Mock King U

NEW YORK – What a weekend it has been. The 2011 NFL Draft is over and the Giants have acquired some very talented players. I’m starting to understand the true meaning of the phrase “you can’t please everybody” because there have been some Giants fans who flat out think this draft was a failure. I’m not sure what they were watching because I think GM Jerry Reese and his staff nailed the draft once again.

After taking some time to digest all of the picks, I have to give Jerry Reese a solid “A” grade. Some of the picks seemed a bit confusing to me initially but not anymore. You can clearly see what the team was doing and I find it brilliant. The Giants literally stole CB Prince Amukamara and DT Marvin Austin from the rest of the NFL. I expect both to be pro bowl players within three years if they can get playing time and perform well enough to stay on the field full time. Without question, these two guys were the best picks of the bunch for Big Blue. Only time will tell how good these two rookies can become but their potential is off the charts.

The Giants 3rd round selection of WR Jerrel Jernigan was a big shock at first until I did some research on the guy and realized how good is going to be on special teams. The Giants are sick of all of the issues on special teams and addressed that area thoroughly in the draft. Most rookies usually start their NFL career on special teams anyway, so I don’t want to sound like Jernigan cannot become an outstanding NFL wide receiver. He was clearly taken for his lightning speed, playmaking abilities and what he can bring to the table in 2011. The Giants 4th round pick, OT James Brewer, is a project player who will need to learn the NFL system and work on his technique. If he can get that part of the game down, this massive man could become quite an asset for Big Blue in an area of need. The Giants did not have a 5th round pick this year because they traded it away when they acquired RB Darius Reynaud last season.

All of the players from the 6th round (Giants had three 6th round picks this year) and beyond are the biggest question marks of all. We know that you can draft some future stars in the latter rounds but it remains to be seen who that star might be. Some experts are in love with LB Greg Jones and think he can be a very productive NFL player one day. Personally, I am rooting for all of these rookies to do well and make the team. Their success only makes the G-Men a better team in the end. The Giants minicamp will be the next event on most fans radar followed by training camp. The NFL lockout reached it’s 52nd day today and will need to be resolved before any football activities can resume. You can find the full list of 2011 NFL Draft picks below. Enjoy!

New York Giants 2011 NFL Draft Picks 

Round 1 – CB Prince Amukamara – 6’0″ 206 pounds

Round 2 – DT Marvin Austin – 6’2″ 309 pounds

Round 3 – WR Jerrel Jernigan – 5’9″ 185 pounds

NEW YORK – The New York Giants have made their 1st round pick. With the 19th overall pick the Giants took CB Prince Amukamara (6’0″ 206 pounds – 4.43 40 yard dash) who was still available for some reason. There were a lot of experts who thought/think that Prince is a top ten talent (myself included). Giants fans can be proud that GM Jerry Reese pulled the trigger on this no brainer. RB Mark Ingram and OT Anthony Castonzo were both available when Big Blue took Prince, so that is something fans will have in the back of their minds once the season starts. Make no mistake, this is a solid draft pick for Big Blue that could start paying off as early as this year.

The Giants will now have an even more dangerous backfield with the addition of Amukamara. Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell must be wearing a perma-grin right now at the thought of coaching this young talent. With solid safeties in Rolle and Phillips and solid cornerbacks in Thomas and Ross, throwing Prince into this mix will really do some damage on the field. The Giants have a bigger need at the offensive line position but who can blame them for drafting a top ten talent that somehow dropped down to the 19th pick? Not me.

I am still hoping that C Stefen Wisniewski can fall to Big Blue in round two. He might even be worth trading up for since the team has a few extra compensatory picks this year. I would be very surprised if the Giants didn’t take an offensive lineman in the 2nd round tomorrow. Clearly, no one can blame them for taking Prince because no one thought he would be available. This is what you call a pleasant surprise.

The 2011 NFL draft will continue tomorrow night at 6:00 PM EST at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Then again on Saturday beginning at noon. Be sure to come back tomorrow for more coverage from the draft.

