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E-GIANTS GIANTS, DRAFTING STRICTLY BY VALUE, FIND A WAY TO SOLVE OBVIOUS NEEDS By
DAVE KLEIN With general manager Jerry Reese holding steadfastly to his denial that there was a serious need for big wide receivers - you know, the Plaxico Burress kind - the Giants swooped down on North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks in the first round and then perhaps struck gold with Ramses Barden of Cal-Poly with their first selection of two in the third round. In order to get Barden, the Giants made a trade with arch-rival Philadelphia to move up six picks and draft in the 85th overall position instead of the 91st. Nicks, 6-0.6 and 210 pounds, shows speed, long arms and huge hands; Barden, 6-6 and 230, is a Plax prototype who specialized in running fade routes in the red zone and freely admitted that is not only something he does well but something he enjoys enormously. The Giants' two picks in the second round were outside linebacker Clint Sintim of Virginia and offensive tackle - left tackle - William Beatty of Connecticut. And then, just to solidify that the wasn't close to a "value" draft for the Giants but a pure need shopping tour, they took tight end Travis Beckum of Wisconsin with their second pick in the third round. Before the draft began, it was suggested by many media sources that the Giants' needs - in order - included wide receiver, outside linebacker, offensive tackle and tight end (a pass receiving tight end). Presto! Not drafting for need but pure value (uh-huh) and all those annoying needs were filled anyway. Barden, who has run 4.51 in the 40-yard dash despite his size, said he was just floored. "I wouldn't say excited, I'd say thrilled," he said. "You never really know with this draft process; I guess I made an impression on the coaches [during an invited visit two weeks ago]. I know it will be a major jump from the college level to the pros, but I like the opportunity. I love running the fade, to bring the ball down in the red zone, and I know my size gives me an advantage." Indeed, as it did for Burress. With the addition of Nicks and Barden, it would appear that the thin ice upon which Sinorice Moss was standing has melted. The Giants will carry no more than six wide receivers when they get to the final roster, and the six at this moment appear to be Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Mario Manningham, David Tyree and the two rookie picks, Nicks and Barden. If one goes, it would appear at this moment to be Tyree, he of the miracle "helmet catch" in Super Bowl 42. As to his personal life, Barden almost chuckled when someone reminded him of the player he may well be targeted to replace. "Teams that interviewed me always asked if I had any off-the-field issues," he said. "But no, I've never been in trouble. I've never been suspended from the team. I've never been arrested or anything like that. I'm fairly clean cut off the field. I have moderate fun with my friends and that's it, most of which is in-house and definitely out of trouble." Barden's father, Al, played basketball for NYU in the early 1960s on teams that included (for you older readers) Barry Kramer and Happy Hairston. Various scouting services all made mention of the size of Ramses' hands, the largest in the draft crop this year. They measure 10 5/8th inches and, like Nicks, resulted in the ability to make circus catches. In his career at Cal-Poly (he was offered scholarships to Penn and San Diego State) he caught 206 passes for 4,203 yards and 50 touchdowns. Barden broke Jerry Rice's Division1-AA record with 20 consecutive games with at least one touchdown catch (Rice held the record with 17 while at Mississippi Valley State). With their fourth round selection (129th overall), the Giants took running back Andre Brown of North Carolina State. He is 6-0 and 225 and had 523 carries for 2,539 yards and 22 touchdowns in his four-year career. He has a chance to fill in the missing element to last year's "Earth, Wind and Fire" trio now that Derrick Ward ("Wind") has signed on as a free agent in Tampa Bay. For the uninitiated, Brandon Jacobs is "Earth" and Ahmad Bradshaw is "Fire." In the fifth round, with the 151st overall selection, the Giants veered slightly off course and selected a quarterback, Rhett Bomar of Sam Houston State, who transferred two years ago from the University of Oklahoma. He is 6-2 and 235, was ranked as the fifth best at the position (in a weak quarterback draft) and is compared to Houston’s Matt Schaub by some scouts. It has been reported that while he is a tough and charismatic field leader that he is also a hot-head who sometimes fails to adhere to authority - just wait until he gets face to face with Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin. Last season Bomar completed 245 passes in 436 attempts for 3,355 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. When he gets to the Giants, he'll find himself in competition with David Carr and last year's rookie, Andre Woodson, who spent the season on the practice squad. In the sixth round, the 200th player selected turned out to be the newest Giant, cornerback Deandre Wright of New Mexico. He's 6-1 and 198 and will have to show improvement just to make the special teams list. Still, at full health (he had two shoulder injuries, neither serious) he could surprise. And with their final pick, the 238th selection of the draft, the Giants spent their seventh round marker on cornerback Stoney Woodson, a 5-11, 194-pound relatively unknown quality. THE GIANTS 2009 DRAFT CHOICES 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. NEW - Send a request to davesklein@aol.com for a free week's worth of news!
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