E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

LET'S PUT ASIDE THE FIRST-ROUND RB PICK - THERE'S NO TELLING WHO WILL BE AVAILABLE

By Dave Klein
Golly, it must have been a good idea.

Since Monday, when E-GIANTS suggested that the Giants take a chance and draft a running back - specifically, C.J. Spiller of Clemson - in the first round, more than a few of the dailies and bloggers have adopted the idea as their own.

Ah, well, imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, isn't that how it goes?

So now let's leave that bombshell alone for a day or two. Who the Giants pick with their first round selection is only in their minds - and probably not yet etched in granite, either - and why not focus on what they need and what might happen if things fell apart and players not expected to be there at the 15th spot suddenly show up.

No, we're not talking about Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. If that gifted child is available in the 15th hold it means his shoulder has fallen off and he has to learn to throw with the other hand.

But every year when the NFL conducts this grand body snatch, there are glaring errors in predictive judgment. Players thought to go high, as in the top five or 10 picks, are seen twitching in their seats as the 12th, 13th and 14th selections are made and their names aren't mentioned. In all likelihood, they will turn out to be outstanding pros, just without the cachet of those extra millions of dollars.

If one such does appear, and it he had been highly rated (and deemed unavailable) by the Giants, what would they do?

Here is a quick sampling:

Safety Eric Berry of Tennessee; defensive end Derrick Morgan and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, both of Georgia Tech; cornerback Joe Haden of Florida and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy or Oklahoma.

Those five are all "predicted" to be taken within the first seven or eight spots, but what happens if one (or more) starts to slip? What happens if a position the Giants don't immediately need falls into their laps? Would they take Berry or Haden? Thomas the wide receiver?

In a New York heartbeat, as the nearly sainted Bill Parcells used to be fond of saying. You do not look that gift horse in the mouth; you slap a bridle on him and get out of town.

McCoy would be a no-brainer. He is one of the top two defensive tackles in the draft and you can never have enough of those "dancing elephants," guys who are way too big to move as nimbly as they do. Similarly, Morgan is a prize waiting to be claimed, and while he is not thought to be even remotely likely to fall into the Giants' hands, if he does he's going to be their pick.

There is also an offensive tackle who played at Rutgers, of all places. He is Anthony Davis and he is 6-5 and 325, and with perhaps a season of seasoning, he is going to challenge for a starting position. How many of you loyalists out there can deny that the Giants' O-line is starting to slip just a wee bit? How many can envision a long and productive career beckoning for Kareem McKenzie and Richie Seubert and Shaun O'Hara? So if Davis is available when the Giants' turn arrives, he might be more than just a logical pick.

He might be a wise selection.

All of which actually proves not much. It does show that the draft is a highly inexact science and that more mistakes are made each year than genius decisions. But don't the Giants need an inside linebacker? Yes and no. What happened to those draft picks of recent years, guys like Bryan Kehl and Jonathan Goff and Gerris Wilkinson? Were they mistakes? Is it just that they haven't had enough of a chance? Did injuries retard their progress? Are general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Tom Coughlin ready to give up on them, or at best make them highly-paid (and fulltime) special team performers?

There will be linebackers available in the second and third rounds. Good ones, too, like Brandon Spikes of Florida, Donald Butler of Washington, Sean Weatherspoon of Missouri. Good size, good speed and, in the case of Spikes, a guy who had been predicted to be a first round pick who has started to slide a little because of recent inferior speed timings in the sacred 40-yard dash. Or maybe they'll all go in the first round, to point out the uncertainty of the draft at its core.

But as the late George Young used to insist, your first round pick should be reserved for the best athlete available, and "reaching" for a position is fraught with danger most of the time.

Given the necessity to actually come up with a name, your faithful out-of-the-hospital correspondent will settle on Spiller, if he's still there at the 15th spot. He could be Tiki Barber, given his size and speed, and those who say he's no different than Ahmad Bradshaw might be reminded that Bradshaw was a seventh round pick - for a reason - and has only surprised on occasion.

EXTRA POINTS - As yet another balm to the wounded ego of Jets' owner Woody Johnson, his team will get to "host" the first-ever preseason game in the New Meadowlands Stadium - against the Giants. ... That will take place Aug. 16, a Monday night game offered on ESPN. ... The Giants' other three exhibition games will be at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers the week of Sept. 19-23, at Baltimore the weekend of Sept. 26-29 and finally at home against New England Sept. 3 (a full 10 days prior to the regular season home opener against a team as yet not identified.

It is thought that the entire regular season schedule will be released April 13, after Woody has had a chance to pitch a few more hissy-fits.

One player low on the draft totem pole is tight end Fendi Onobun of the University of Houston. ... The 6-6, 250-pounder, who played basketball at the University of Arizona before transferring, will visit the Giants in mid-April, and is thought to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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