While I was happy with the selection of Hakeem Nicks, I was hoping that GM Jerry Reese would have acquired a taller receiver to replace Plaxico Burress. Reese was one step ahead of me, however, as he traded up in the third to draft 6’6 Ramses Barden. I wanted this guy so much that I was literally doing fist pumps on the bus back to New York while following the draft on my phone…what a sad image…

Barden is a project, and he may not see much playing time this year. But there is a reason that former Egyptian Pharaoh “Ramses II” was named after this guy (look it up, it’s a fact). He is an absolute monster in the red zone and could lead the team in RZTTT (red zone targets divided by total targets, a statistic I just made up).

Based on his body type and Division I-AA background, the best case scenario is that he is the next Marques Colston, my favorite player in the history of sports (Hofstra Flying Dutchmen Pride!). Colston had 70 receptions for 1,038 yards in only 14 games in his rookie season, and he set an NFL record for the most receptions in a player’s first two season (168). While this is obviously an exceptional situation, it does show that a rookie wide receiver from a small school can make a big impact right off the bat.

Possibly the most impressive fact about Barden is that he scored touchdowns in 20 straight Division I-AA games, breaking Jerry Rice’s record. Therefore, Ramses Barden > Jerry Rice.

Here is what I wrote about Barden in January in my Wide Receiver Preview: “Second Day Sleeper. At 6-6, Barden is already a Giant (hahahaha!) His gigantic body would provide a Plax-like target for Eli. He can catch, but has trouble separating due to below average speed.”

Click Here for more on Barden, as well as a YouTube highlight reel of fade after fade after fade, all similar to the Super Bowl 42 winning touchdown pass from Eli Manning to…umm…I can’t seem to remember his name.

Note: This is a couple days late because I was visiting my alma-matter, the University of Maryland, over the weekend. I had the good fortune of being on campus during the spring football game when former Terp Darrius Heyward-Bey, the man I hoped the Giants would draft, was taken 7^th overall by the Oakland Raiders. When I asked Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen for his reaction to Heyward-Bey being drafted before Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, he was so shocked that he was speechless (although this may have also been due to the fact that I was about 40 yards away from him, on the other side of a chain-link fence). Anyway, here are some thoughts from draft day(s).

• The selection of WR Hakeem Nicks helps to fill the gaping hole left by Plaxico Burress (this would be a good opportunity to make a joke about how Plaxico Burress left a gaping hole in his leg, but I am above that). Nicks is compared by many to Anquan Boldin, and even Michael Irvin. I guess I’d take Michael Irvin-type production. He may not be a deep threat and he may not be 6′5, but he is probably the most polished wide receiver in the draft and he has big, strong hands, which will help him grab some of Eli’s patented inaccurate over-the-middle.

• Here is what I wrote about Nicks in January in my Wide Receiver Preview: ” Pretty good size and strength, but only average speed. He showed his amazing hands and focus in making one of the best catches of the year during the Meineke Car Care Bowl.”

• Say what you will about mock drafts, but the Aggregate Mock Draft I compiled in March correctly predicted that the Giants would select Nicks. Now, I’m not saying that I’m psychic, but if anyone would like to rent me for their trip to Vegas, my asking price is $300 per night.

• OLB Clint Sintim and OT William Beatty were great value picks in the 2^nd round, as both were projected as possible first rounders at some point. Sintim fills a need at linebacker, although some are concerned that his style of play is a better fit in a 3-4 system. Look for him to be used mostly in pass rushing situations, at least early on. Beatty could become a starter down the road, but will be an immediate upgrade at backup OT. He could be groomed to eventually take over Left Tackle from David Diehl, but I have a hunch that he will see his first action filling in for the oft-injured Kareem McKenzie at Right Tackle.

Read more…

In sifting through the rubble that the NFL Draft always leaves behind, I’m still feeling a bit empty. Perhaps its because the Giants didn’t pull the trigger on a deal that would land them Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards.

I’m not alone in thinking this. There are many who have given the Giants a B grade this past week, even though it appears that GM Jerry Reese has had another productive draft.  Yes, they drafted two highly regarded wideouts in Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden.  Yes, they got a potential seambreaker in Travis Beckum.  And yes, David Tyree is healthy and ready to return.

All of that should allay my fears that the Giants sufficiently backfilled the loss of both Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer.

But it doesn’t.

Even those combined with their other receiving options – WRs Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, Domenik Hixon and TE Kevin Boss – the team is still lacking that standout receiver that keeps opposing defensive coordinators up at night.

That is where Edwards comes in. He would be that guy.

According to ESPN’s John Clayton, the deal could be done if the Giants were willing to pay the price.  According to Clayton, right now that price would be a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick.  The Giants will not submit to that, and I agree that they shouldn’t – and they may not have to.

Edwards is a free agent after this season, and it is widely known that he would love to come to New York. Bottom line -he’s likely to be a Giant in 2010, anyway…… but the team really needs him now.

