Zennie62 On YouTube

I have never wanted to be in Indy as much as i do right now



I have never wanted to be in Indy as much as i do right now-

Part one of our pre-Draft Primer-By Dr. Bill Chachkes

I guess even the Giants have to make some noise at the NFL's annual Scouting Combine without wanting to. During Friday morning's presser with coach Tom Coughlin the subject of Plaxico Burress came up once again. The team has made it very clear that they were waiting for the March 31st court date.
Weather Burress comes back to play in a Giants uniform again or not, NY's biggest need is wide receiver either in the upcoming draft this April or through Free Agency. If you feel the need to dispute this just look at the Giants nose dive in offensive production after Burress departure and Toomer's vanishing act after the following game for proof.

This is such a deep class at the position that the Giants could draft 3 or 4 receivers if they really wanted to. It's possible they will need to draft at least two to stimulate competition in training camp among the players in the group now. Assuming that Armani Toomer is gone as well, that would leave Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss, Mario Manningham, and David Tyree attempting to return to the roster as well. If anyone is looking here, none of these players are that tall.

But as deep as the class of wide outs are, just how many of them are of similar ability to Buress or Toomer? Of the 45 Wr's at the combine only 8 are 6' 3" or above. Surprised? I wasn't as much as you might think, because almost all of the class who were 6' 2" or shorter all ran faster times then the taller receivers. Only Ohio State's Brian Robiskie, the son of Falcons RB coach Terry Robiskie, ran any kind of a decent 40 time among the taller receivers. He would be an upgrade in height and foot speed over Toomer.

Among the taller prospects, only three seem to have the physical ability or could develop it to the point of filling the role of Burress. Jaison Williams of Oregon is 6' 4" and 237 pounds, but would look more at home playing H-Back or Tight End as well as 15 pounds heavier. Both his foot speed and his hands need work. He also lacks concentration at times and has earned the label of "underachiever", as he isn't that aggressive going after the ball. Did not have a good overall combine, and didn't bench well for a player of his size.

USC's Patrick Turner is 6' 5", but a bit light at 223 pounds, and doesn't shed tacklers well, even though he seems to have a little upper body power. He also doesn't block well for a taller player. He will jump of for balls with defenders around him and is strong enough to win the battle, but lacks the power to run through open field tackles. He sits in the shadow of former USC receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Mike Williams as it seems bigger players from the trojans at the position never go one to great success in the pros. Turner is trying to break out of that shadow, but has an uphill climb.

Possibly the most interesting of the taller players is Cal Poly's Ramses Barden, who is the tallest receiver at 6' 6" and 229 pounds. Barden is still a bit rough around the edges as a football player, but has fantastic jumping ability. He still doesn't have breakaway speed, and while a decent blocker on the outside one to one against smaller Defensive Backs, has trouble inside with bigger players and can get tackled easily at times because his pads are higher then most players. He would need to add a few pounds of upper body mass and work on his "inside" game. You also have to consider that he compiled his stats in division 1-AA (FCS) play. Did have a good bench press with 17 reps, which was 7th overall among receivers.

Plenty here for the Giants, or any Team looking to add receiver depth from this draft class.

Next: More combine Notes

Don't forget our other blogs: nflbiz.blogspot.com and nfldraftmag.blogspot.com
or our websites: www.footballreportersonline.com and www.gridirondraftguide.com
Our Internet radio show airs every Thursday night at 9:pm eastern ay www.blogtalkradio.com/football-reporters or can be downloaded as a podcast at iTunes (keywords: Football Reporters)
 

ShareThis

 
Google Analytics Alternative