My last article focused on the New York Jets and how a lot of their problems stem from poor drafts. Now, I'm going to take a look at the New York Giants and how they have fared through the Draft since 2000. I'll be going a bit more in-depth here with the Giants because its my blog and I'm a Giants fan. There, I admit it.
The 2000 Giants were a team on the rise. They would make a Super Bowl in 2000 and get trounced by the Ravens. However, the Giants drafting has been pretty decent in the years following. Let's take a look:
The 2000 Draft was probably one of the worst in recent memory, if only because the 2000 Draft was pretty crappy in general. Still, high expectations came with First Rounder Ron Dayne who was coming off of a Heisman Trophy season at Wisconsin. Dayne was supposed to bring smash-mouth football back to the Meadowlands. Dayne had a decent rookie year, pairing with Tiki Barber to form the Thunder and Lightning combo that helped the Giants to the 2000 Super Bowl. Still, Dayne never lived up to the expectations that came with his trophy and he was gone after a few years. Second Round pick Cornelius Griffin, 4th Round pick Brandon Short, and 6th Round pick Dhani Jones have had decent careers in the NFL but nothing to write home about. Jones is probably most famous for his television show than his football work but he might have had the best career of all of the players the Giants drafted.
The 2001 Draft is noted for the Giants using their first two selections on cornerbacks. Will Allen showed blazing speed and some decent cover skills, but again, he never lived up to the expectations. Allen was a pretty good corner but nothing more. Will Peterson, now known as Will James, showed a lot of promise but injuries derailed his career. Nobody else the Giants drafted that year really made much of an impact in the NFL. Jesse Palmer is the most notable name in the group and he is now doing analysis on College Football after his stint on ABC's The Bachelor. Hardly a Draft worth writing home about. OK, maybe this was worse than the 2000 Draft.
The 2002 Draft brought in Jeremy Shockey, 3 borderline linebackers, and nobody else of note. Shockey emerged as one of the NFL's best tight ends before wearing out his welcome in New York a few years later. Still, they got a few Pro Bowl seasons out of him and the linebacker fodder filled in when injuries hit the Giants pretty hard. The Giants of these years were trying to rebuild on the fly, something that is pretty hard to do in any sport.
The 2003 Draft showcased one of the worst 1st Round picks in recent memory in William Joseph who was taken with the 25th pick in the Draft. Joseph never lived up to expectations. Osi Umenyiora was taken with the 56th overall pick. Umenyiora has recorded 69 sacks since becoming a Giants and helped the Giants win the Super Bowl in 2007. He is part of a long list of 2nd round success stories for the Giants, joining Amani Toomer and Tiki Barber among others. Also taken in the 2003 Draft was David Diehl in Round 5, David Tyree in Round 6, and Kevin Walter in Round 7. Diehl has been a staple on the Giants offensive line for several years now. Tyree was a Special Teams standout and who can forget his catch in the Super Bowl? Walter didn't do much with the Giants but has been a pretty good player for the Texans as a receiver and special teams returner. Walter is evidence that the Giants do their homework on later round players. (Disclaimer: A lot of teams do their home work on late round picks, just using Walter as an example for the Giants.)
The 2004 Draft is probably the most infamous of all the Giants Drafts and was GM Ernie Accorsi's last with the Giants. 2004, as you may remember, is when Eli Manning went #1 overall to the Chargers. The Giants wanted Eli and Eli wanted the Giants. With the #4 pick in the Draft, the Giants selected Philip Rivers and traded him, and a couple of other picks to San Diego for Eli. Eli is on pace to shatter every Giants passing mark, has a Super Bowl MVP under his belt, and almost passed for 5,000 yards this past season. The Giants second pick in this Draft is just as good as their first (see Giants 2nd Round successes) because they took guard Chris Snee with the 34th overall pick. Snee is the leader of the offensive line for the Giants and is a Pro Bowl type player. In the 7th Round, the Giants drafted Derrick Ward> ward was mostly a filler player for the first few years of his career before he exploded for 1,025 yards and a 5.6 yard per carry average in 2007. Ward hasn't been nearly as good since leaving the Giants but they got a quality season out of Ward who was a 7th rounder.
