Draft in Review

Here are the write-ups on the Giants Draft Picks:

Kenny Phillips, S, Miami

Terrell Thomas, CB, USC

Mario Manningham, WR, Michigan

Bryan Kehl, LB, BYU

Jonathan Goff, ILB, Vandy

André Woodson, QB, Kentucky

Robert Henderson, DE, Southern Miss

Obviously, last year's draft winners were the New York Giants. All of their draft picks played some role in getting to the Super Bowl and winning the game. If the Manningham pick plays out to where he is a legitimate home-run threat, Jerry Reese might looks like a bona fide genius.

All teams in the NFC East last year were pretty good, as the team in last place was 8-8 (Philadelphia Eagles). Despite the fact that they won the Super Bowl, the Giants still might not be the favorites to win their division next year. All the teams made upgrades in the draft, and some made major moves in the offseason so far.

Redskins- After not being able to land Ocho Cinco, they were able to take two of the top receivers in the draft: Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly and Michigan State's Devin Thomas. This will be a huge upgrade to their receiving corps, especially since they are pretty big targets. What will be interesting to see is that they will be involved in the West Coast Offense that new head coach Jim Zorn is implementing. And that offense is notoriously hard to study and to perfect...so that might be asking a lot for these new guys. I'm not sure I understand the Fred Davis pick, since they already have a great pass-catching TE.

Cowboys- Felix Jones' numbers are always under consideration. Many write his 8+ ypc average up as defenses become latent after Darren McFadden's runs. But I would question that, especially since he was putting up those numbers against the year in and year out best defenses in college football.



They were also able to draft Mike Jenkins, who I knew was high on the Giants boards at CB. It seems that all the teams in the NFC East are looking to upgrade not just the DE position (after how well the Giants did on obtaining sacks), but also at corner.

Eagles- DeSean Jackson fell to the middle of the second round, and the birds snatched him right up. Jackson showed great speed during the season and at the combine. But will he be able to match up in coverage against bigger DB's (doesn't that seem backwards?).



He is only 5-10, 170, and wasn't as physical as other WRs in the draft (see: Eddie Royal of Virginia Tech, who also is undersized but plays beyond his stature, and was drafted earlier than Jackson). This pick will greatly help their ability to have a deep threat, as well as to help their return game. I did like their pick of DT Trevor Laws, who, although undersized, was one of the Golden Domers' highlights last season with his ability to break through the line again and again.

New York Giants- After losing S Gibril Wilson to FA, they were able to pick up the best safety in the draft, Kenny Phillips from Miami, FL. Phillips, albeit injury prone, has excellent size and physical ability, and will fit well in the defensive scheme of Spags. Both linebackers that the Giants took have good speed and size, and if there is one position where speed is vital in the NFL, it is at Linebacker. But if the Manningham pick pans out, it could be the steal of the draft, as he displayed throughout his career the ability to snatch passes out of the air in deep coverage a-la Randy Moss, despite not having Randy Moss height. The Woodson pick was more titillating that anything, and I wonder if they should have used it on a player for special teams coverage.

Draft Winner: Washington Redskins

Draft Loser: Philadelphia Eagles. But watch out, they did pick up Carolina's number one next year, meaning that the birds will have two number 1's in 2009. Despite the 'Boys getting Pacman, the Eagles made the best offseason acquisition in the division, by snatching up S Asante Samuel of the 18-1 New England Patriots.