Mario Manningham was an absolute steal in the third round. This was one of the better picks in the entire draft in my opinion, and the guy should step in right away and make a difference for this Giants offense. He'll provide a real home-run threat for New York and should help this offense improve across the board. Excellent pick by the Giants. As for Woodson, let's face it - Jared Lorenzen and Anthony Wright weren't cutting it, and the Giants needed to bring in a young guy like this to groom.

 

Overall, I absolutely love this draft for the Giants. It's tough to really judge a draft until three to four years down the line, but this is a heck of a first impression. I think the Giants will emerge with at least three impact players from this draft when looking back after a few years, and Phillips could be a stud for this Giants defense for a very long time. Phillips, wide receiver Mario Manningham, and linebacker Jonathan Goff are the three picks I absolutely love, and I think they will turn out to be great picks for this Giants football team.

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*edit[added 4/29 11:07AM]

C+ ..... from Mel Kiper Jr. (ESPN)

I understand taking safety Kenny Phillips with the last pick in the first round. He had a great sophomore season in 2006. Terrell Thomas could be a No. 2 cornerback, but I thought that pick was just OK. Wide receiver Mario Manningham is worth a role of the dice in the third round because he has talent, but his stock dropped in the months leading up to the draft, with some teams viewing him as a late-round pick. Jonathan Goff was a good find in the fifth round, and the same can be said about Andre' Woodson in Round 6. Defensive end Robert Henderson is just a marginal prospect.

[JMFP]

Thanks for the post.

[Treehugger]

"Both players are very versatile and also very good tacklers"

 

Awesome. I'm sick of flakey tacklers on our team.

 

"Henderson was a reach that will have trouble making the team, and the Giants might have been better off with an interior line candidate in that spot. The absence of offensive linemen in this Draft makes it critical that the New York line stay healthy throughout 2008."

 

Don't we already have a cupboard full of OLine 'projects'? This doesn't worry me at all.

 

 

 

[mastershake]

"Henderson was a reach that will have trouble making the team, and the Giants might have been better off with an interior line candidate in that spot. The absence of offensive linemen in this Draft makes it critical that the New York line stay healthy throughout 2008."

 

6th round pick, 33rd in the round.... like 190th overall...

 

How exactly can a late 6th round pick ever be considered a Reach? hahaha

[BleedinBlue]

6th round pick, 33rd in the round.... like 190th overall...

 

How exactly can a late 6th round pick ever be considered a Reach? hahaha

Exactly.....players who don't go drafted by the 6th round cross their fingers hoping they WON'T get drafted because they will make the same amount of money at a signing as an undrafted free agent, but won't have the option to choose which team they prefer to play with where there may be a much better opportunity for them to make the team. I doubt Henderson was elated to go to the Giants who have a stable full of DE's that aren't going anywhere.

 

Late in the 7th round, players are literally on their knees praying that they won't get drafted by a bum team or a team stocked with their position.

[Storm]

Funny thing I noticed yesterday...the only Mr. Irrelevant still on a team is Ryan Hoag, WR...you might remember him as the Mr. Irrelevant we drafted a few years back....

[Lubeck]

I don't think you can say our DE stable is stocked. Especially with Strahan leaving soon.

[mastershake]

I don't think you can say our DE stable is stocked. Especially with Strahan leaving soon.

 

I agree. Unless they're thinking of putting Kiwi back at DE, but then we have no SAM backer.

 

[BleedinBlue]

I've been adding draft grades as I find them. I added Mel Kiper's grade. Last year he gave us a "D" grade so I'm happy as long as he doesn't think we had a good draft. If he spent as much time actually analyzing players instead of reading magazines about players and spending half his time at the beauty salon keeping his oil slicked "doo" in place....he might actually have a clue.

 

What a homer!!

[Tempest]

I remember how everyone raved about the draft Detroit had back in 2004. Roy Williams, Kevin Jones and Teddy Lehman.

 

Millen was heralded a draft wiz that year, Lions moving in the right direction, etc.

 

Only pick he got right was Roy Williams. Millen has only managed to get one great pick each year with the others washing out of football or landing elsewhere in the league. Its not even that hard to land the great pick because they're in the top ten every year with the exception of this year and 2001.

 

Draft grades depend entirely on teams picking whom scouts and analysts have decided is best for the team. You go against them, your draft was horrible.