The Giants will wait until after mini camp to decide if they want to still deal. If the new receiver group looks like it could work out, the team will wait for Edwards to become a free agent and attempt to sign him then.

But there are several factors that still lead me to believe that the Giants may not wait until next year to get Edwards and that this could get done in some form in the next few weeks.  It will not be a first round pick, I assure you that. Perhaps a 2 or a 3 along with a player at the most.  It appears the Browns know their leverage is slipping and will listen to a trade offer since they have recently been beefing up their receiving corps.

The life-after-Braylon groundwork is already being put in place by the Browns.   Last week, Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Edwards had stopped participating in the team’s off-season conditioning program – perhaps to keep him from getting injured and reducing his trade value.  Last Saturday, the Browns drafted two receivers in the 2nd round (Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi).  This week, they brought in 6′5″ veteran Drew Bennett for a look-see. Let’s not forget they signed former Giant David Patten as a free agent this past winter as well.

All of this leads us to Braylon Edwards leaving Cleveland for New York.  Its not a matter of if, but a matter of when.…

Michael Salfino over at SNY.tv shares my concern about the Giants having no true number one wide receiver. Steve Smith seems to be the one by default, but he can’t possibly replace the impact Plaxico Burress had and the effect that the absence of Plaxico had on the team was crystal clear late last season.

There is no No. 1 target on the Giants, though. In fact, there’s no veteran that defenses have to game plan to stop or double-cover in the passing game. Nicks, especially, isn’t going to have the advantage of being able to sneak by secondaries even though he’s capable of making outstanding plays, like this catch that is one of the best I’ve seen (wait for the replay, it’s subtle.)

And I concede that Barden looks very Plax-like at times. I don’t care about his lack of timed speed because height and hands are what get you the big plays down the sideline today on comebacks. Consider Larry Fitzgerald, who is not fast at all for a wide receiver.

The Giants have won a Super Bowl and are very sound organizationally, but I believe they’d have been better off scrapping their organizational philosophy this year while doing everything possible to replace Burress. And they had two teams to play off each other to lower the price.

Head over to SNY.tv to read Mike’s entire article which does a good job at looking at how the Giants did in the draft and what we might be able to expect from the Giants heading into the upcoming season.

Giants defensive end Justin Tuck is featured in several New York Times “Conversations” videos that capture candid conversations with some of today’s most interesting people about their passions, their lives and NYTimes.com.

Here’s one of Justin Tuck with Dr. Mehmet Oz and the gorgeous Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef.

Here’s Justin delivering books to kids.

…and finally Justin with Lynn Redgrave.

Turns out the Giants were trying to be more aggressive during the draft than most thought. According to Mike Garrafolo of the Star Ledger the Giants were ready to make a deal with the Lions and acquire the 20th overall pick and then use that pick to select Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.

The person, who requested anonymity because the Giants don’t discuss war-room talks publicly, didn’t divulge what was being offered to Detroit but said the trade was contingent on Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin’s being available for the Giants to select at that spot.

The plan was nixed when the Eagles, probably sensing the Lions were shopping their pick, jumped up two spots to No. 19 (by giving the Browns a sixth-round selection) to pick Maclin, whom they hadn’t considered a possible target because they didn’t expect him to fall that far. It’s unclear if Philly knew its division rival was the team getting ready to pounce on Maclin. Giants general manager Jerry Reese declined comment when asked about the proposed trade.

Eli Optimistic About Giants’ Receiving Options

Eli Manning said he was “confident” that the Giants’ receivers would be competitive and and play at a high level but warned that it was important for the rookies to get off to a fast start.

Injuries and holdouts are the most difficult obstacles for rookies, but Eli emphasized that there is also a “learning curve” for new players coming into the league and tempered expectations by adding “We’ll try to see what they can do and how they can help us next year.”

David Tyree, Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon are three returning veterans who vowed to assist the new players in any way possible. Smith and Hixon are currently penciled in as the starters and Tyree is returning from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2008 season.

Tyree, he of the most famous catch in recent NFL history, praised top pick Hakeem Nicks‘ circus catch in the Meineke Care Bowl last January as “one of the best I’ve ever seen”.

“It’s all about competition and we’ve got a lot of at this position,” added Tyree. “If you’re not hungry enough – especially with the way things have shaken out at our position with last year’s starters being gone – to just come in and compete and give it your all, then you don’t have the right mind-set.”

“What Plax and Tooms did for us, I’ll try to pass that on and give some advice,” Hixon said.

Sheridan Era Begins

Bill Sheridan, the Giants’ new defensive coordinator, assured the fans, the media and the team that the transition to him from Steve Spagnoulo would be seamless. Sheridan said a few changes would take place such as coaching from the booth rather than from the sideline and not requiring defensive ends to drop back in pass coverage as often.

When asked about the role of 2nd round pick, LB Clint Sintum, Sheridan vowed to play to Sintum’s strength as a pass rusher. He also affirmed Mathias Kiwanuka’s status (“He’s a defensive end”) and laughed off the suggestion that Antonio Pierce’s performance was declining.