The 2005 Draft was the year the Giants had only 4 total draft picks because of the Eli trade. However, of those 4, the Giants nabbed Corey Webster in the 2nd Round, Justin Tuck in the 3rd, and Brandon Jacobs in the 4th. When you can grab an All-Pro defensive end, a starting corner, and a 1,000 yard running back in the same draft you must be doing something right. This was GM Jerry Reese's first draft and he came away with an A+ rating.
The 2006 Draft saw the Giants take Mathias Kiwanuka with the 32nd overall pick. Many people scratched their heads afterall the Giants already had Tuck and Umenyiora at defensive end. Well, Kiwanuka has developed into a pretty good linebacker who can line up at DE and get to the QB when needed. Injuries have hurt his career track but he figures to be in the Giants plans for years to come. Second Rounder Sinorice Moss didn't pan out and barely saw the field. He was the complete opposite of his brother Santana. Fourth Rounder DT Barry Cofield was a very nice pick. Cofield left as a free agent prior to this season, taking his services to Washington but Cofield did help solidify the middle of the Giants line. Fifth Rounder Charlie Peprah had a breakout year this past season with 5 INT's and 69 tackles. However, those picks and tackles came while he was wearing a Packer uniform. Again, a serviceable player taken in the later rounds.
The 2007 Draft might be one of the best in recent history. Why? Well, First Rounder Aaron Ross has been a solid corner in the NFL though he looks like he might not be re-signed this offseason. Second Rounder WR Steve Smith set the Giants single season receptions record with 107 in 2009 (another second round find!). Jay Alford, taken in the third round, had a couple of good years but injuries robbed much of his playing time. Fourth Rounder Zak DeOssie has been the Giants long-snapper and backup linebacker since being drafted. Fifth Rounder Kevin Boss was a favorite target for Eli until he left as a free agent prior to this past season, getting a pretty big contract with Oakland. In the 7th Round, the Giants took a little known running back with some personal problems named Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw is currently the Giants starting running back. He is also the third running back taken by the Giants that has put up a 1,000 yard season.
The 2008 Draft wasn't too bad either. The Giants tapped Kenny Phillips with their first selection. Phillips has dealt with injury problems to his knees in recent years, robbing him of a lot of the potential he possessed. However, Phillips is still a very good safety and he did have 4 picks this season. Second round pick Terrell Thomas was considered the best corner on the team going into this season. However, he went down for the year with an ACL injury. Thomas figures to be healthy for 2012 and should regain his spot as the Giants best corner (no offense to Corey Webster). Mario Manningham was the Giants third round pick and he has been an excellent receiver who has scored 18 touchdowns and amassed over 2,000 yards receiving. Jonathan Goff was taken in 5th Round and was slated to be the Giants starting middle linebacker before going out for the season with injury in the preseason. Goff should resume his duties at the MLB spot next season.
In 2009, the Giants drafted Hakeem Nicks to help offset the loss of Plaxico Burress who shot himself in the leg in a nightclub and then went to prison on a firearms charge. Nicks, when healthy, has been a go-to guy for Manning and he continues to emerge as one of the better receivers in the league. In the second round the Giants reached on linebacker Clint Sintim, another linebacker who hasn't lived up to expectations and has battled injuries. They also nabbed Will Beatty, who was the starting left tackle before being lost for the rest of the season after suffering a detached retina against the Eagles. Beatty has shown a lot of promise in his young career and he should be healthy and ready to go for next year. Tight End Travis Beckum, taken in the third round, hasn't lived up to expectations but has shown some flashes. Ramses Barden, another wide receiver who was drafted to help replace Plaxico, also has not lived up to expectations.
The Giants 2010 Draft produced Jason Pierre-Paul in the First Round, who led the Giants in sacks this past season with 16.5. Starting defensive tackle Linval Joseph was taken in the second round. Third Round pick Chad Jones was a player the team had high hopes for but he was injured in a car accident that nearly took his life. He continues to rehab with the hopes of one day getting back on the field. If he does that can only be a plus for the Giants. Phil Dillard and Mitch Petrus were taken in the 4th and 5th rounds respectively. Dillard is nothing more than a backup and Petrus was on the inactive list much of this year. However, Petrus was tabbed to start a few games for the Giants after injuries decimated the o-line and he performed very well.