Are you surprised by who the Giants picked in round one or were you expecting something like this?

NEW YORK – Everybody can exhale because the draft has finally arrived. It feels like it has taken forever to get here but the wait is finally over (sort of). Well, at least day one has finally arrived and Giants fans will learn who the first round pick (19th overall) will be later this evening. Thank goodness because this lockout has fans ripping their hair out. Speaking of the lockout, the situation has become confusing with the judge ordering it to stop but team facilities still being locked up. It is still unknown how the lockout will effect trades and transactions in general during the entire 2011 draft. Let’s not worry about the lockout for the next 3 days and enjoy the draft.

The G-Men have a few areas of need that have been clearly explained for months now. The top three needs the Giants have are offensive linemen, linebacker and defensive tackle. This seems to be the general consensus for most fans and myself. I still firmly believe the team will walk away with one of these positions of need tonight but if RB Mark Ingram is available, he may be too much to pass up on. The tight end and cornerback positions have also been mentioned quite a bit this offseason.

I have complete faith in GM Jerry Reese (the draft guru) and the rest of the Giants staff and scouts. They have done an outstanding job for years now and I see no reason why 2011 should be any different. With that being said, the only two positions that would literally shock me (being drafted in round one) are the defensive end and quarterback positions. Everything else is fair game.

Be sure to come back later and check out our draft coverage. We will be doing an article on the Giants 1st round draft pick and giving our opinions on their choice. I would like to say good luck to the Giants organization. The draft begins at 8:00 PM EST tonight. Enjoy!

Who are you hoping the Giants draft in the first round later tonight?

NEW YORK – I would like to wish all of our readers a very Happy Easter. I hope everyone enjoys their time spent with family and I hope all of our young readers find a lot of Easter eggs during their Easter egg hunts. Good Luck kids!

I remember when people used real eggs to hide back in the day (and maybe some still do) but these days they use the plastic ones filled with coins or candy. This allows for more outdoor Easter egg hunts which is nice for the kids. I hope the weather allows for a wonderful family day.

We are now four days away from round one of the 2011 NFL draft. The Giants fans are getting excited and the prediction messages have been pouring in to us here. It is a lot of fun to guess, predict and research who the Giants will take in round one but the truth is only the people in that war room know who is going to be drafted. GM Jerry Reese expects some players currently on the roster to step up in 2011. He talked about certain players this week including LB Clint Sintim and WR Ramses Barden and mentioned how the team is counting on them and how he hopes they will break out in 2011. I agree with Mr. Reese and I think the players he mentioned do as well.

The 2011 NFL lockout has reached 44 days now and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Hopefully, the fans will be able to enjoy some of the offseason activities that are now threatened by this nonsense.

NEW YORK – The NFL announced the 2011 regular season schedule today on the 39th day of the lockout. Talk about a contradiction. They should be required to add the proverbial “asterisk” next to the schedule like they do in baseball for steroids. Just to let the fans know that there still might be an interruption to the 2011 season. Hey, thanks!

I do not mean to sound condescending but this lockout is affecting thousands of people during a nationwide economic crisis. The thousands I speak of are not players or coaches or owners. They are the everyday people that work for NFL teams who aren’t millionaires. I don’t think the NFL realizes that people get paid about $300 per week (if they are lucky) for unemployment benefits. And the people that live month to month are 9 days behind on all their Bills.

The release of the schedule is good news. The Giants got a very nice bye week in week seven. I always have a good time reading and planning around it. It looks like the G-Men will have a tough schedule on the road this year. The play some really tough teams. I think they will be up to the task come September after they get some work in at training camp and some time in the weight room. Enough from me, here is the 2011 NFL regular season schedule you have been waiting for fans!

