Recently, I spoke to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News regarding the 2008 NFL Draft. Ralph and I discuss the Giants draft as well as some other teams.

Jared Blank, GiantsFootballBlog: What was your take on the Giants drafting S Kenny Phillips in the first round?

Ralph Vacchiano: I thought it was a great pick — and not just because I predicted it. The truth is, we all knew they were targeting him for quite a while, and it always made a lot of sense. He was the best safety on the board and anytime you can get the best guy at one position with the 31st pick in the draft, it’s a great move. Plus, when is the last time the Giants had a top safety? Gibril Wilson never really lived up to what he showed as a rookie. Before that … Shaun Williams? He never really lived up to expectations either. Now think of what Brian Dawkins did in Philly’s defense all those years. That’s what Steve Spagnuolo envisions with Phillips.

JB: Was taking WR Mario Manningham a worthy risk in the third round? What, if anything, have you heard from around the league with all the negative’s regarding him?

RV: Yes, he was worth the risk. It is absolutely a risk, but it’s one the Super Bowl champs can afford to make. If he doesn’t work out, it’s not like the miss will ruin the team or one bad guy will ruin their chemistry. Plus, they have enough veterans in there that they might set him straight. And if he does work out, boy did they get a steal. He’s a first-round talent with the last pick of the third? You can’t pass up value like that in the draft.

Now, I did hear that many other teams had him off their board entirely. I haven’t heard good things about him and his character from people I know in and around the Michigan program either. A lot of people thought the way he lied at the combine about his failed drug tests was a big warning side. Either he was too stupid to know that the people asking him already knew the truth, or worse — he didn’t care. Whatever, it scared a lot of teams off. And so did what I’ve heard were not exactly all-positive recommendations from his old coaches.

Still, while I don’t want to diminish what he did off the field, this isn’t Pacman Jones we’re talking about. Or Christian Peter, for that matter. Guys have made it in the NFL with a lot worse and more offensive problems than Manningham had.

JB: With their sixth round pick, the Giants selected QB Andre’ Woodson from the University of Kentucky. How do you see the backup QB situation filling out amongst Woodson, David Carr, Anthony Wright and Jared Lorenzen?

RV: I believe Carr, Wright and Lorenzen are battling for one spot — the backup job. The Giants made it clear they picked Woodson so they can have a young quarterback to “grow” in their system. But Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese used that word. Well, they’re not going to stop the growth process after training camp. What they were saying (between the lines) is he’s going to be given some time. So expect him to be the 3rd quarterback. Most teams want the No. 3 to be young anyway. The No. 2 spot is for a guy who can go in and hold the fort for a few weeks if Eli Manning gets hurt, which is why I think it’ll be Carr. He might not be a great option, but he has a lot of NFL experience and has won a few games. He’s got more of a resume and better talent than Wright.

And Lorenzen … well, have you seen anything out of him that suggests he can be an NFL starter? He hasn’t really lit things up in preseason games and he’s hardly gotten any regular season experience. I just don’t think the Giants would be comfortable having to send him in. I think the Giants wil bring Eli, Wright, Carr and Woodson to camp, with Wright being the final cut in early September unless either Carr or Woodson get hurt (or just stink).

JB: The Giants did not select an Offensive Linemen, was this somewhat of a surprise to you?
RV: It wasn’t a huge surprise because they already have a couple of young tackles on the roster in Guy Whimper and Adam Koets. Granted, neither of them are a high draft pick, but the Giants have high hopes for both of them — particularly Whimper. Plus, at the moment, their line is mostly set for the future. It’s young and, for the most part, it’s signed long-term. The exception is Chris Snee, who is a free agent after this season, but A) he may still resign, and B) the Giants’ philosophy is that guards can be developed and found fairly easily. Tackles are a different story, but how many young tackles do you need? If Whimper and/or Koets don’t work out, they’ll obviously be a little short-handed in that area. But they haven’t given up on either of them yet.

JB: Is TE Jeremy Shockey ‘safe’ now that the Draft is over or could he still be dealt?

RV: I think he probably is safe. If the Saints (or anyone else for that matter) were not willing to give the Giants what they were looking for in April, what makes anyone think the Saints will suddenly be willing to pay the price now? The Saints want him. We know that. But they obviously set a limit on what they felt his value was. I don’t see how or why that could change. Now, I suppose there’s a small chance the Giants could drop their demands. If Shockey reiterates his demand to be traded or holds out or becomes a distraction, then yes, they could determine it would be addition by subtraction and revisit their old offers. But I think they’d be more likely to hold their ground and refuse to let him bully them. That’s what they did with Michael Strahan last year. They called his bluff. I think they’d do that to Shockey, too. So I expect Shockey will be on the team in 2008. But no, I don’t expect him to be happy about it.

JB: What team was the ‘winner’ of the draft? Was there a clear cut ‘loser’?
RV: Well, I have to be honest with you. I hate evaluating drafts so soon. I know we all do it, it’s interesting and it’s part of the job, but there’s no way to judge a draft class until some time has elapsed. And usually years, too. Take the Giants’ 2007 class. Jerry Reese is a genius, right? In his first draft, everyone says, he hit on almost every pick (except Koets) because they all were big contributors to the Super Bowl run, right? Well, how do we know that any of those players will turn out to be anything but a flash in the pan? We don’t. For all we know, Koets will be the best — and only — player to come out of that class when we look at it five years from now. Obviously I don’t think that will be the case. But stranger things have happened. History is the only real way to judge winners and losers. A lot of people thought the Giants were losers in 2004 when they took Eli Manning. Anyone think that now?

But, since you asked … I thought the Panthers had a good draft, getting a top RB (Jonathan Stewart) and top OL (Jeff Otah) early. Plus, I think they may have gotten a third-round steal in LB Dan Connor. The Chiefs might have had the best overall draft. That’s not hard to do with 12 picks, but they got the top DT (Glenn Dorsey) one of the top OL (Branden Albert), a top corner in Round 2 (Brandon Flowers) a top S in Round 3 (DaJuan Morgan). That’s a lot of apparent value.

On the down side, I was stunned when the Texans took Virginia Tech OT Duane Brown in the first round — a huge reach. Plus, from what I’m told and read, most of the players they took can be described in two words: workout wonders. That’s not necessarily a good thing. I probably like their draft the least.

I’m also not crazy about the 49ers’ draft. They used their top two picks on a DT (Kentwan Balmer) and a G (Chilo Rachaal). Those are two positions that I just don’t think are high-impact spots. Using one of their top picks on one of them would’ve been tolerable. But two? I don’t think that’s a huge help.