It is way too early to judge the 2011 Draft but every player the Giants drafted made the team, with the exception of second rounder DT Marvin Austin who was lost to injury. Austin was a bit of a gamble because he didn't play his last season at North Carolina due to eligibility issues. Oh, hell, who am I kidding, the guy broke NCAA rules. Still, he has loads of talent and he will be counted on to help anchor the Giants defensive line in the future. First Rounder Prince Amukamara is a cornerback and going into this season the Giants already had three corners that were taken in either the first or second round. They lost Thomas to injury so taking Amukamara didn't seem like a bad idea. Then Prince went down with a broken foot and he was behind the learning curve already because of the lockout. Still, going into the Draft, Amukamara was considered the best cover corner in the entire Draft and the Giants picked him up with the 19th pick. Linebackers Greg Jones (6th Round) and Jacquin Williams (6th Round) have had to fill in as starters at times after the Giants linebacking corps was hit hard by injuries. Both have made some big plays as well as made some rookie mistakes. However, considering they were 6th round choices, the Giants seem to have found some good players who should at least serve as capable backups, or maybe even improve into very good linebackers. Only time will tell. The Giants other 6th Round selection was Tyler Sash, a safety who has shined on Special Teams. Fourth Round selection, OT James Brewer, is a project but the Giants believe he can become a very good offensive lineman in the near future. Jerrel Jernigan and Da'Rel Scott are both speedsters. Scott showed some flashes during the preseason with his ability to break out a big run but got into Tom Coughlin's doghouse with his fumbling. Jernigan was a bit of a reach for a 3rd rounder but the Giants see a Special Teams player who can help stretch defenses with his speed at WR. He better improve next season or he will not be a Giant much longer.
The point of this post was to point out how many starters the Giants have gotten in the Draft. There really hasn't been a huge free agent splash in recent years, not since Antrel Rolle signed a couple of seasons ago. Most of the Giants players come to the team from the Draft or are rookie free agents. WR Victor Cruz and LB Mark Herzlich both came to the Giants in this manner. Also, RB Ryan Grant was another undrafted free agent who has gone on to a pretty good career in Green Bay as their feature back. The Giants QB was acquired through a Draft-day trade. Both of their feature running backs came in through the Draft. Their top three wide receivers were either drafted or signed as rookie free agents. Their offensive line was built primarily through the draft. Three All-Pro defensive ends were drafted. Four cornerbacks and one starting safety were drafted. All of their linebackers are homegrown. One of their starting defensive tackles was drafted. Their starting tight end, Jake Ballard, was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2010 Draft. Fullback Henry Hynoski was an undrafted free agent signed after the Draft this past season.
The list goes on. Giants GM Jerry Reese believes in building through the draft and supplementing his players with a small sampling of free agents like Chris Canty, David Baas, and Antrel Rolle. The majority of this Giants team has grown up under Tom Coughlin's regime and have been integrated into the Giants framework since their first days in the NFL. Most NFL teams are like this. When compared with the Jets, one can see a huge difference in homegrown players. The Jets, for example, feature a team mostly built around free agency or through trades. Building through the draft offers a lot more flexibility than through free agency. For one, the players are younger and cheaper and grow up in the system. Free agents come from a variety of different systems and might not be as productive, or are content just collecting a paycheck as has happened in the past.
Are the Giants the best team in the NFL? No. I'm not saying that. However, the Giants wouldn't have won their Super Bowl in 2007 or made the playoffs this year if it hadn't been for strong drafts in recent years. The Packers are another example of a team that has built itself through the draft and complimented those players with a sprinkling of free agent signings. The Giants, so long as Jerry Reese is GM, will always look to the draft before free agency. This is one major reason the Giants have made the playoffs, and won 10 games last year (even though they missed the playoffs it is hard to be upset at a 10 win season). The Draft is the thing.
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