2011 Regular Season Schedule: New York Giants

Week 1: Sunday 9/11/11 – 4:15 PM EST – Giants @ Redskins

Week 2: Monday 9/19/11 – 8:30 PM EST – Giants vs. Rams (MNF)

Week 3: Sunday 9/25/11 – 1:00 PM EST – Giants @ Eagles

Week 4: Sunday 10/2/11 – 4:05 PM EST – Giants @ Cardinals

Week 5: Sunday 10/9/11 – 1:00 PM EST – Giants vs. Seahawks

Week 6: Sunday 10/16/11 – 1:00 PM EST – Giants vs. Bills

Week 7: BYE WEEK

Week 8: Sunday 10/30/11 – 1:00 PM EST – Giants vs. Dolphins

Week 9: Sunday 11/6/11 – 4:15 PM EST – Giants @ Patriots

Week 10: Sunday 11/13/11 – 4:15 PM EST – Giants @ 49ers

Week 11: Sunday 11/20/11 – 8:20 PM EST – Giants vs. Eagles (SNF)

Week 12: Monday 11/28/11 – 8:30 PM EST – Giants @ Saints (MNF)

Week 13: Sunday 12/4/11 – 4:15 PM EST – Giants vs. Packers

Week 14: Sunday 12/11/11 – 8:20 PM EST – Giants @ Cowboys (SNF)

Week 15: Sunday 12/18/11 – 1:00 PM EST – Giants vs. Redskins

Week 16: Saturday 12/24/11 – 1:00 PM EST – Giants @ Jets

Week 17: Sunday 1/1/12 – 1:00 PM EST – Giants vs. Cowboys

Will you be attending a Giants game this year? Are you a season ticket holder?

NEW YORK – We are now only 14 days away from the 2011 NFL Draft. This is a very exciting time of the year for the die-hard and true blue fans. You can immediately tell who knows what they are talking about come draft day. The bull crap gets cut quick when you try talking junk to a knowledgeable fan. Radio City Music Hall in New York during the spring, does it get any better then this?

I hope some of the rookies catch a Yankee game or a Knicks game while they are in town. I’m sure they get hooked up with some nice tickets and other cool events to check out. I hope they decide against that much rumored boycott of the draft by rookies. Just show up and have some fun.

As of today, my needs assessment remains pretty much the same and I will list my position picks for rounds 1-7 below again. You can flip flop players in the late rounds and any position you draft makes sense and can be justified. It’s the first three rounds that get you respect. If you can predict those first three rounds correctly, then you can consider yourself on the same level as any other Giants writer or expert out there. Do it more then once and establish some consistency, publicly. You will be getting paid for your opinion sooner or later if you’re consistently “in the race” with your opinions and correct most of the time.

We will be doing a ton of coverage over the draft weekend (4/28/11 – 4/30/11). Be sure to come back and check out player analysis that whole weekend as well as other LIVE reports throughout all rounds of the draft!

New York Giants: 2011 Draft picks by position.

Round 1 pick – Center or Defensive Tackle (Center is clearly the bigger need here but the draft is stacked with talented DT’s)

Round 2 pick – Defensive Tackle or Linebacker (they have some nice talent at LB on the team already but DT could end up being an issue)

Round 3 pick – Cornerback (there is a lot of talent at the CB position but Fewell needs some new blood to work his magic on, depth as well)

Round 4 pick – Offensive Lineman (this could be a tackle or a guard, the o-line will need help soon and depth doesn’t hurt)

Round 5 pick – No 5th Round Pick, traded away for RB Darius Reynaud (5’9″ 201) who is used as a returner.

Round 6 pick A – Tight End (the team has a mission to get QB Eli Manning as many weapons as possible)

Round 6 pick B – Running Back (they need to add a young RB into the mix and GM Jerry Reese is good at finding talent late)

Round 6 pick C – Linebacker (keep stacking talent until you find the golden 3 that fit the best)

Round 7 pick – Cornerback or Wide Receiver (this guy should be used on special teams, get the most talented special teamer available here)

Feel free to leave a comment below with your own picks and predictions.