Once a team strength, the New York Giants defense dipped to 13th overall last season surrendering 427 points, third-worst in the league. The unit’s poor play also led to the ousting of first-year defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan.
Coming into this year’s draft, the New York Giants knew they had to address that side of the ball, and they did just that with five of their seven available picks. In the first round, Big Blue nabbed Jason Pierre-Paul, a 6-foot-5-inch 270-pound defensive end from the University of South Florida, with the 15th pick overall.
This was a bold selection largely due to the fact that Pierre-Paul is such a raw talent, having played the game for only a few years and most of it at the junior college level prior to his one year at USF. But Pierre-Paul’s physical skills are off the charts and that’s why the Giants took the gamble.
In just his second year of playing football in 2007, Pierre-Paul was tops among all California junior college players with 14 sacks. In 2008, he excelled again with 50 solo tackles and10.5 sacks. The following year, he was recruited by USF and played in 13 games, getting 27 solo tackles and 6.5 sacks for 29 yards—he also performed 13 standing back flips after a game, making himself a YouTube sensation. With such freakish ability, Giants GM Jerry Reese is excited to get Pierre-Paul.
Speaking with www.giants.com, he said, “We think that the sky is the limit. He can play the run, [and] the pass. We think that he has the entire package as a defensive end.” In the second round, the Giants went defense again, taking mammoth defensive tackle Lindval Joseph out of East Carolina. Joseph, a 6-foot-4-inch 328-pound space eater will add depth to the Giants’ current group of defensive tackles and should help their run defense, which was gashed last season. In rounds three and four, the Giants continued on defense, selecting LSU safety Chad Jones and Nebraska linebacker Phillip Dillard respectively.
At 6 feet 2 inches and 225 pounds, Jones is a strong, versatile, safety who is an explosive hitter with good coverage skills. With the uncertainty surrounding the health of starting safety Kenny Phillips, the Giants figured it was wise to grab Jones while he was still available.
The Giants continued their draft taking Mitch Petrus, a very strong 6-foot-3-inch 310-pound offensive tackle from Arkansas. They finished up with linebacker Adrian Tracy from William & Mary, and Matt Dodge, a punter from East Carolina.
Jets Wheeling and Dealing
With the 29th selection, the New York Jets selected Boise State cornerback Kyle Wilson. Wilson was ranked among the top cornerbacks in this year’s draft and was a great value at the end of the first round. A sure tackler with good coverage skills, Wilson makes an already awesome secondary even better and should contribute right away in nickel packages.
Coming into this year’s draft, the New York Giants knew they had to address that side of the ball, and they did just that with five of their seven available picks. In the first round, Big Blue nabbed Jason Pierre-Paul, a 6-foot-5-inch 270-pound defensive end from the University of South Florida, with the 15th pick overall.
This was a bold selection largely due to the fact that Pierre-Paul is such a raw talent, having played the game for only a few years and most of it at the junior college level prior to his one year at USF. But Pierre-Paul’s physical skills are off the charts and that’s why the Giants took the gamble.
In just his second year of playing football in 2007, Pierre-Paul was tops among all California junior college players with 14 sacks. In 2008, he excelled again with 50 solo tackles and10.5 sacks. The following year, he was recruited by USF and played in 13 games, getting 27 solo tackles and 6.5 sacks for 29 yards—he also performed 13 standing back flips after a game, making himself a YouTube sensation. With such freakish ability, Giants GM Jerry Reese is excited to get Pierre-Paul.
Speaking with www.giants.com, he said, “We think that the sky is the limit. He can play the run, [and] the pass. We think that he has the entire package as a defensive end.” In the second round, the Giants went defense again, taking mammoth defensive tackle Lindval Joseph out of East Carolina. Joseph, a 6-foot-4-inch 328-pound space eater will add depth to the Giants’ current group of defensive tackles and should help their run defense, which was gashed last season. In rounds three and four, the Giants continued on defense, selecting LSU safety Chad Jones and Nebraska linebacker Phillip Dillard respectively.
At 6 feet 2 inches and 225 pounds, Jones is a strong, versatile, safety who is an explosive hitter with good coverage skills. With the uncertainty surrounding the health of starting safety Kenny Phillips, the Giants figured it was wise to grab Jones while he was still available.
The Giants continued their draft taking Mitch Petrus, a very strong 6-foot-3-inch 310-pound offensive tackle from Arkansas. They finished up with linebacker Adrian Tracy from William & Mary, and Matt Dodge, a punter from East Carolina.
Jets Wheeling and Dealing
With the 29th selection, the New York Jets selected Boise State cornerback Kyle Wilson. Wilson was ranked among the top cornerbacks in this year’s draft and was a great value at the end of the first round. A sure tackler with good coverage skills, Wilson makes an already awesome secondary even better and should contribute right away in nickel packages.
Speaking with www.newyorkjets.com, Wilson was excited at the prospect of joining the NFL’s top-ranked defense, saying, “I definitely think I’ll fit in well. That confidence about Coach Ryan, that sense of really having fun and loving the game of football, that just seems to be perfect.”
In the second round, Gang Green selected 6-foot-4-inch 332-pound offensive tackle Vladimir Ducasse out of UMass. With the surprising release of aging yet still productive Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca, Ducasse will likely see playing time in Week 1.
Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum felt the move was necessary, saying, “We looked at it carefully for us, what’s in the best interests of the Jets. Knowing where we wanted to go. Now was the time.”
The Jets continued drafting offense using their fourth-round pick to grab USC running back Joe McKnight. At 5 feet 11 inches and 198 pounds, McKnight is a multipurpose back with a tremendous burst out of the backfield.
Following the Faneca news, the Jets made another surprising move packaging their seventh-round pick and popular running back Leon Washington to the Seattle Seahawks for a fifth-rounder. With the pick, the Jets took Kentucky fullback John Conner, a 5-foot-11-inch 240-pound punisher who brings added muscle to the Jets powerful ground game.
