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Ramses The Great

by Rich Resch on April 30th, 2009 at 3:37 pm

Ramses IIWhile 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).

Ramses BardenBased 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’sOzymandias 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.

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About Rich Resch

Rich is a graduate of University of Maryland and is currently the senior editor of Giants Football Blog and a panelist on Pro Football New York's internet radio show. He is a former contributor to Hot Foot Blog, and a former featured columnist on Bleacher Report. View all posts by Rich Resch →
  • MeatTrain

    i like the barden pick also and was also extremely excited to see the giants make a move to get him. i also have since watched that youtube highlight film of him catching fade after fade. while i agree that this will bring an important dimension to our red zone offense in years to come, i just hope this guy can develop into an every down receiver. i think there was one play on that film where he caught a pass other than a fade (it was a curl that he took to the house though). however, he seems like the type of guy who is always standing straight up and doesn’t sink his hips to make cuts and stuff which seems to slow him down, not much unlike jacobs when he first came in with the giants. still, i think this guy is going to be a fun project to watch in the coming years and has the potential to be a huge threat for the giants.

    however, new york has such a “win now” mentality typically and i’m not sure nicks and barden are the answer…right now. i have nothing but faith in reese and his boys but i still think the giants need another veteran in that receiving corp. i doubt anything will happen now (though i could be wrong) with trades or free agent signings, so i can’t help but think they missed an opportunity to get better now. i obviously hope i am wrong and someone steps up and proves me wrong but that’s the feeling i get coming out of this draft. that all being said, these guys are going to have great careers in blue, i just hope it starts sooner rather than later.

    also…what # is nicks going to wear? he’s the only guy without a number on the roster right now and matthews already has 88.